DEATH OF A COMEDIAN
A co-production between the Lyric Theatre, the Abbey Theatre and Soho Theatre from one of Ireland’s most exciting contemporary playwrights, Owen McCafferty
A co-production between the Lyric Theatre, the Abbey Theatre and Soho Theatre from one of Ireland’s most exciting contemporary playwrights, Owen McCafferty
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<strong>DEATH</strong> <strong>OF</strong> A <strong>COMEDIAN</strong><br />
LYRIC THEATRE, THE ABBEY THEATRE AND SOHO THEATRE PRESENT<br />
THE NEW PLAY BY OWEN McCAFFERTY<br />
7 FEB - 1 MAR<br />
WORLD<br />
PREMIERE<br />
PRINCIPAL FUNDER
“Every night you’re going out trying to<br />
find the one-time deal. Every night you’re<br />
trying to find a room, an event that will<br />
never happen again. You want people to<br />
leave that room feeling like they’ve not<br />
seen a joke teller, but that they’ve seen a<br />
comedian. That they’ve seen something<br />
happen in that room that nobody else is<br />
going to see”<br />
“Stand-up comedy is a personality disorder<br />
that you can do for a living”<br />
Jimmy Carr<br />
Chris Addison
LYRIC THEATRE, THE ABBEY THEATRE AND SOHO THEATRE PRESENT<br />
<strong>DEATH</strong> <strong>OF</strong> A<br />
<strong>COMEDIAN</strong><br />
BY OWEN McCAFFERTY<br />
7 FEBRUARY – 1 MARCH 2015<br />
Meet Steve Johnston. He’s always wrestling with compromise.<br />
He’s constantly under the spotlight. He’s a stand-up comedian.<br />
DIRECTOR STEVE MARMION<br />
SET & COSTUME DESIGNER MICHAEL VALE<br />
LIGHTING DESIGNER BEN ORMEROD<br />
SOUND DESIGNER TOM MILLS<br />
PREVIEWS: FEBRUARY 7, 8 & 10<br />
SEE WWW.LYRICTHEATRE.CO.UK<br />
FOR FULL PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE<br />
PRICES<br />
PREVIEWS AND SELECTED MATINEES £15<br />
<strong>OF</strong>F-PEAK (TUES & WEDS 7.45PM AND ALL OTHER MATINEES) £20<br />
PEAK (THURS – SAT 7.45PM) £24.50<br />
CAPTIONED PERFORMANCE<br />
WEDS 25 FEB 7.45PM<br />
AUDIO-DESCRIBED PERFORMANCE<br />
THURS 26 FEB 7.45PM<br />
CONTAINS STRONG LANGUAGE<br />
As his career takes off, the stages get bigger. As he is thrust into the<br />
limelight, his choices prove costly.<br />
Will he get everything he wants – the fame, the money and the girl –<br />
or will he lose it all<br />
Death of a Comedian is the eagerly-awaited new play by Belfast-born<br />
Owen McCafferty (Quietly, Scenes from the Big Picture) which has<br />
its world premiere at the Lyric Theatre before moving to Dublin and<br />
London.<br />
A powerful and deliciously dark comic story about the price of success<br />
in the world of stand-up comedy, Death of a Comedian is directed by<br />
Steve Marmion and stars Brian Doherty, Katie McGuinness and Shaun<br />
Dingwall. Written by one of Northern Ireland’s greatest playwrights, it<br />
is Owen McCafferty’s first play since becoming Artist in Residence of<br />
the Lyric Theatre.<br />
PRINCIPAL FUNDER<br />
BOX <strong>OF</strong>FICE / 028 9038 1081<br />
ONLINE / WWW.LYRICTHEATRE.CO.UK<br />
IN PERSON / 55 RIDGEWAY STREET<br />
BELFAST BT9 5FB<br />
AN ABBEY THEATRE COMMISSION, AND A CO-PRODUCTION BETWEEN THE<br />
LYRIC THEATRE, THE ABBEY THEATRE AND SOHO THEATRE.<br />
#<strong>DEATH</strong><strong>OF</strong>A<strong>COMEDIAN</strong>
“If you are who you are on stage people<br />
pay attention. The only time anyone really<br />
ever heckled me was my very first time on<br />
stage. They said, “Go back to your real job”<br />
or something, and I just said, “I’m sorry, this<br />
is my first time on stage and I don’t know<br />
how to respond to a heckle yet. Could you<br />
please come back and heckle me when I’m<br />
more experienced” I was always armed<br />
with nothing. I go in armed with nothing<br />
and hope to come out alive”<br />
“No comedian wants to have to analyze<br />
and defend something. It’s like, you thought<br />
something was funny; you wrote it down;<br />
you acted it out; you talked to people. You<br />
know It works or it doesn’t work. I’m not a<br />
politician. I’m not a thinker. I’m a comedian”<br />
Chris Rock<br />
Rita Rudner
“McCAFFERTY’S ABILITY TO SHOW NOT JUST THE WAY<br />
INDIVIDUAL LIVES INTERSECT, BUT THE COLLISION <strong>OF</strong><br />
PRIVATE AND PUBLIC WORLDS, IS STRIKING”<br />
THE GUARDIAN<br />
“McCAFFERTY IS A WRITER WORTH STAYING LOYAL TO”<br />
TIME OUT<br />
“NEW IRISH WRITING IS ALIVE AND WELL IN THE HANDS<br />
<strong>OF</strong> OWEN McCAFFERTY”<br />
CITY TRIBUNE<br />
The opinions quoted in this booklet are about stand-up comedy in general,<br />
and should not be taken as endorsements of Death of a Comedian