Conor McPherson’s new play The Brightening Air is now in rehearsals ahead of its world premiere at The Old Vic next month.
From writer and director McPherson (The Weir, Girl from the North Country), The Brightening Air is an entrancing tale of fate, family and unseen forces in 1980s Ireland.
Dermot (Chris O’Dowd) returns home to County Sligo with hidden aims. His siblings (Brian Gleeson and Rosie Sheehy) are desperate to hold on to the family home but with an ex-clergyman uncle and sister-in-law (played by Seán McGinley and Hannah Morrish respectively) looking for their own answers, plans soon go awry.
The cast also includes is Derbhle Crotty, Eimhin Fitzgerald Doherty and Aisling Kearns. The understudies are Ella Maria Carmen, Callum Cronin, Joseph McCarthy and Amy Vicary-Smith.
The creative team features set & costume by Rae Smith, lighting by Mark Henderson, sound by Gregory Clarke, movement & intimacy by Lucy Hind, casting by Serena Hill, voice by Charlie Hughes-D’Aeth, dialect by Danièle Lydon and fights by Kate Waters.
The associate director is Anastasia Osei-Kuffour, associate set is Niall McKeever, the costume supervisor is Poppy Hall, the props supervisor is Fahmida Bakht and the music associate is Benjamin McQuigg.
The Brightening Air is at The Old Vic from April 10 to 14 June 2025. Tickets: oldvictheatre.com
Top image: Hannah Morrish (Lydia), Derbhle Crotty (Elizabeth), Seán McGinley (Pierre) and Conor McPherson (writer and director) in The Brightening Air rehearsals. Photo by Manuel Harlan (supplied)