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Plays

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Happy Birthday Jacob

OVERVIEW

  • Playwright

    Michael Marshall 

  • Notes

    Happy Birthday Jacob had a rehearsed reading as part of Druid Debuts at Galway Arts Festival in 2013. A re-written version of the play reopened at the New Theatre on the 16th, August 2017. This production was produced by Bakru Theatre Productions (Formally PÚCA), and was directed by Laura Bowler.

  • Synopsis

    This is the story of two brothers, Jacob and Lucas, who, after being abandoned at a young age, have been forced to develop a life which consists of secrecy and strict routine. The story exists between the father leaving and the foreboding imminence of his return. That is until Mary, their mother, arrives abruptly, which slowly severs the bond between the two brothers. Lucas’s fantastical notions of a family reunited directly clashes with Jacob’s embodied reality of rejection and abandonment. Jacob with the help of Terry a neighbouring girl try to keep this constructed family afloat while Lucas drifts towards an idea that he has only been able fantasise. Time is ticking closer to Jacob's 18th birthday, a day in which everything that has been built must fall.

  • Play Type

    Plays General

    Number Of Acts

    Full-Length

  • Cast Size Male

    2

  • Cast Size Female

    2

ORIGINAL PRODUCTION

  • Date of First Production

    07 February 2017

  • Production Notes

    Produced by PÚCA (also known as Bakru). 

  • Producer

  • Original Venue

    The New Theatre

Original Cast  
Jacob Sean Basil Crawford
Lucas Finian Duff Lennon
Terry Karen Kelly
Mary Maree Jane Duffy
Production Team  
Director Michael Marshall
Producer Ciara Murnane
Set Designer Ciara Murnane
Lighting & Sound Designer Bill Woodland
Costume Designer Mary Sheehan
Stage Manager Ciara Gallagher
Choreographer Hilary Murnane
Crew Séan Martin
Crew Cillian Byrne
Scenic Artist Diarmuid O'Flaherty
Chaperone Gillian Moreau
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RIGHTS INFORMATION

SOURCE OF INFORMATION

The information for this entry was taken from the play's original production programme.