NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE OF "LOCKOUT" OPENS SUNDAY, JUNE 14 AT MCCADDEN PLACE THEATRE

LOCKOUT

For immediate release.

Ann Matthews’ Gripping Docu-Drama Runs Through June 28, 2013 

            Curious Beast Theatre Co. bursts on to the Los Angeles theatre scene with the North American premiere of Ann Matthews’ “Lockout” at the Hollywood Fringe Festival 2014 this June. “Lockout” revisits the great 1913 strike in Dublin as experienced by Ellen Byrne, a mother of 3 struggling to survive the deplorable conditions of the working class, made worse during their attempt to seek a better life through united action. Lockout opens at McCadden Place Theater on Saturday, June 14 at 8:15 p.m. Performances continue Saturday, June 21 and Saturday, June 28 at 8:15 p.m. (Preview Sunday, June 8 at 3:15 p.m.)

           Directed by CBTco’s Christopher Wallinger, the cast features Bridgette Campbell as Ellen Byrne, Lyle Friederichs as James Connolly, Christopher Wallinger as James Larkin, with Esther Tseng and Eleanora Avakian as violinist and soloist. The scenic design is by Lyle Friederichs.

            “Lockout” is the devastating true story of one mother, Ellen Byrne, and the two larger-than-life men, Jim Larkin and James Connolly, who led the working class of Dublin to strike against their wealthy oppressors in a time of abhorrent income inequality. From her tenement home in 1913 Dublin, Ellen takes us on a journey of the working class and their perseverance through starvation and death in an effort to demand a living wage and a voice in the new industrial age. All of Larkin’s and Connolly’s speeches are given without a single word changed from their original text. Through Ellen’s eyes we receive a glimpse into a world of the families of the workers caught in the middle of the worst industrial dispute in Ireland’s history.

            “Lockout” stirs with live violins, Irish ballads and a percussive sound-scape,  illuminating the battles fought and sacrifices made by early labor unionists seeking a greater distribution of wealth and assisting in the creation of the modern middle class.

            Ann Matthews is a lecturer at the University of Ireland, Maynooth since 2009. Her published works include: “Renegades: Irish Republican Women 1900-1922,” “Dissidents: Irish Republican Women 1922-1941,” “The Impact of the 1916 Rising,” “The Kimmage Garrison: Making Billycan Bombs at Larkfield,” “Vanguard of the Revolution in Ruan O’Donnell,” “Cumann na mBan and the Red Cross 1914-1916,” and “Parade of Poverty in the Streets 1913: The Mothers and Children.”

            In celebration of the centenary of the 1913 Lockout, Ms. Matthews wrote “Lockout” for The New Theatre of Dublin based on her historical research. “Lockout” was the first show at The New Theatre, Dublin to sell out before it opened, and continued to sell out during extensions.

            Tickets for “Lockout” are available online at www.HFF14.org/1838. McCadden Place Theatre is located at 1157 N McCadden Pl, Los Angeles, CA 90038.  

For Comps, please contact:

Christopher Wallinger, Managing Director
Offices: 3752 Mentone Ave #5 Los Angeles, CA 90034
T: 540.421.4590 E: [email protected]  

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May 5, 2014