Image by Leo Byrne & Publicis
Reviews‘Go see it. A smart, touching and moving piece of theatre, exquisitely performed and superbly directed’ ★★★★
The Arts Review ‘Very funny… hugely engrossing’ Irish Independent ‘Real gems to be found in the space between comedy and tragedy…dynamic and visually interesting… searing depiction of naked desire’ The Irish Times 'A good sharp text... excellent, credible performances' Sunday Independent 'Moran is terrifically engaging as the livelier Mairead, with a youthful wild streak that still flickers inside and a cuttingly hilarious tongue' Wall Street Journal 'These calibrated performances in concert with director Jim Culleton’s smooth and skillfully emphatic staging, totally realize Mr. O’Brien’s quiet lives of desperation scenario' Theater Scene Buy the Playscript |
Fishamble: The New Play Company presents
Heaven By Eugene O'Brien Four time Fringe First and Olivier Award winning Fishamble present HEAVEN by Eugene O’Brien. HEAVEN is set in the Irish midlands, during the weekend of a local wedding. Mairead and Mal are struggling to keep their marriage together. Perhaps attending a wedding will help, or it might raise questions that are difficult to answer. Reviews for Fishamble’s HEAVEN by Eugene O’Brien A HIT IN DUBLIN, NEW YORK, AND EDINBURGH WINNER IRISH TIMES AWARD FOR BEST NEW PLAY WINNER IRISH TIMES AWARD FOR BEST ACTRESS WINNER SCOTSMAN FRINGE FIRST AWARD ‘a delicately drawn two-hander… directed with a fine unobtrusiveness’ -Wall Street Journal ‘finely written… splendidly directed… performances are awe-inspiring… See it while you can!’ -Broadway World ‘Moran and Bennett are both excellent…’ -The New Yorker ‘Go see it…exquisitely performed and superbly directed' ★★★★ - The Arts Review ‘dynamic and visually interesting…searing depiction of naked desire’ -Irish Times ‘Very funny… hugely engrossing’ -Irish Independent ‘Beautifully written…excellent timing’ ★★★★★- British Theatre Guide ‘beautiful, eloquent, and deeply satisfying theatre, full of humanity and truth…told with immense affection, candour, and brilliance’ ★★★★ - Scotsman ‘combines form and content to such devastatingly potent effect’ ★★★★★ - The Arts Desk ‘utterly compelling, bleakly hilarious, startlingly emotive’ -National ‘Funny, bittersweet, and exquisitely written…unshowy, emotionally true production… consummately done’ ★★★★ - Guardian ‘Neatly crafted and exquisitely acted’ ★★★★ - Stage ‘a highlight of this year’s programme…fragility, poignancy and passion…a beautifully acted story’ ★★★★ - Financial Times |
Upcoming Performances
About the production
Duration: 90 minutes, no interval
Age guidance: 14+
Content Warning: Adult themes and strong language
Fishamble dedicates this production to the memory of Vincent O’Doherty, who was a great friend to the company, and member of the board from 2003 until 2021.
Age guidance: 14+
Content Warning: Adult themes and strong language
Fishamble dedicates this production to the memory of Vincent O’Doherty, who was a great friend to the company, and member of the board from 2003 until 2021.
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CastAndrew Bennett
Janet Moran |
Previous performances
2023
11-29 Jan 59E59 Theaters, New York, Origin's 1st Irish Theatre Festival
3-27 Aug Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh Festival Fringe
2022
4&5 Nov Belltable, Limerick
2 Nov Town Hall Theatre, Galway
29 Oct Theatre Royal, Waterford
25-26 Oct The Everyman, Cork
22 Oct Watergate Theatre, Kilkenny
20 Oct Hawk's Well Theatre Sligo
12-16 Oct Pavilion Theatre Dún Laoghaire, Dublin Theatre Festival
6-8 Oct Draíocht Blanchardstown, Dublin Theatre Festival
3-27 Aug Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh Festival Fringe
2022
4&5 Nov Belltable, Limerick
2 Nov Town Hall Theatre, Galway
29 Oct Theatre Royal, Waterford
25-26 Oct The Everyman, Cork
22 Oct Watergate Theatre, Kilkenny
20 Oct Hawk's Well Theatre Sligo
12-16 Oct Pavilion Theatre Dún Laoghaire, Dublin Theatre Festival
6-8 Oct Draíocht Blanchardstown, Dublin Theatre Festival
Meet the Team
Eugene O'Brien
Writer |
Eugene O’Brien wrote the play EDEN which debuted at the peacock theatre in 2001 and transferred to the Abbey stage later that year and then onto the Arts Theatre in London’s West end in 2002. It has been translated into Romanian, Italian, Catalan, Dutch and German. EDEN received the Irish Times Theatre Award, the Stewart Parker award and the Rooney Prize for Literature. Eugene adapted the play for the screen and the film, directed by Declan Recks, played many festivals around the world including Edinburgh and New York’s Tribeca Festival where it won best actress for Eileen Walsh.
