The Centre Theatre
and

Iron Age Theatre

Present

Bone-crushing entertainment in Irish comedy “A Skull In Connemara” running through May 7 at Norristown’s professional theatre

Gravedigger Mick Dowd is set to disinter the bones in an older part of an Irish village’s cemetery to make room for new arrivals. When it’s time for him to dig up the remains of his late wife, strange rumors about his involvement in her violent sudden death seven years earlier begin to resurface in the very funny dark comedy “A Skull in Connemara” by Martin McDonagh.

The play open April 7 and runs through May 7 at the Centre Theatre in the Montgomery County Cultural Center, 208 DeKalb Street Norristown. Showtimes are at 8 p.m. with Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. Tickets are $16 and $14. Call 610-279-1013 for information, or visit the web at www.ironagetheatre.org

McDonagh combines a love of traditional story-telling with the ironic humor and perspective of the modern generation. Part thriller-whodunit, part pop culture farce, part profound rumination on rural Irish character, “A Skull in Connemara” swings between mystery, mayhem and comic madness.

The story involves gravedigger Mick Dowd whose annual job is to make room in the tiny church cemetery for the newly deceased. Reusing old graves was a common practice throughout much of Europe until recently. As the play opens, village gossip stirs about Mick’s involvement with his wife’s death seven years previously. The local policeman, who fancies himself a crack detective, but who is more like the bumbling inspector Clouseau is one of the loony characters prying into Mick’s past.

Saddled with a teenage hooligan who is more a hindrance than a help on the job, Mick tries to come to grips with his loneliness and angst over the loss of his wife, as well as deal with the whispered aspersions of the village.

Martin McDonagh is one of the best and most controversial young playwrights working. His most recent play “Pillowman” was a smash hit on Broadway and nominated for several Tony awards. Known for his Irish plays such as “The Beauty Queen of Leenane,” and “The Lonesome West.” McDonagh has said he wants “to write plays that shake you up a little bit.” In the tradition of the great Irish writers John Millington Synge, Sean O’Casey and Samuel Beckett, he succeeds. McDonagh’s plays are permeated with a dark, brooding Irish cynicism, counterpointed with verbal wit and physical comedy. There’s a strong undertow of violence, too. McDonagh subverts traditional romantic attitudes towards the west of Ireland with portrayals of the mean-spiritedness and petty jealousies below the surface of rural Irish life.

Bob Weick stars as Mick Dowd. Weick has performed at the Philadelphia Theatre Company, Theatre Outlet, Iron Age Theatre and in television and films. For the past year he has been touring his one man show “Marx in Soho” by Howard Zinn across the country.

Adam Altman plays Mairtin, the teenage hooligan who helps Mick. Susan Giddings plays the bingo-mad, gossipy neighbor MaryJohnny. Giddings has acted at the Wilma Theatre, Theatre Exile, Lantern Theatre and many others. Rounding out the cast is Markus Zanders playing the dim Inspector Clouseau-like policeman trying to solve a crime, any crime. Zanders, a graduate of the Temple University theatre program most recently appeared in the Fringe hit “Shakesploitation.”

Working together, the Centre Theatre and Iron Age Theatre have been one of the most critically acclaimed companies working in the Philadelphia Area. They received a Barrymore Nomination for Best Lead Actor for “The Elephant Man” in 2005. Their 2003 show “Terra Nova” was nominated for a Barrymore Award for outstanding ensemble. The company also produced the critically acclaimed revival of Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men,” and last spring presented the East Coast premier of the World War Two drama “Sky Girls.”

The Centre Theater is in the Montgomery County Cultural Center at 208 DeKalb Street in Norristown. It is easily reached from Routes 202, I-76, I-476 and Ridge Pike. There is plenty of free parking and the theatre is one block from Septa's Norristown Transit Center, R6 line. Call 610-279-1013 for tickets and information or visit us on the web at www.ironagetheatre.org for press information call Randy Wise at 610-715-2749 or 610-279-1013 Digital Images are available.

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610-279-1013