25 Jun–27 Jun
To The Lighthouse (2021)
"Carr's best adaptation to date" - The Arts Review
This world premiere was video streamed on demand as part of Cork Midsummer Festival.
This masterpiece of modernism was brought vividly to dramatic life by Ireland’s foremost playwright Marina Carr in a world premiere from award-winning director Annabelle Comyn. Filmed on The Everyman stage this digital capture of the stage production was broadcast as part of the Cork Midsummer Festival.
“But what have I done with my life? Only this? An infinitely long table, plates, knives. And at the far end, you, my husband, sitting in a heap. Frowning.”
The play opens on the Ramsay family and carefree days spent with friends by the sea. Children play, Mr. Carmichael reclines with a handkerchief over his face, Lily paints her picture and six year old James wants to sail to the lighthouse. Life is sweet.
But what appears tranquil on the surface, masks deep currents of longing and frustration which the characters struggle to contain.
With the promise of a trip to the lighthouse cancelled tensions in the home, and beyond, rupture violently and fling these lives into turmoil and change. The world is in transition and death becomes a footnote to a seismic global change, those who remain to try to cope in a new era and with the loss that it brings.
An all-star cast included Derbhle Crotty,Declan Conlon, Aoife Duffin,Olwen Fouéré, Nick Dunning,Colin Campbell, Kyle Hixon, Maura Bird, Kwaku Fortune and Gillian Buckle. To the Lighthouse received its world premiere as part of Cork Midsummer Festival 2021.
Woolf’s text is written in a form where thoughts and emotions are foregrounded. Marina Carr’s adaptation captures the constant flux of the characters’ inner thoughts and re-imagines them in a theatrical landscape. It recalls childhood emotions and highlights emptiness and yearning in adult relationships. Among the play’s many themes are those of loss, subjectivity, the nature of art, unity, and the problem of perception.
★★★★★ “…Crotty, Carr and Comyn craft an extraordinary tour de force…unmissable…” – The Arts Review (please read full review HERE)
★★★★ “…fierce and comic thoughts spoken out loud… beautifully orchestrated production…” – The Guardian (please read full review HERE)
To the Lighthouse is presented internationally in partnership with the Irish Arts Center, NY and Theatre by the Lake, UK
First commissioned by Hatch Theatre Company in association with Project Arts Centre.
This production has been licensed by arrangement with The Agency (London) Ltd, 24 Pottery Lane, London W11 4LZ e-mail: info@theagency.co.uk
As part of the world premiere of Marina Carr’s stage adaptation of To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf’s 1927 masterpiece of modernism, Irish Arts Center hosted a talkback with the playwright Marina Carr, moderated by Virginia Woolf scholar and UC Berkeley professor Catherine W. Hollis, on Carr’s adaptation of To the Lighthouse and Virginia Woolf’s world.
Derbhle Crotty: Mrs Ramsay / Virginia Woolf
Declan Conlon: Mr Ramsay / Leonard Woolf
Aoife Duffin: Lily Briscoe
Olwen Fouéré: Augustus Carmichael
Nick Dunning: William Bankes / Mrs McNabb
Colin Campbell: Charles Tansley
Kyle Hixon: James Ramsay
Maura Bird: Prue Ramsay / Cam Ramsay
Kwaku Fortune: Paul Rayley
Gillian Buckle: Minta Doyle
Danielle O’Neill: Voice of young Cam
Freddy Cornally: Voice of young James
Jack Healy: Voice of MacAllister
Adapted by: Marina Carr
Director: Annabelle Comyn
Set and Lighting Design: Aedín Cosgrove
Costume Co Designers: Saileóg O’Halloran, Molly O’Cathain
Music and Sound Design: Philip Stewart
AV Design and Camera Direction: José Miguel Jiménez
Movement Director: Sue Mythen
Graphic Designer: Mark Corry
