Kirjahaku

Five plays from the sensational voice of new writing for Irish theatre. Since winning the George Devine Award for Howie the Rookie in 1999, Mark O'Rowe has electrified audiences with his distinctive dramatic style and dark, dangerous storytelling. The collection includes: From Both Hips The Aspidistra Code Howie the Rookie Made in China And the previously unpublished play, Crestfall. In O'Rowe's first play, The Aspidistra Code (1995), Brendan and Sonia, head over heels in debt, are forced to hire their own protection against a volatile loan shark. From Both Hips (1997) sees Paul, a Dublin man shot in the hip during a bungled police raid, embark on a violent journey of revenge. In Howie the Rookie (which also won the 'Rooney Prize for Irish Literature'), brutal events take on mythical significance in a white-knuckle ride through a nightmare Dublin. In Made in China (2001), a dreadful accident sparks a savage tug-of-war between two criminal foot soldiers. And published for the first time - Crestfall (2003) - so dark that all but the tiniest glimmer of light has been extinguished, depicts three women trapped between nightmares and waking.

A family gathers for a celebration on an island off the west coast of Ireland. When an unexpected visitor drops by, tensions begin to surface. Over the next twenty-four hours, scores will be settled, beliefs challenged and truths disclosed, ultimately jeopardising their entire future together. Mark O'Rowe turns his laser focus on the deep currents of family life with a masterfully orchestrated drama which resonates with biting humour, profound insights and extraordinary authenticity. An exhilarating, high-wire ensemble piece, Reunion was first produced by Landmark Productions and Galway International Arts Festival in 2024, directed by O'Rowe himself.

A blackly comic vision of Dublin infested with demons. 'We go, see the slo-mo ebb and flow; the mill, the babble, the rabble of wobbling waywards, exiled and aimless, unlike us as, purposeful and double-file, like kids on a dare, we head who the fuck knows where?' Three people are ripped from their daily lives and catapulted into a fantastical world of singing serial killers, avenging angels and lovesick demons. Hold tight as the ordinary turns extraordinary in Mark O'Rowe's urban fantasy. Terminus was first performed at the Abbey Theatre Peacock, Dublin, in June 2007. The production transferred to the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, in August 2008 as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where it was awarded a Fringe First.

A chilling yet deeply human story about the limits of devotion. Adele and her parents have always been close. But recently, that closeness has been tainted by an increasing sense of mistrust. Tonight, a visit from a stranger will force them to confront the terrifying reality of their relationship. Mark O'Rowe's play Our Few and Evil Days premiered at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, in September 2014 as part of the Dublin Theatre Festival, in a production directed by the author and featuring Sinéad Cusack and Ciarán Hinds.

Listen carefully … Three women. Three conversations. As the details of what they share begin to diverge, we realise that a subtle game of survival is being played. Both psychological puzzle and quietly devastating tragedy, The Approach explores the inner lives of Anna, Cora and Denise as they desperately try to make sense of their world. What will their conversations reveal? And what does each of them have to hide?

A white-knuckle ride through a nightmare Dublin, where enemies and allies are interchangeable. First we meet Howie. He tells us how, one night, he gets caught up in a gang intent on beating up Rookie. He's supposed to be baby-sitting his five-year-old brother, but he goes just the same. They beat up Rookie. Howie returns to discover a horrible accident has happened to the little boy. Then we hear the story from Rookie's point of view... Mark O'Rowe's play Howie the Rookie was first performed at the Bush Theatre, London, in February 1999. It won the George Devine Award for Most Promising Playwright and the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature.

Two plays from the award-winning author of Howie the Rookie. From Both Hips is a gripping drama about revenge and absolution. Paul has been accidentally shot in the hip by a policeman. Back from hospital, he is bitter and self-pitying. He is also two-timing his wife. Then the policeman appears with an apology, a gun and an extraordinary suggestion... Published in a volume with The Aspidistra Code.

Mark O'Rowe's new play Made in China inhabits the same scabby territory as his hit play Howie the Rookie--the Dublin the tourists never see. Made in China is full of linguistically inventive low-lives using and abusing each other by word and deed. As before, and despite the violence, the main character achieves a kind of redemption by refusing --finally--to be drawn into the petty mafia of tit-for-tat revenge.

There is a place between nightmare and waking, a place, yet not place, of our world, yet not our world, a savage quarter so dark that all but the tiniest glimmer of light has been extinguished. Almost. "Crestfall" is an all-female play by the author of "Howie the Rookie".