Now in rehearsals, the limited engagement of The Dead will begin previews Dec. 5 with an official opening Dec. 11. Performances will continue through Jan. 19, 2013.
The cast will feature Derbhle Crotty as Gretta; Rosaleen Linehan; Lorcan Cranich; and Stanley Townsend as Gabriel.
Dowling, who has been artistic director at the Guthrie since 1995, returns to the Dublin theatre, where he served as artistic director from 1978-85 and where he also served from 1973-76 as artistic director of Peacock Theatre, the Abbey’s second stage.
The Dead appears as part of the Abbey’s Great Irish Writers Season that began in June 2012 and has featured work by Ireland’s most influential writers, including Oscar Wilde and Sean O’Casey with new writing by Owen McCafferty and Gary Duggan.