Performances of Abbie Spallen's Pumpgirl begin November 7 at Off-Broadway's Irish Repertory Theatre, with direction by Nicola Murphy. The play, originally presented in the U.K. by the Bush Theatre and later in New York City by Manhattan Theatre Club, is the winner of the 2007 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, among other awards.
A portrait of rural life in Northern Island, Pumpgirl sees the lives of two women become perilously intertwined—Pumpgirl, a tomboy who works in a gas station, and Sinead, the wife of an amateur stock-car racer whose isolated, disappointing existence causes her to simmer with rage.
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The cast is made up of Hamish Allan-Headley (The Belle of Belfast) as Hammy, Labhaoise Magee (Dancing at Lughnasa) as Pumpgirl, and Clare O’Malley (The O’Casey Cycle) as Sinead.
Pumpgirl features scenic design by Yu-Hsuan Chen (Nomad Motel), costume design by Molly Seidel (The Woodsman), lighting design by Michael O’Connor (Little Gem), and sound design by Fan Zhang (Our Dear Dead Drug Lord).
Pumpgirl plays through December 29 in the W. Scott McLucas Studio Theatre.