Spring 2021 Virtual Reading Series
Rob Urbinati, Director of New Play Development
presents
The Prisoner
By Seamus Lucason
Directed by Nicola Murphy
Premiering April 14, 2021 at 8:00 PM ET
Available until April 17, 2021
CAST
(* denotes member of Actors Equity and SAG-AFTRA)
Ciaran Byrne * Roger Clark* Liam Heslin
Technical Production and Video Editing: Jay Rogers
Who's Who
Playwright - Seamus Lucason
Seamus Lucason is an award-winning playwright with several plays produced in Ireland and America. Here are some samples of how his work has been described:
William Gibson: "Lucason’s tongue is gifted with a kind of Irish gayety, witty and charming."
Norman Mailer: "To declare that Mr. L understands doubtless a lot in the 'Spooky Art'."
Judy Lovett – Gare St Lazare Players "I enjoyed every bit of it. (DANCING WITH THE DEVIL) It flows and glows with a warm hearth and the ache of ice and snow. I wanted to play every character. The language is rich, poetic and filled with devilish play. I gripped the glass and waited for Cathleen to win the day. You have written a fine play."
Aideen Howard, Former Literary Director at the Abbey Theatre in Ireland about "West Kerry": "Enjoyed your faithful depiction of 1916 Ireland . . . your strong characters are entirely believable . . . enjoyed the fluid and consistent style of dialogue . . . praise for the many light-hearted and humorous moments within the script etc."
Director - Nicola Murphy
Directing credits include: Pumpgirl (NY Times Critic's Pick) and The O'Casey Season Reading Series at Irish Repertory Theatre; the premiere production of Stop/Over by Gary Duggan, presented promenade style at The Chocolate Factory Dublin as part of FRINGE 2018; the premiere production of RENT at Cas Di Cultura, Aruba's National Theatre (this production also performed a sold-out run at The Edinburgh Festival Fringe); the World Premiere of Beef by Michael Musi at The Box Theatre in Toronto; the short film FLOAT (co-written & directed with Katy Wright-Mead); The Events by David Greig at The Lir Academy; Alone With Friends at Holiday House NYC; andBe My Baby, Mighty Atoms and Dancing at Lughnasa at The American Academy Of Dramatic Arts. Assistant Directing credits include Katie Roche at The Abbey Theatre, Dublin (Caroline Byrne), Silence is Requested at The Lir Academy (Louise Lowe), Trans-Euro Express at The Irish Arts Centre (Christine Henry) & an assistantship placement with Neal Street Productions on the hit UK Show “Call the Midwife” (BBC & PBS). Nicola directed the radio plays “The Love of Small Appliances” by Maura McHugh, “Plain Speak” by Dorothy Cotter, and "Kipper" by Gemma Doorley for Dublin's NEAR FM (2019). MFA in Directing from The Lir Academy, (Trinity College Dublin). www.nicolacmurphy.com
Myles Doyle, The Gaoler - Ciaran Byrne
Ciaran Byrne (He/Him) In the fall of 2012 Northern Ireland-born plasterer-turned-actor Ciaran walked off a New York City construction site into an Equity Principal Audition (EPA), and a new career was born. Impressing the prestigious Irish Repertory Theatre’s artistic leadership, Ciaran was cast alongside a host of Broadway veterans in their 25th Anniversary season opener, The Freedom Of The City. Upon gaining membership to Actors Equity Association (AEA), Ciaran steadily built a name for himself as a reputable journeyman actor, appearing throughout the U.S. in numerous acclaimed Off-Broadway and Regional Productions, most notably Studio Theatre’s multiple Helen Hayes Award-nominated production of Moment. The Northern Irishman went on to make his television debut on TNT’s critically acclaimed police drama Public Morals. Capturing the attention of producers Edward Burns and Steven Spielberg, Ciaran was cast alongside series creator Burns, Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning actor Brian Dennehy, and Academy Award winner Timothy Hutton. Following his inaugural TV outing, Ciaran made his debut feature film appearance at Festival de Cannes, in the award-winning indie period drama The Second Sun, and succeeded this by assuming leading man duties in Mailer Tuchman Media’s 2020 psychological thriller DieRy (currently playing on Apple TV/iTunes, Vimeo, YouTube, and Amazon Prime Video). With numerous projects in development, and the latest features The Madness Inside Me, The Odds, and The Best Friend slated for release in 2021/’22, the former Northern Ireland builder’s tools remain happily on ice. ciaranpatrickbyrne.com
William Foxcraft, The Hangman - Roger Clark
Roger Clark is an actor and producer. Born in New Jersey, raised in Ireland and trained in the UK; Clark is best known for being Arthur Morgan, the lead character in Rockstar Games’ ‘Red Dead Redemption II’ (Game Award winner - Best Performance 2018). Lucky enough to have worked in theatre, voice-over, film, television, performance capture and audiobooks, he has done so in over 40 countries. Roger now lives in Connecticut with his wife and two sons.
