Dancing at Lughnasa

Dancing at Lughnasa

About the show

Brian Friel’s Olivier Award-winning play is an astonishing evocation of a family’s world on the brink of change.

It's harvest time in County Donegal, Ireland, 1936.

Outside the village of Ballybeg, the five Mundy sisters battle poverty to raise seven-year-old Michael and care for their brother, ‘Uncle’ Jack.

During the Festival of Lughnasa, Pagan and Christian meet and collide. The sisters fight each other, love each other, dance, yearn and survive.

Days

Hours

Minutes

Seconds

Sep 27 - Oct 6

Book Tickets

Woodman's Hill Performing Arts Centre
1 Fussell Street, Ballarat East
Genre: Drama
Playwright: Brian Friel
Director: Mary-Rose McLaren
Running Time: TBA
2024 VDL Award Entry

Performances

Friday 27 Sep 7.30pm
Saturday 28 Sep 7.30pm
Sunday 29 Sep 2.00pm
Wednesday 2 Oct 7.30pm
Thursday 3 Oct 7.30pm
Friday 4 Oct 7.30pm
Saturday 5 Oct 7.30pm
Sunday 6 Oct 2.00pm

Partners

Ballarat & District Irish Association

Show Dates and Tickets

Book Tickets

Online ticket sales close 1 hour before each show, but tickets can be purchased at the door if you miss the online bookings. Payment is available by cash or card.

For any issues with online ticketing, please contact Her Maj directly via https://hermaj.com/contact/

Friday 27 Sep 7.30pm
Saturday 28 Sep 7.30pm
Sunday 29 Sep 2.00pm
Wednesday 2 Oct 7.30pm
Thursday 3 Oct 7.30pm
Friday 4 Oct 7.30pm
Saturday 5 Oct 7.30pm
Sunday 6 Oct 2.00pm

Performance Venue

Woodman's Hill Perfomring Arts Centre

1 Fussell Street, Ballarat East

Parking is available in the small car park in from of the performance venue and on Fussell Street.

This venue has disabled parking access in the carpark which can be entered from Fussell Street. Wheelchair and ramp access to the venue and a disabled toilet are also available.

About the Director

Mary-Rose McLaren

Dr Mary-Rose McLaren is an associate professor in Education with the College of Arts & Education, Victoria University. Mary-Rose has been involved in many productions in Ballarat. Her favourite memories with Ballarat National Theatre include:

writing and directing “One Boys War” which was performed to sell-out crowds in 2013, which was about her Grandfather.
Co-writing and directing Honourable Mentions with Peter Nethercote. Honourable Mentions was a special tribute to the Royal South Street Society's 125 year history (2016)
Directing Daisy Pulls It Off and A Christmas Carol
Acting in Little Women and The Best Man (2016), Much Ado About Shakespeare and Falling From Grace (2017), and getting to be Mark Antony in Act Like A Girl for Court in the Act.

Words and People in Dancing at Lughnasa

19 August 2024

Our September production of Dancing at Lughnasa is set in Ireland in 1936. Here are some people, words and some fun insults in the show that audi...

Donegal County Accents

17 August 2024

There’s no better way to learn an accent than from someone with the accent! The cast from our upcoming production of Dancing at Lughnasa were ...

Dancing at Lughnasa Cast Announcement

20 June 2024

Thanks to all of the wonderful auditions for our September production, we can finally announce the selected cast for Brian Friel’s Olivier Award-w...

Brian Friel (1929 - 2015)

Brian Friel wrote thirty plays across six decades and is widely regarded as one of Ireland's greatest dramatists. He was a member of Aosdána, the society of Irish artists, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Irish Academy of Letters, and the Royal Society of Literature where he was made a Companion of Literature. He was awarded the Ulysses Medal by University College, Dublin.

Plays include

Hedda Gabler (after Ibsen)
The Home Place
Performances
Three Plays After (Afterplay, The Bear, The Yalta Game)
Uncle Vanya (after Chekhov)
Give Me Your Answer Do!
Molly Sweeney (Winner of the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Foreign Play)

Wonderful Tennessee
A Month in the Country (after Turgenev)
The London Vertigo (after Charles Macklin)Dancing at Lughnasa (Winner of 3 Tony Awards including Best Play, New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play, Olivier Award for Best Play)
Making History
The Communication Cord
American Welcome
Three Sisters (after Chekhov)
Translations
Aristocrats (Winner of the Evening Standard Award for Best Play and New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Foreign Play)
Faith Healer
Fathers and Sons
Living Quarters
Volunteers
The Freedom of the City
The Gentle Island
The Mundy Scheme
Crystal and Fox
Lovers: Winners and Losers
The Loves of Cass Maguire
Philadelphia Here I Come!