Ulster American

Would you mind if I asked you a troubling question?

• *Jay is the Oscar-winning actor taking the lead in a new play that connects with his Irish roots. Leigh is the ambitious director who will do anything to get noticed. Ruth is the Northern Irish playwright whose voice must be heard.

The stage is set for great success, but when the three meet to discuss the play's challenges and provocations, a line is crossed and the heated discussion quickly escalates to a violent climax. Exploring consent, abuses of power and the confusions of cultural identity, Ulster American is confrontational, brutally funny and not for the faint of heart.

David Ireland's recent plays include Cyprus Avenue which won the James Tait Black Award 2017 and Best Play at the Irish Times Theatre Awards 2017. This edition is published to coincide with the world premiere at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, in summer 2018.

Autorentext

David Ireland is from Belfast and trained as an actor at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. His first play, WHAT THE ANIMALS SAY, was produced at Oran Mor, Glasgow in 2009. His other plays include EVERYTHING BETWEEN US (Tinderbox, Belfast) which won the Stewart Parker Award and the Meyer-Whitworth Award, THE END OF HOPE (Oran Mor), HALF A GLASS OF WATER (Field Day), YES SO I SAID YES (Ransom Productions, Belfast), CAN'T FORGET ABOUT YOU (Lyric, Belfast) and I PROMISE YOU SEX AND VIOLENCE (Northern Stage, Newcastle). In 2015, he adapted Lorca's BLOOD WEDDING for Dundee Rep and Graeae.

His 2016 play CYPRUS AVENUE (Royal Court London/Abbey Theatre Dublin/Public Theatre NYC) won the Irish Times Award for Best New Play and the James Tait Black Award for Drama and in 2018 ULSTER AMERICAN (Traverse, Edinburgh) won a Scotsman Fringe First, the Carol Tambor Best of Edinburgh award and the Critics Award for Theatre in Scotland Award for Best New Play.
He lives in Glasgow with his wife Jennifer and his children Ada and Elijah.