THE IRISH REPERTORY THEATRE presents the

THE BELLE OF BELFAST

By NATE RUFUS EDELMAN
Directed by CLAUDIA WEILL

Starring: HAMISH ALLAN-HEADLEY, PATRICIA CONOLLY, ARIELLE HOFFMAN, KATE LYDIC, BILLY MELEADY

Creative Team:
Scenic Design: JOHN MCDERMOTT
Costume Design: TERESE WADDEN
Lighting Design: JUSTIN TOWNSEND
Sound Design: DANIEL KLUGER
Projections: JEFF LARSON
Dialect Coach: STEPHEN GABIS
Fight Director: RICK SORDELET
Casting: DEBORAH BROWN
Production Stage Manager: CHRISTINE LEMME
Assistant Stage Manager: REBECCA C. MONROE
Press Representative: COYLE ENTERTAINMENT

The Irish Reportory Theatre Company
The Season in Union Square at the DR2 Theatre
103 East 15th Street

Visit http://www.irishrep.org
Opening Night: Thursday, April 23, 2015
Scheduled to run through June 7th.

THE BELLE OF BELFAST is a contemporary work focused on the Northern Irish experience in Belfast during 1985 when the centuries-old conflict was high between the Catholics and the Protestants and one of the most contentious and defining conflicts of the twentieth century. However, the story is told in a poignantly, funny way with wonderful Irish humor.

It opens in a confessional with an elderly woman, Emma (Patricia Conolly) asking her parish priest, Father Ben Reilly (Hamish Allan-Headley) to absolve her sins but drinking is not a sin and he sends her away with four Hail Marys. Next, a fiery and profane young woman, Anne (Kate Lydic) confesses her sins and then, meets up with her school mate, Ciara (Arielle Hoffman) and they discuss what normal seventeen year olds would do--love, secrets, boys, drugs, alcohol, and Ciara's weakness for curry chips. Emma turns out to be Anne's crazy great aunt who's often had a few too many drinks and they both end up quite often in the confessional with the handsome Father Reilly at different times unbeknowst to the other. The story unfolds with the unimaginable happening intertwined with the after effects of the Belfast bombings as the senior priest, Father Dermott Behan (Billy Melaeady), although an old, drunken priest turns out to be quite wise and gives sage advice to the much younger Father Reilly. Twists and turns abound and it's really a delight to watch. Overall, it's a wry, witty, and bittersweet portrayal of a select group of people in a city at war.

I'd highly recommend to see THE BELLE OF BELFAST produced by The Irish Repertory Theatre and presented at the DR2 Theatre in Union Square.

- Laura Thompson -
http://www.loralia.com @LORALIA