The Origin 1st Irish Theatre Festival, the world’s only festival devoted to producing and presenting the plays of contemporary Irish playwrights from around the world, runs virtually this year from Monday, January 11 to Sunday, January 31. There will be a total of 20 virtual events, including recorded theatrical productions made both before and during Covid from Belfast, Dublin, Wexford, London and New York. Also part of this year’s programming are several films and documentaries and a series of panels and talk-backs that focus on the cultural and social intersections between Ireland and the United States, going back centuries and continuing to this day.
Based in New York City and produced by Origin Theatre Company, Origin 1st Irish is co-curated this year by two of New York’s leading Irish theatre figures, the actors Michael Mellamphy and Sarah Street, who take over from Festival founder George C. Heslin, who became the new executive director of the New York Irish Center in October. Origin Theatre Company, now in its 18th season since its founding by Heslin in 2002, is currently in a search for a new artistic director.
The Festival’s Opening Ceremony on Monday, January 11 at 3 pm EST will bring together artists, producers and audience members from across the worldwide Irish diaspora. The ceremony is co-hosted by Mellamphy and Street, Ireland’s New York Consul General Ciaran Madden and Origin’s board chair Carletta Down
Among talks bringing together experts and luminaries from both sides of the Atlantic are panels on producing theatre during the pandemic; the outsized impact of Irish artists and actors on the video game industry; the influence of Irish musical traditions on Tin Pan Alley; and a discussion on inclusion and diversity by members of the Black and Irish social media movement. Several notable films and documentaries are also scheduled, including Conal Creedon’s documentary, The Burning of Cork, The Devil’s Doorway— the first feature-length horror film written and directed by an Irish woman, Aislinn Clarke—and an advance screening of a new documentary by Rory Duffy about the impact of Brexit on life in Northern Ireland.
For a full schedule, more information and tickets, please visit www.origintheatre.org
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