3 June - 25 July 2026
An Abbey Theatre production
The Whiteheaded Boy
Written by Lennox Robinson
Directed by Annie Ryan
Booking Information
While no tickets are currently available, returns will be added to the website for general sale as they come in, so please continue to check this page regularly.
Tickets that become available ahead of individual performances will be put on sale at box office in the theatre – the in-person queue for these returns will open one hour before the performance.
If you need any more information please call Box Office on (01) 87 87 222.
Dates: 3 June – 25 July 2026
Previews: 3 – 8 June
On the Abbey Stage
Times:
Mon – Sat 7.30pm
Sat matinees 2pm
Wed matinee 2pm, 8 and 22 July
Tickets: €15 – €54 plus booking fee
Running time: approx. 2 hours and 15 minutes, including an interval
Age recommendation: 12+
Content Advice: For information on the content and themes in this production, click here.
Sign language interpreted performance: 10/07/26, 7:30pm
Touch Tour of Stage and Set: 11/07/26, 12:00pm
Audio-described performance: 11/07/26, 2:00pm
Captioned performance: 11/07/26, 2:00pm
"A top-of-the-shelf comedy – one of the sharpest in the Abbey’s history" The Sunday Independent
“Every Mammy has her favourite…”
The table is set for Denis, arriving home from Dublin where he’s studying Medicine at Trinity College – a source of enormous pride for his besotted mother and of great resentment to his five other siblings.
But when word comes that he may have failed his exams again, the final straw breaks. Threats of deportation, lawsuits, bribes and counter-bribes escalate, as the family twist the fate of their whiteheaded boy to suit themselves.
A smash hit when it premiered at the Abbey Theatre 110 years ago, Lennox Robinson’s The Whiteheaded Boy is a raucous, high-stakes tug-of-war between those who will do anything to keep their standing in the town and those who just want to live their lives as they please.
Award-winning director Annie Ryan re-imagines this bawdy and bold Irish classic with a contemporary eye and a sharp feminist wink to the past. Notions abound!
You can read the former Head of Special Projects at the National Archives of Ireland, Catriona Crowe’s take on the play and its modern relevance here.
If you’d like to go behind the scenes on this production, we have three backstage tours running in July – book your spot here.
The Assistant Costume Design role is made possible by the Abbey Theatre’s partnership with the Irish Society of Performance Designers through their Assistant Designer Programme, funded by the Arts Council.
Reviews
★★★★
"Camp high jinks"
The Irish Times
★★★★
"Hilarious....the cast are a delight"
Irish Examiner
★★★★
"A dynamic romp perfect for a summer evening"
The Irish Mail On Sunday
★★★★
"Outward appearances clash with thwarted dreams in an unexpectedly raunchy take on an old classic"
The Stage
★★★★
"A triumph"
Theatre Tonic
★★★★
"A truly wonderful play"
The Reviews Hub
"A huge laugh... an excellent summer buzz... potent and distinctive"
Irish Independent
"Fresh, vibrant and incredibly exciting"
Sunday Independent
"Worth seeing alone for Clare Barrett as the hilarious matriarch"
The Journal
"Great fun; an ideal night out"
Irish Daily Star
Show trailer
What the audience says
Welcome to the Good Room
Images: Patricio Cassinoni
A foretaste of the family rivalries at play…
In Rehearsals
Images: Patricio Cassinoni
Listen back to Peter McGann on Oliver Callan
Meet the cast and director
Photo credit: Ailbhe O’Donnell
Audio Described Introduction Notes
Listen to the audio described programme notes below, or download them here.
Credits
- Mrs. Geoghegan: Clare Barrett
- John Duffy: Andrew Bennett
- Baby: Charlotte Cleary
- Jane: Fionnuala Gygax
- Aunt Ellen: Anna Healy
- Kate: Genevieve Hulme-Beaman
- George: Peter McGann
- Denis: Teddy Moore
- Delia: Malua Ní Chléirigh
- Donough: Michael Tient
- Peter: Ben Waddell
- Writer: Lennox Robinson
- Director: Annie Ryan
- Set Design: Maree Kearns
- Costume Design: Sinéad Cuthbert
- Lighting Design: Sarah Jane Shiels
- Composer & Sound Design: Denis Clohessy
- Intimacy Director: Sue Mythen
- Voice Director: Andrea Ainsworth
- Casting Director: Barry Coyle
- Assistant Director: Giulia Grillo
- Assistant Costumer Designer: Toni Bailey
- Assistant Voice Director: Gillian McCarthy
- Assistant Lighting Designer: Daisy Long
- Promotional Photography: Pato Cassinoni
