University Theatre
University Theatre Presents DANCING AT LUGHNASA
By Brian Friel
Thursday April 7-Saturday April 9, 7:30 pm
Saturday April 9 and Sunday April 10, 2 pm
Wednesday April 13-Saturday April 16, 7:30 pm
Saturday April 16 and Sunday April 17, 2 pm
Titmus Theatre, Frank Thompson Hall, 2241 E. Dunn Avenue, Raleigh NC 27607
Campus Box 7306
Raleigh NC 27695-7306
919.515.3927 (phone)
919.513.2988 (fax)
919.515.1100 (tickets)
www.ncsu.edu/arts
Adults $17, Seniors, Students, Alumni and Parent Assn. Members, Students, $15, NCSU Students $5
www.ncsu.edu/arts, Ticket Central 919.515.1100 or ncsu.edu/ticketcentral
Special Event: NC State’s Irish Music Session will play on opening night, April 7 at 7 pm.
“Dancing as if language no longer existed because words were no longer necessary”
It is 1936 in County Donegal, Ireland and this Tony-Award winning bittersweet memory play tells the story of
Michael, a young boy growing up in a fatherless home with his unmarried mother and her four sisters. The family
barely scrapes by, trapped by the proprieties of the religious society of Ireland in the thirties, and on the brink of
an industrial revolution that will devastate the family. That August, time of the harvest festival of Lughnasa, the
household’s first wireless Marconi radio arrives, and brings music into the home. The music makes them dance
and, as their feet joyously leap over the kitchen floor, unquenchable passions are released and cracks of
emotional unrest enter into their sheltered world. That summer also brings home brother Jack, a priest who left
his heart back in Africa, and Michael’s ne’er-do-well father Gerry, who sparks an unchecked Celtic freedom.
Directed by Allison Bergman, the cast includes Jillian Varner and Jason Cooper (Urinetown).
What is Lughnasa?
Summer’s over: Today is Lughna Day, the night stretches
Lughnasa (pronounced “loo´-na-sa´ “) is a festival that marks the end of the period of summer growth and the
beginning of the fall harvest season. The festivals honor the mythological harvest god Lugh, the bright and
shining one, who dedicated the harvest fair during the festival of Lughnasadh in memory of his foster-mother,
Tailtiu. The tradition survived long into Christian times and is still celebrated under a variety of names, typically
on the nearest Sunday to August first so that the whole day can be set aside from work. Lúnasa is now the Irish
name for the month of August and is often represented with symbols of wells, corn, flowers and mountains.
Sources: allsaintsbrookline.org, chalicecentre.net
TICKET INFORMATION: Visit our website at http://www.ncsu.edu/arts, 919-515-1100.
$17-Adult ticket; $15 - Seniors, NCSU faculty and staff, students, alumni association members, parent association
members and Encore; $5 NCSU student.
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Media contact (not for publication): Nancy Breeding 919-515-3105 or nancy_breeding@ncsu.edu
University theatre is one of six visual and performing arts programs that together comprise ARTS NC STATE. Each
year, ARTS NC STATE provides hundreds of outstanding arts opportunities for both the campus and the greater
community. For more information see www.ncsu.edu/arts.
University Theatre at NC State University, Campus Box 7306, Raleigh NC 27695 (919-515-3927)