Last night, Sunday, March 31, Louise O’Neill’s Asking for It won the Audience Choice Award at The Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards for 2018.
Commenting on the Award, Louise O’Neill said:
“It has been a great honour to see Asking for It brought to life with such energy, imagination, and innovation. I would like to thank Anne Clarke, Julie Kelleher, Annabelle Comyn, and Meadhbh McHugh for their tireless work in creating this extraordinary piece of theatre. I am also grateful to the cast – in particular the astounding Lauren Coe. Watching you inhabit these characters with such artistry has brought me immeasurable joy. To win the Audience Choice award is gratifying as this is a play that asks so much of the viewer – it demands that we bear witness to survivors’ stories, that we refuse to turn away and ignore the reality of the world in which we live. I hope Asking for It will continue to win the hearts of audiences all over Ireland, and start many more vital conversations about sexual violence in this country.”
Audience reaction to the acclaimed stage adaptation of O’Neill’s novel has been overwhelming. The initial Cork dates quickly sold out, and the following run at the Abbey Theatre also sold out well in advance of the production even opening there and drew an overwhelming reaction on social media. The play attracted a whole new audience – 60% of bookers were coming to the Everyman for the first time. This timely play really resonates with audiences and the producers are delighted to say that the production will return to The Everyman, Cork, from 27th September to 5th October, and to The Gaiety Theatre from 9th October for a strictly limited run.
Produced by Landmark Productions and The Everyman, Asking for It was adapted for the stage by Meadhbh McHugh, in collaboration with Annabelle Comyn, who also directs. Asking for It shines an unflinching light on the experience of a young woman whose life is changed forever by a horrific act of violence.
Asking for It was widely lauded by the Irish media, many of whom gave the production five stars. The Irish Examiner called it, “powerful, provocative, hard-hitting, shocking … a sharply observed and at times wincingly true-to-life portrayal of a family and its disintegration …funny, infuriating and unbearably sad,”
Tickets for the unmissable production are currently on sale in The Everyman for the Sept-Oct run. Tickets for the Gaiety shows will go on sale this Friday, April 5.