Caitríona Ennis, Marty Rea and Rory Nolan in The Shadow of a Gunman as part of DruidO'Casey. Photo: Ros Kavanagh

Druid's The Shadow of a Gunman coming to Mayo

DRUID has announced that Sean O’Casey’s classic play The Shadow of a Gunman will play Claremorris Town Hall Theatre as part of an 11 venue national tour next spring.

The Claremorris dates are March 8 and 9.

This five-star production was first produced as part of DruidO’Casey, Druid’s 2023 play cycle of Sean O’Casey’s Dublin Trilogy, which also includes The Plough and the Stars and Juno and the Paycock.

Set against the backdrop of the Irish War of Independence, and by turns tragic and comic, The Shadow of a Gunman is the tale of an ambitious young woman who dreams of a life beyond her Dublin tenement with the mysterious neighbour downstairs.

Directed by Garry Hynes, The Shadow of a Gunman features Druid Ensemble members Rory Nolan and Marty Rea, alongside Gabriel Adewusi, Clare Barrett, Caitríona Ennis, Bosco Hogan, Sean Kearns, Robbie O’Connor and Catherine Walsh.

The Shadow of a Gunman will also tour to Roscommon Arts Centre, The Everyman in Cork, Lime Tree Theatre in Limerick, Siamsa Tíre in Tralee, the National Opera House in Wexford, Glór in Ennis, Backstage Theatre in Longford, Hawk’s Well Theatre in Sligo, the Town Hall Theatre in Galway, and the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin.

DruidO’Casey has been critically acclaimed, earning five-star reviews from The Observer, Financial Times, The Stage, Irish Mail on Sunday and New York Stage Review.

DruidO’Casey broke box office records and sold out weeks in advance when it was announced in early 2023, with more than 28,000 people attending performances across its Irish and American five-city tour. Early booking is strongly recommended for this national tour of The Shadow of a Gunman.

Garry Hynes, director of The Shadow of a Gunman and Druid’s artistic director, said: “We were blown away by the response to DruidO’Casey when we played to Irish audiences in Galway, Belfast and Dublin and American audiences in New York and Michigan. Touring is at the heart of Druid’s mission so we look forward to hitting the road again next spring and bringing the work of Sean O’Casey to even more people in towns and cities across the country.”

Tickets are available at the Claremorris Town Hall website, https://townhall.ie/.