Finnian O'Sullivan - Liam Heslin
Liam Heslin trained at The Lir Academy (The National Academy of Dramatic Art in association with RADA) Theatre credits include: 14 Voices from the Bloodied Field (Abbey Theatre); On the Outside (Druid); DruidGregory (Druid); Asking For It (Landmark); A Skull in Connemara (Oldham Coliseum); Zero Hour (ANU); The Lost O’ Casey Part 2 (Abbey Theatre/ANU); The Shaughraun (Smock Alley); The Lost O’ Casey Part 1 (Abbey Theatre/ANU); The Plough and the Stars (Lyric Hammersmith/Gaiety Theatre); The Good Father (Rise Productions); The Plough and the Stars (Abbey Theatre/Irish and US Tour); On Corporation Street (ANU/Home Mcr); King Lear (Second Age Theatre Company); East of Berlin (Project Arts Centre); A Boy Called Nedd (Bitter Like a Lemon and Theatre Upstairs); Pals: The Irish at Gallipoli (ANU); Borstal Boy (Verdant Productions); The Clearing, Into the Woods, The Night Season, Mary Stuart, Scenes from the Big Picture, Poor Little Boy With No Arms, The Rover, The Suppliants and Love's Labour's Lost (The Lir Academy)
Film and television credits include: Dublin Oldschool, The Island of Evenings, Kaleidoscope and Fair City.
We wish to express our gratitude to the Performers’ Unions:
ACTORS’ EQUITY ASSOCIATION
AMERICAN GUILD OF MUSICAL ARTISTS
AMERICAN GUILD OF VARIETY ARTISTS
SAG-AFTRA
through Theatre Authority, Inc. for their cooperation in permitting the Artists to appear on this program.
Queens Theatre at Home is proud to continue to serve our community through online programming.
It's not possible without our generous partners.
Con Edison
Howard Gilman Foundation
Jerome Robbins Foundation
NYC Department of Cultural Affairs
New York State Council on the Arts
The Shubert Foundation
Queens Theatre
Staff
Taryn Sacramone, Executive Director
Connie Baker, Rentals and Events Manager
Victor Catano, Production Manager
Dominic D'Andrea, Director of Community Engagement
Richard Hinojosa, Director of Education
Alexis Lubin, Finance Manager
Willy Mosquera, Front of House Manager
Gregg Mozgala, Director of Inclusion
Bernadette Ott, Development Manager
Jay Rogers, General Manager
Rob Urbinati, Director of New Play Development
Sheila Xia-Ryan, Social Media Manager
Board of Directors
Executive Committee
Gary Kesner, President
Tracy Capune, Vice President
Bruce Levine, Treasurer
Mark Misk, Secretary
Members
Georgiana Benatti
Bob Blenderman
Steve Chen
Salvatore DiMartino
Susan B. Lipsky
Irene Zoupaniotis
Ex-Officio
Frances A. Resheske, Board President Emeritus
Bill DeBlasio, New York City Mayor
Gonzalo Casals, Commissioner, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs
Donovan Richards, Queens Borough President
Michael Dockett, Queens Borough Commissioner, NYC Department of Parks & Recreation