The Origin 1st Irish Theatre will return for the 12th year in January 2020, showcasing six productions from both Ireland and New York across multiple venues including 59E59 Theaters, Irish Repertory Theatre, and A.R.T. The month-long festival will culminate in an award ceremony February 3 in Manhattan.

The 2020 Origin 1st Irish Theatre will kick off January 7 with the American premiere of Eva O'Connor's play Maz and Bricks, presented by Olivier Award–winning company Fishamble at 59E59. Previously seen in a critically acclaimed world premiere in Ireland, the play follows the unlikely friendship of two people over the course of a day. Jim Culleton directs the two-hander, starring O'Connor and Ciaran O'Brien. Performances continue through February 2.

Also beginning January 7 is the world premiere of The 8th, a new play written and directed by Seanie Sugre and presented at The Secret Theater in Long Island City. The Ferryman's Julia Nightingale, Una Clancy, and Gerard McNamee star in the new play about the 2018 repeal of Ireland's 8th Amendment outlawing abortion. Performances will run through January 18.

The Wexford Arts Centre, in association with The Irish Repertory Theatre, will present The Scourge, a solo play written and performed by Michelle Dooley Mahon, at Off-Broadway's Irish Repertory Theatre. The play, in which Mahon describes how Alzheimer’s disease impacted her mother and family, is adapted from her critically acclaimed autobiographical novel Scourged. Performances will run January 22–February 2.

Also running at Irish Rep is the company's production of Dion Boucicault‘s high-spirited farce London Assurance, directed by Charlotte Moore. The cast features Craig Wesley Divino, Meg Hennessy, Ian Holcomb, Elliot Joseph, Brian Keane, Colin McPhillamy, Rachel Pickup, Caroline Strang, Evan Zes, and Robert Zukerman. Performances are currently underway and continue through January 26.

At the NY Irish Center, Dublin’s Gúna Nua will present the American premiere of Sarah-Jane Scott's Appropriate, directed by Paul Meade, running January 27–February 1; and at The Alchemical Studios, Far From the Land Productions presents an open studio production of Honor Molloy’s Round Room, directed by Britt Berke (January 27–28).

Additional festival highlights include a Cutting Room concert featuring Nathan Carter; and Belfast 2050, an afternoon of monologues by five women playwrights from Northern Ireland at A.R.T. Studios. For additional details visit origintheatre.org.