Eugene also wrote PURE MULE, a six part series for RTÉ, winner of five IFTA awards and a two part follow up PURE MULE - THE LAST WEEKEND. Other work includes the THE NEST, SLOTH and NUMB (nominated for ZEBBIE AWARD) all for RTÉ radio drama and an adaptation of Roddy Doyle’s Barrytown trilogy for BBC radio drama. Other Theatre work includes FALLING TO EARTH – MY SUMMER WITH BOWIE produced at the 2023 Dublin theatre Festival, SAVOY produced in the Peacock Theatre and THE GOOD HOUSE OF HAPPINESS, ELIZA’S ADVENTURES IN THE UNCANNY VALLEY, MESPIL IN THE DARK, all in collaboration with PAN PAN theatre company. Most recently HEAVEN, produced by Fishamble, debuted at The Dublin Theatre festival 2022 and completed a very successful run in the 59E59 theatre in New York. Heaven was named best new play at the Irish Times Theatre Awards and won a Fringe First at the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe festival. Other work includes film comedy THE FLAG, starring Pat Shortt and co writing credits on TV3 drama RED ROCK and the film’s THE FOOD GUIDE TO LOVE and famine drama BLACK 47. Eugene’s novel GOING BACK was published by GILL in 2022 and TARRAC, a cine 4 Irish language feature film opened in cinemas in 2023. |
Jim Culleton
Director |
Jim Culleton is the Artistic Director of Fishamble: The New Play Company, for which he has directed productions on tour throughout Ireland, UK, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the US. His productions for Fishamble have won Olivier, The Stage, Scotsman Fringe First, and Irish Times Best Director awards. Jim has also directed for the Abbey, the Gaiety, the Belgrade, 7:84 Scotland, Project, Amharclann de hÍde, Tinderbox, Passion Machine, the Ark, Second Age, Dundee Rep, CoisCéim/Crash Ensemble/GIAF, Frontline Defenders, Amnesty International, Little Museum of Dublin, Fighting Words, Soho Theatre, Scripts Festival, and Baptiste Programme. He has directed audio plays for Audible, BBC, RTÉ Radio 1, and RTÉ lyric fm. He has directed for Vessel and APA (Australia), TNL (Canada), Solas Nua, Mosaic, and Kennedy Center (Washington DC), Odyssey (LA), Origin, Irish Arts Center, New Dramatists, and 59E59 (Off-Broadway), as well as for Trafalgar Theatre Productions on the West End, and IAC/Symphony Space on Broadway. Jim has taught for NYU, NUI, GSA, Uversity, the Lir, Villanova, Notre Dame, UM, UMD, JNU, and TCD.
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Andrew Bennett
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Andrew Bennett’s previous work includes Big Bad Woolf, Foley, Freefall (Corn Exchange), The Rehearsal Playing The Dane, The Seagull, Endgame (Pan Pan), Le Roi Lear (Théâtre National Populaire), Schöne Neue Welt (Stadttheater Bonn), The Marriage of Figaro, Lolita, The House (Abbey). Film work includes Garage, The Stag, Black 47 and An Cailín Ciúin.
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Janet Moran
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Janet Moran is an actor, playwright and director based in Dublin. Selected Theatre work includes Ulysses, The Plough & The Stars, Juno and the Paycock (National Theatre, London/Abbey Theatre co-production), Shibari, Translations, No Romance, The Recruiting Officer, The Cherry Orchard, She Stoops to Conquer, Communion, The Barbaric Comedies, The Well of the Saints and The Hostage all at the Abbey Theatre, Car Show, Dublin by Lamplight, Everyday, Freefall and Desire under the elms for Corn Exchange, and Spinning, Swing (co-writer)and Rathmines Road for Fishamble. Film and television work includes The Dry, Trivia, Love/Hate, Love is the Drug (RTE), Dublin Oldschool, The Bailout(TV3), The Butcher Boy, Breakfast on Pluto, Milo, Minim Rest, Bono and My Ex, Moll Flanders, Nothing Personal, Volkswagen Joe and Quirke (BBC). She co-wrote the hit play Swing and wrote and directed A Holy Show which sold out at the Dublin and Edinburgh fringe festivals as well as its national tour in Spring 2020. She also recently directed My Romantic History, Virtual Verse (Verdant Productions), Looking for América (Dublin Theatre Festival and Edinburgh Fringe) Pure Mental (National Tour).
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Zia Bergin-Holly
Set Design |
Zia Bergin-Holly is an award winning lighting and set designer working internationally in theatre, dance, opera and live music events.
