Stephen Rea, Brid Brennan and Neil Martin off-Broadway for Field Day’s production of ‘A Particle of Dread’ at Signature Theatre in New York. Photo: Tristan Nash.
Following the success of the world première in Derry last year, Field Day made its long-awaited debut in the United States last night.
The company has teamed up with the renowned Signature Theatre on 42nd Street to present Sam Shepard’s A Particle of Dread (Oedipus Variations) in New York and, even prior to the show opening, the run has been extended to accommodate demand.
Acclaimed stage and screen actor Stephen Rea, who founded Field Day with Brian Friel in 1980, is reprising his role as Oedipus alongside other members of the original cast, including actors Brid Brennan, Judith Roddy, Lloyd Hutchinson and composer and cellist Neil Martin. Signature Theatre is a prolific and award-winning theatre company which shares Field Day’s commitment to the development of playwrights and new writing.
Stephen Rea said: “It’s exciting that Field Day is travelling to America for the first time, with a new work by the great American playwright Sam Shepard, and a real honour to be working with New York’s Signature Theatre to bring this production to an international audience.
“The play was specifically written for Derry, where Sam walked the walls every day of rehearsals. Derry is alive and embedded in this highly original conversation with the Greeks, offering us, I believe, a very special moment in English speaking theatre.”
A Particle of Dread (Oedipus Variations) is legendary American writer Sam Shepard’s highly original take on the story of Oedipus, the mythical King whose tragic tale was first dramatised by Sophocles two thousand years ago.
This Ancient Greek classic is re-imagined as a modern thriller set in the desert of the American West and was one of the highlights of the Derry’s City of Culture programme.
The production is directed by award-winning American director Nancy Meckler, with costumes and set by Irish designers Lorna Mugan and Frank Conway.
A Particle of Dread (Oedipus Variations) runs at Signature Theatre, 42nd Street, New York until 4 January.
Stephen Rea, Brid Brennan and Neil Martin off-Broadway for Field Day’s production of ‘A Particle of Dread’ at Signature Theatre in New York. Photo: Tristan Nash.
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