Molly Sweeney at the Irish Rep from 19 Jan 2011

The Irish Repertory Theatre continues its 23rd Season with the first major revival of Tony Award-winning playwright Brian Friel's Molly Sweeney, opening on 30 Jan 2011, following previews from 19 Jan, and running through to 13 Mar 2011.

Molly Sweeney has sat in happy, capable, independent darkness since she was ten months old. When her husband, a restless, unemployed enthusiast makes her blindness his latest cause, he consults a once famous star surgeon who, despite being half drowned in Irish whiskey agrees to attempt to restore Molly's sight.

When the bandages come off, remarkable revelations ensue. The privacy of blindness is assaulted. Can one "learn to see"? Or will the shock of realization overwhelm a beautiful woman who has never seen her face!

The drama is directed by Charlotte Moore, who helmed the company's recent productions of 'A Child's Christmas in Wales,' 'The Irish... and How They Got That Way,' Ernest in Love' and 'White Woman Street.'

The cast co-stars Jonathan Hogan, Geraldine Hughes and Ciaran O'Reilly.

The production has set design by Jim Morgan; costume design by Linda Fisher; lighting design by Richard Pilbrow and Michael Gottlieb; and sound design by Zach Williamson.

Molly Sweeney opened at the Gate Theatre in 1994, and transferred to the Almeida Theatre in London prior to its original Off-Broadway production in 1996, which garnered a Lucille Lortel award for best play.

Playwright Brian Friel is best known for his Tony Award-winning play 'Dancing at Lughnasa,' 'Translations,' and Tony Award-nominated play 'Philadelphia, Here I Come!' which was revived at Irish Repertory Theatre in 2005. His plays 'Aristocrats' and 'Making History' were presented at Irish Rep. in 1991 and 2009, respectively, directed by Moore. Friel's other plays include 'Faith Healer,' 'Wonderful Tennessee,' 'The Freedom Of The City,' 'The Mundy Scheme' and among others, the Tony Award-nominated 'Lovers'.