Her stage set and lighting designs include: Embargo (Fishamble), Solar Bones (Rough Magic & Kilkenny Arts Festival); The Misfits (Corn Exchange); User not found (Dante or Die) and They Called her Vivaldi (Theatre Lovett). She also designed the set for the Olympia Theatre, Dublin performances of Grace Jones concerts for Bloodlight and Bami by Blinder Films. Recent lighting designs include The Border Game (Prime Cut and Lyric Theatre Belfast), Skin Hunger (Dante Or Die), Two (Hull Truck Theatre), Meat (Theatre503), Flights (One Duck Theatre), Promises Promises (Centrál Színház Budapest), Top Hat (Silver Blue Entertainment), Bread not Profits (Gúna Nua), Apologia and The Lion in the Winter (English Theatre Frankfurt). |
Saileóg O’Halloran
Costume Design |
Saileóg O’Halloran 's Theatre credits include: The Wakefires (ANU Productions & Cork Midsummer), Dances Like a Bomb (Junk Ensemble), Duck Duck Goose (Fishamble), The Secret Space (ANU Productions), To The Lighthouse (Cork Everyman & Hatch Productions), The Great Hunger (Abbey Theatre), The Fall of the Second Republic (Abbey Theatre & Corn Exchange), Danse Macabre (Macnas 2019), Becketts Room (Dead Centre), The Alternative (Fishamble), The Bluffers Guide to Suburbia (Cork Midsummer & DTF 2019), The Anvil (ANU & Manchester International Festival),
The Misfits (Corn Exchange), Trial of the Century’s (Dublin Fringe 2018), Macnas 2018, Copperface Jacks the Musical (Verdant), GPO1818 (Fishamble), The Half of It (MOMMO), The Shitstorm (Dublin Fringe), The Seagull (Corn Exchange) To Hell In A Handbag (Show In A Bag/Tiger Dublin Fringe), Town is Dead (Peacock Theatre), Embodied (Dublin Dance Festival), Shibboleth (Peacock Theatre), Chekhov’s First Play (Dead Centre), Thirteen, Irish Times Judges Special Award (ANU Productions) and Wake (Chamber Made Opera). |
Sinéad McKenna
Lighting Design |
Sinéad McKenna is an internationally renowned designer working across theatre, opera, dance and film. She has won two Irish Times Theatre Awards for Best Lighting Design and a Drama Desk nomination for Best Lighting Design for a Musical.
Previous designs for Fishamble include Maz and Bricks, The Gist of It and Invitation to a Journey. Her other recent designs include Walking with Ghosts, Straight To Video and The Approach (Landmark Productions), Maria Stuarda (Irish National Opera), Elsewhere and Faith Healer (Abbey Theatre), Dēmos (Liz Roche Company), Parade (Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris) and Angela’s Ashes: The Musical (Bord Gais/Tour). She has designed for many notable companies including the Gate Theatre, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Donmar Warehouse, Cork Opera House, Lyric Theatre Belfast, Rough Magic, CoisCeim, Gúna Nua, Decadent, Gare Saint Lazare, Corn Exchange, Thisispopbaby, Siren, Second Age, Performance Corporation and Semper Fi. |
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Carl Kennedy
Music & Sound Design |
Carl Kennedy has worked on numerous theatre productions, working with venues and companies including Fishamble: The New Play Company, The Gaiety, The Abbey, The Gate, Rough Magic, Landmark, Decadent, The Lyric Theatre, Theatre Lovett, ANU Productions, HOME Manchester, Prime Cut Productions, HotForTheatre, Speckintime, Guna Nua and Peer to Peer among others. He has been nominated three times for the Irish Times Theatre Award for Best Sound Design. He also composes music and sound design for radio, TV and video games. He was composer and sound designer for Mr Wall on RTÉJr which was shortlisted for an IMRO Radio Award in the 2018 drama category. Game titles include Curious George, Curious about Shapes and Colors, Jelly Jumble, Too Many Teddies, Dino Dog and Leonardo and His Cat. TV credits include sound design for 16 letters (Independent Pictures/RTE) and SFX editing and foley recording for Centenary (RTE).
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Stephanie Ryan
Stage Manager |
Steph Ryan has worked in theatre for many years and with many companies including CoisCéim, Rough Magic, Abbey/Peacock Theatres, OTC and INO to name a few. Work with Fishamble includes: Handel’s Crossing, The End of The Road, Noah and the Tower Flower, Spinning, Little Thing Big Thing, Invitation to a Journey (a co-production with CoisCéim, Crash Ensemble and GIAF); Mainstream, Rathmines Road, On Blueberry Hill, Embargo and Pat Kinevane’s Forgotten, Silent, Underneath and Before, Duck Duck Goose. She is delighted to be back working with Fishamble on Heaven.
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Laura Murphy
Assistant Stage Manager |
After graduating from University College Cork with her degree in Drama and Theatre Studies, Laura worked as a technician and tutor in Granary Theatre, UCC and in Solstice Arts Centre, Navan. She then joined Draíocht, Blanchardstown as Technical Stage Manager. She is now a freelance stage manager and technician with credits including Levin&Levin and Miss Happiness, Miss Flower for BrokenCrow, Violet Gibson for Noggin Theatre, The Body Brothers at ESB Scienceblast, Tradoodle Festival and Wunderground for Ceol Connected, Alice and the Wolf and Swansong for Barnstorm. She recently joined Fishamble as Venue Technical Manager for their production of Outrage at The Pumphouse, Dublin Port.
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