Chris O’Dowd, Brian Gleeson, Rosie Sheehy, Seán McGinley and Hannah Morrish will come together for The Brightening Air, an entrancing tale of fate, family and unseen forces in 1980s Ireland.
From writer and director Conor McPherson (The Weir, Girl from the North Country), the play will have its world premiere at The Old Vic.
Dermot (O’Dowd) returns home to County Sligo with hidden aims. His siblings (Gleeson and Sheehy) are desperate to hold on to the family home but with an ex-clergyman uncle and sister-in-law (McGinley and Morrish respectively) looking for their own answers, plans soon go awry.
The full cast features Derbhle Crotty (Portia Coughlan), Eimhin Fitzgerald Doherty (Juno and the Paycock), Gleeson (Bad Sisters), Aisling Kearns (Juno and the Paycock), McGinley (A Whistle in the Dark), Morrish (The Merchant of Venice 1936), O’Dowd (Bridesmaids) and Sheehy (Machinal). They are joined by understudies Ella Maria Carmen, Callum Cronin, Joseph McCarthy and Amy Vicary-Smith.
Set & costume is 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-June 14, 2025. Tickets are on sale now: oldvictheatre.com