Following the success earlier this year of the critically acclaimed DruidSynge production of The Playboy of the Western World including its visit to Geesala in County Mayo where The Playboy of the Western World is set, Druid continues its celebration of the life and work of one of Ireland's greatest writers with a very special double-bill from the Synge canon - The Well of the Saints and The Tinker's Wedding.

This double bill of Synge comedy will open at Galway's Town Hall Theatre on Tuesday 7th September and will run for two weeks. The productions will subsequently run for a week in each of Brockagh Resource Centre in Laragh, Glendalough, Co Wicklow; Glor Irish Music Centre, Ennis, Co Clare; Dublin Theatre Festival (Tivoli Theatre); and An Grianán Theatre, Letterkenny, Co Donegal. In Dublin, the productions may be seen together as a double-bill or separately. Galway previews commence Friday 3rd September.

Directed by Garry Hynes, assisted by regular Druid collaborators Francis O'Connor (design), Davy Cunningham (lighting), Kathy Strachan (costume) and Scott George (sound), the productions feature a roll call of Irish acting talent including Mick Lally, Marie Mullen, Gary Lydon, Simone Kirby and Norma Sheahan.

This will be the first time since The Leenane Trilogy in 1997 that all three founding members of Druid - Garry Hynes, Mick Lally and Marie Mullen - have worked together on a production.

Described as one of the most ambitious undertakings in Irish theatre for many years, DruidSynge will see Garry Hynes direct all the plays of John Millington Synge over a period of eighteen months, culminating in the presentation of the entire canon in 2005.

The visit to Glendalough in County Wicklow, where both The Well of the Saints and The Tinker's Wedding are set, is of particular significance. It continues Druid's commitment to audiences in small communities outside of major centres of population. It also highlights Druid's determination to bring DruidSynge productions to venues and locations that are at the heart of Synge's vision, building upon the company's unique relationship with both Synge and the communities in the peripheral areas which inspired and influenced his work.

In The Well of the Saints, Martin and Mary Doul are an old, blind couple of the roads. When a wandering Saint offers them the miracle of their sight restored, they gladly accept. But instead of finding joy and happiness, they discover a seeing world that is a lot more complicated than they could ever have imagined!

In The Tinker's Wedding, Sarah Casey, the Beauty of Ballinacree, has decided she wants the respectability of marriage to her fellow-tinker Michael Byrne. However, Michael believes that's a daft notion - and, more to the point, so too does his porter-loving mother Mary Byrne!

CAST

Mick Lally
Marie Mullen
Gary Lydon
Simone Kirby
Norma Sheahan
Frank O'Sullivan
Domhnall Gleeson
Diarmuid de Faoite
Andrea Kelly

For further information contact Druid 091 568660, E-mail info@druidtheatre.com

For further press information contact Kate Bowe PR at 01 6713672

VENUES AND DATES

TOWN HALL THEATRE, GALWAY
Tues 7th - Sat 18th Sept (excl Sundays), 8pm. Tickets €22/€16
Previews Fri 3rd, Sat 4th & Mon 6th, 8pm €14
Box Office (091) 569777
www.townhalltheatregalway.com

BROCKAGH RESOURCE CENTRE, LARAGH, GLENDALOUGH
Tues 21st - Sat 25th Sept
Tickets €18/€15 available to personal callers from Brockagh Resource Centre, Laragh (0404) 45611
Credit Card Bookings available on (091) 568660

GLOR IRISH MUSIC CENTRE, ENNIS
Mon 27th Sept - Sat 2nd Oct 04, 8pm Tickets €22/€18
Monday 27th only - all tickets €16
Box Office (065) 6843103
www.glor.ie

DUBLIN THEATRE FESTIVAL (Tivoli Theatre)
The Well of the Saints
Mon 4th - Sat 9th Oct, 8pm
Tickets €25/€23
The Tinker's Wedding
Mon 4th, Tues 5th, Fri 8th & Sat 9th Oct, 6pm Tickets €15
Double Bill Tickets €35
Box Office (01) 6778899
www.dublintheatrefestival.com

AN GRIANAN THEATRE, LETTERKENNY
Mon 11th - Sat 16th Oct, 8pm
Tickets Mon 11th €16; Tues 12th -Thurs 14th €20/€15; Fri 15th & Sat 16th €20
Box Office (074) 9120777
www.angrianan.com

DruidSynge
The Shadow of The Glen
Riders To The Sea
The Tinker's Wedding
The Well of The Saints
The Playboy of The Western World
Deirdre of The Sorrows
When The Moon Has Set