An Abbey Theatre and Kiln Theatre co-production
Girl on an Altar
8 July - 19 August 2023
Written by Marina Carr
Directed by Annabelle Comyn
Booking Information
Dates: 8 July – 19 August
On the Abbey Stage
Tickets: €13 – €45
Early bird tickets from €10 until May 11th
Times: Mon – Sat 7.30pm, Sat matinee 2pm
Running time: Approx. 2hours and 30 minutes, including interval
Sign language interpreted performance: Friday 11 August, 7:30pm
Audio-described and captioned performance: Saturday 19 August, 2:00pm
Touch Tour of Stage and Set: Saturday 19 August, 12:00pm
“Did no one ever tell you the sweetest revenge is to forgive?”
This dramatically powerful portrait of a marriage ripped apart will explode onto the Abbey stage this summer. Marina Carr weaves an intimate portrait of a once unbreakable couple who can’t bring themselves to forgive the past, but can’t live without each other.
A royal couple bound together by love, desire, hate and resentment find themselves and their families caught in the consequences of a terrible act of sacrifice, and the inability of the heart to forgive.
Girl on an Altar was first co-produced in London with the Kiln Theatre in summer 2022, directed by Annabelle Comyn. July 2023 marks the Irish premiere of the critically acclaimed production of this new play by Marina Carr, which is inspired by ‘Agamemnon’ from Aeschylus’ Oresteia.
Returning in their mesmerising leading roles that “turn the royal couple into planets that orbit around one another,” (BroadwayWorld) are Eileen Walsh (Clytemnestra) and David Walmsley (Agamemnon), with a powerful cast.
Reviews
★★★★
“Epic. Riveting. Audacious.”
The Guardian
★★★★
“Walsh and Walmsley are magnetic throughout and Carr’s words are a delight to hear.”
Evening Standard
★★★★
“Annabelle Comyn’s mesmerising staging draws you into a claustrophobic household seething with desire, damage and resentment.”
Financial Times
★★★★
“Girl on an Altar is as much a royal kitchen sink drama as it is a commentary on the politics of grief. Carr’s narrative skills are enthralling and lend themselves to a great modern adaptation, which Comyn directs with magnetic flair.”
Broadway World
“Intensely tragic and suspenseful, Girl on an Altar is brilliantly and relentlessly dramatic: a stunning and important act of contemporary theatre.”
LondonTheatre1
“Eileen Walsh gives a hugely impressive performance as Clytemnestra: careworn, cropped-haired and dignified, despite all the odds. David Walmsley’s Agamemnon is intimidatingly brawny and brutish and granted some moments of vulnerability.”
The Stage
“A magnetism so electric it grips you from start to finish.”
The Irish Post
Credits
- Aegisthus: Daon Broni
- Tyndareus: Jim Findley
- Cassandra: Pattie Maguire
- Cilissa: Aoibhéann McCann
- Agamemnon: David Walmsley
- Clytemnestra: Eileen Walsh
- Writer: Marina Carr
- Director: Annabelle Comyn
- Set and Costume Designer: Tom Piper
