Directed by Garry Hynes, Druid Theatre's Artistic Director, and featuring a company of 19 actors, DruidSynge was hailed by The Irish Times as "one of the greatest achievements in the history of Irish theatre." Hynes was the first woman ever to win a Tony Award as Best Director, for Druid's 1998 Broadway production of playwright Martin McDonagh's The Beauty Queen of Leenane. First presented in Galway in 2005, DruidSynge has been acclaimed by critics on both sides of the Atlantic; The New York Times described DruidSynge as "breathtaking," while The Scotsman termed it "a colossal achievement... wonderful... the beauty, energy and complexity are formidable." Among the ensemble of distinguished actors is Marie Mullen, familiar to New York audiences for her Tony Award-winning performance in The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Druid's first production on Broadway.

Though perhaps best known as the author of The Playboy of the Western World, widely recognized as a masterwork of world drama, Synge wrote a total of six plays exploring aspects of the Irish experience in the late 19th century and is one of his homeland's greatest and most influential playwrights. The Druid Theatre Company is one of the world's foremost interpreters of Synge and has staged individual productions of his work that are considered definitive.

In Lincoln Center Festival, DruidSynge will present all six plays in one day, with the cycle beginning at 2:00 p.m. with Riders to the Sea, The Tinker's Wedding, The Well of the Saints and The Shadow of the Glen. Following a dinner break (of approximately 80 minutes), the cycle will resume at 7:00 p.m. with The Playboy of the Western World and Deirdre of the Sorrows. The performance ends at approximately 10:30 p.m. Tickets for DruidSynge will be sold for the complete, all-day cycle only; tickets will not be available for individual plays in the event.

At Guthrie, DruidSynge may be enjoyed either as one-day event as above or as a series of double-bills on consecutive evenings - Riders to the Sea/ Deirdre of the Sorrows; The Tinker's Wedding/ The Well of the Saints and The Shadow of the Glen/The Playboy of the Western World commencing at 7.30pm and concluding no later than 10.30pm.

Druid Theatre Company gratefully acknowledges the generous support of Culture Ireland which has made the Minneapolis and New York performances possible.

DruidSynge premiered at the 2005 Galway Arts Festival, opening at the city's Town Hall Theatre, followed by performances in Dublin and at the Edinburgh International Festival before concluding its 2005 run with a week of performances on the Aran island of Inis Meain in a range of locations including a unique open-air setting at Dun Chonchur (a large circular walled fortress). Individual plays in the DruidSynge cycle have also been presented by the Druid company in theaters located where the plays are set as well as on each of the three Aran Islands, whose landscape and community are synonymous with Synge.

Lincoln Center Festival Director Nigel Redden described DruidSynge as 'one of THE highlights of the 2006 Festival and a most eagerly anticipated event'.

Guthrie Artistic Director Joe Dowling said 'it is indeed a thrill to bring this celebrated work to the Guthrie. I'm quite proud that Guthrie is offering this stunning work from my native country to America for the first time'.

Lincoln Center Festival
Lincoln Center Festival's association with the best in Irish theater runs deep. In its first year, 1996, Lincoln Center Festival presented Dublin's historic Gate Theatre, which performed for the first time in the United States its cycle of the complete stage works of Samuel Beckett, from the full-length Waiting for Godot, Krapp's Last Tape, and Endgame to the 121-word Come and Go. In 1999, the Festival presented Ireland's Gate Theatre and the Abbey Theatre in works by contemporary Irish playwright Brian Friel. In Festival 2001, the Gate Theatre again appeared, this time in works of Harold Pinter.

The Guthrie Theater
The Guthrie Theater, founded in 1963, is an American center for theater performance, production, education and professional training. The Guthrie is dedicated to producing the great works of dramatic literature, developing the work of contemporary playwrights and cultivating the next generation of theater artists. Led by Artistic Director Joe Dowling since 1995, the Guthrie recently moved to their new three-theater home on the banks of the Mississippi River in Minneapolis.

DRUIDSYNGE
Druid Theatre Company
Garry Hynes, Artistic Director

The Complete Plays of John Millington Synge
Riders to the Sea
The Playboy of the Western World
Deirdre of the Sorrows
The Shadow of the Glen
The Well of the Saints
The Tinker's Wedding

Director: Garry Hynes
Design: Francis O'Connor
Movement Direction: David Bolger
Costume Design: Kathy Strachan
Lighting Design: Davy Cunningham
Sound Design: John Leonard
Composer: Sam Jackson

Performed by a 19-member company of actors:
Sarah-Jane Drummey, Richard Flood, Simone Kirby, Mick Lally, Marcus Lamb, Nick Lee, Louise Lewis, Eoin Lynch, Hannah McCabe, Charlie McCarthy, Aaron Monaghan, Eamon Morrissey, Marie Mullen, Derry Power, Peg Power, Gemma Reeves, Catherine Walsh, John Gaughan, Joseph Gaughan

DruidSynge at the Lincoln Center Festival, New York
Gerald W. Lynch Theater, John Jay College, Amsterdam Avenue between 58th and 59th Streets
7 performances

July 10: Part 1 at 2 p.m., Part 2 at 7 p.m.
July 12: Part 1 at 2 p.m., Part 2 at 7 p.m.
July 14: Part 1 at 2 p.m., Part 2 at 7 p.m.
July 19: Part 1 at 2 p.m., Part 2 at 7 p.m.
July 21: Part 1 at 2 p.m., Part 2 at 7 p.m.
Tickets: $60, $95, $120

July 16: Part 1 at 2 p.m., Part 2 at 7 p.m.
July 23: Part 1 at 2 p.m., Part 2 at 7 p.m.
Tickets: $65, $100, $150

LINCOLN CENTER FESTIVAL 2006 TICKETS

TICKETS for Festival 2006 go on sale Monday, May 1 for multiple-event buyers via CenterCharge, 212-721-6500, online at www.lincolncenter.org and by mail to the Avery Fisher Hall box office, 10 Lincoln Center Plaza, NYC 10023. Single tickets go on sale Wednesday, June 14 at the Avery Fisher Hall Box Office, 65th Street and Broadway, as well as at all of the above outlets.

For more information visit www.lincolncenter.org and register for "My Lincoln Center" to receive a Festival brochure, updates and special offers. You may also call Lincoln Center Customer Service at 212-875-5456.

Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis
The performance schedule for DruidSynge at The Guthrie 818 2nd Street South (at Chicago Avenue) in downtown Minneapolis, is as follows:
Tuesday, June 27
2:00 p.m. - 10:30 p.m. Preview performance of full cycle
(Includes three intermissions and a 90-minute dinner break)
Wednesday, June 28
7:30 p.m. Part 1: Riders to the Sea and Deirdre of the Sorrows
Thursday, June 29
7:30 p.m. Part II: The Tinker's Wedding and The Well of the Saints
Friday, June 30
7:30 p.m. Part III: The Shadow of the Glen and The Playboy of the Western World
Saturday, July 1
2:00-10:30 p.m. Performance of full cycle
(Includes three intermissions and a 90-minute dinner break)

To purchase tickets or season subscriptions call the Guthrie Theater Box Office between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. daily at (612) 377-2224 or toll-free (877) 44 STAGE.

For more information, or to purchase tickets online, visit
www.guthrietheater.org

For more information on DruidSynge please check out
www.druid.ie/druidsynge