NUI Galway’s new theatre stages classic American play - Machinal

Machinal Third Year Production 2019
Feb 22 2018 Posted: 20:27 GMT

The O’Donoghue Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance – Galway’s newest performing arts venue – will stage its first ever play this month when the classic American drama Machinal appears.

Sophie Treadwell’s 1928 play was inspired by true events, and follows a young woman suffocated by a restrictive, unfeeling machine-like society. Haunting and provocative, Treadwell’s expressionistic playis made immediately relevant in this new production that updates the piece to reflect our contemporary technology-saturated age. Produced and performed by undergraduates of Drama and Theate Studies at NUI Galway, this production  will showcase the talents of a new emerging generation of exciting theatre-makers.

 The play is being directed by Ian R. Walsh, who is a Lecturer in Drama and Theatre Studies at NUI Galway. His books include Experimental Irish Theatre (Palgrave 2012)and The Theatre of Enda Walsh (Carysfort 2016).His professional directing credits include Purple Path to the Poppy Field (2006), The Magic Flute (2011), Orfeo ed Eurydice (2010),  The Wandering Scholar (2009) and Riders to the Sea ( 2009).

 Speaking ahead of the production, Dr Walsh said that students were excited by the opportunity to perform in the new venue: “This will be the first full production in the new state-of-the-art O’Donoghue Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance, home to Drama and Theatre Studies at NUI Galway,” he stated. “Our students are delighted to stage this innovative play for Galway audiences”

 Professor of Drama and Theatre Studies at NUI Galway Patrick Lonergan stated that the production of Machinal is part of the university’s commitment to staging new work. “We are staging four new productions this year with our students, two written by women and two written by men – with further details to be announced in the months ahead. Sophie Treadwell’s Machinal is a famous but rarely seen play that will showcase the best of our facilties and our students’ talents. As Galway moves towards 2020 and the capital of culture, we are delighted to play our part in contributing to the cultural richness of Galway and the wider region”.

 The show runs from 1-3 March at 8 p.m. with a special Saturday matinee on Saturday 4 March at 3 p.m. Tickets are available from the SocsBox at NUI Galway (091 492852), Price: €5

For more information or interviews, please contact Ian R.Walsh  ian.walsh@nuigalway.ie  Ph: 0868589134.

 

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