The Manhattan reading is presented with the cooperation of Bruce Josephy and Amy Sullivan. Tickets are free, and the event is open to the public.
To reserve seats, call (212) 727-2737.
The series supports new plays and emerging playwrights. As part of its mission statement, The Irish Repertory Theatre "encourages the development of new works focusing on the Irish and Irish American experience, as well as a range of other cultures."
The cast for The Exchange will include Dashiell Eaves (The Lieutenant of Inishmore, James Joyce's The Dead), Gerald Finnegan (The Hairy Ape, Hamlet), Peter Gerety (The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Henry V), Zoe Kazan (The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie), Lizbeth Mackay (Doubt, Sea of Tranquility), Deirdre O'Connell (Cavedweller, Spatter Pattern), Ana Reeder (Sight Unseen, Small Tragedy) and Meredith Zinner (Sore Throats, The Notebooks of Leonardo daVinci).
The play "asks what happens when you can no longer tell what is real and what isn't? What if the world is changing but you cannot? In a small post office in rural Ireland, Jack and his daughters struggle to remember what holds them together and try to forget what drove them apart. On the anniversary of his wife's death, Jack is tormented by things he would rather forget. Dark deeds, old friends and one terrible night. And Ireland has changed. There is no room for men like him. The Post Office is closing and yet the Post Master does not belong anywhere else. The unexpected return of his prodigal daughter Roisin causes chaos and enrages Anna, the 'good' sister who has remained at home. This dysfunctional family [tries] to wade through the secrets and lies of the past and move towards a new brighter future. Meanwhile, a storm is coming." The Exchange received a workshop at the 2006 O'Neill Playwrights Conference this past July.
Usula Rani Sarma is from the West of Ireland and is of Irish/Indian descent. She has been writing predominantly for theatre since graduating from University College Cork in 1999. She co-founded Djinn Productions later that year and has directed several award-winning productions as artistic director of the company. Sarma has been writer in residence for The National Theatre London, Paines Plough Theatre Company London, Galway Local Authorities and most recently with the Cross Border Centre project, which united artists from the North and South of Ireland. She has nine plays for stage (Blue, .touched., Gift, Orpheus Road, The Spider Men, Like Sugar on Skin, Wanderings, When the War Came, Patriotism).
All readings are at 3 PM and are located at The Irish Repertory Theatre, 132 W. 22nd Street.
For more information visit www.irishrep.org.
