Raves for Who's-Dead McCarthy: Stories by Kevin Barry
"[the] stories… mesh so beautifully and so, well, Irishly, that they seem to encompass all the humor and tragedy and perversity of the human spirit."
—Jean Schiffman, Local News Matters
"This is a gem that should not be missed."
—Patricia L Morin, Front Row Review
“It’s theater that doesn’t bamboozle your attention via confetti cannons and kick lines but creeps into your mind, vine-like, and flowers."
—Lily Janiak, San Francisco Chronicle
Z Space and Word for Word present:
Who’S-Dead McCarthy:
Stories by Kevin Barry
Directed by Paul Finocchiaro
Featuring “Who’s-Dead McCarthy,” “The Wintersongs,” and “The Coast of Leitrim”
June 26 through July 21, 2024
in Z Below
Word for Word's latest production brings three stories by Kevin Barry to the stage. The Irish author and short story master epitomizes the earthy and sometimes jarringly poetic vocabulary for which Ireland is particularly well known.
The three works include "Who’s-Dead McCarthy," a tale featuring a self-appointed messenger of death in a small Irish city who cannot stop himself from gleefully chronicling and gossiping about the details of the deaths of others to everyone he meets. A tale perfect for those who like their humor a wee bit dark.
In “The Wintersongs” two strangers meet on a train. A garrulous old woman cautions a girl whose life journey is just beginning, as they both hurtle through the countryside under “the arc of a weak sun,” heading toward Dublin.
“The Coast of Leitrim” tells the story of a solitary Irish man who, finding himself smitten with a young Polish woman, falls down a Google-fueled rabbit hole, while falling deeper for her. A modern romance about how love transforms.
If these stories were wine, their descriptor might read: "Includes notes of humor, regret, anticipation, and Flannery O’Connor.”
“Barry’s stories are at once playful, serious, and beautifully crafted, and provide a needed balm for us in these turbulent times.”
—JoAnne Winter, Word for Word Artistic Director
Show Schedule
Previews: Thurs 6/27 7pm, Fri 6/28 8pm
Opening Night: Sat 6/29 8pm
Run of Show: 6/29 - 7/21 | Weds & Thurs 7pm | Fri & Sat 8pm | Sun 2pm
Masked Performances: Sun, 6/30 and Thurs, 7/18. Masks required for all audience members.
Special Events
Pre-Show Theater & Backstage Tour
Friday, July 12 | 6:45pm – 7:30pm
Before the 8pm Show
Get to the theater early for a pre-show theater tour of both the Steindler Stage and Z Below to learn more about our 100-year-old building and its history as a factory turned performance space.
Post-Show Whiskey Tasting with the Cast
Wednesday, July 17 | 9:00pm – 10:30pm
After the 7pm Show
Keep the laughs rolling after the show with a complimentary whiskey tasting upstairs in the Z Space Lobby and mix and mingle with the cast and director. This event is generously supported by Clonakilty Whiskey.
To RSVP to either of these free events, please email hbray@zspace.org Tickets to the show are not included with your RSVP.
Be sure to check out this interview with director Paul Finocchiaro in the Irish Star.
(2) Seamus and Katherine looking out from the coast of Leitrim (The Coast of Leitrim - L to R: Ryan Tasker, Molly Benson)
(3) Sarah tries to politely ignore the woman on the train (The Wintersongs - L to R: Stephanie Hunt, Ailbhe Doherty)
(4) Sarah arrives at the Dublin train station - about to start her new life! (The Wintersongs - Ailbhe Doherty)
(5) "Did y'hear who's dead now?" (Who's Dead McCarthy - L to R: John Flanagan, Joel Mullennix)
(6) McCarthy paints an all-too-clear picture of a recent death (Who's Dead McCarthy - L to R: Joel Mullennix, John Flanagan)
Photo Credit: Robbie Sweeny
Meet the Cast!
L-to-R: Ailbhe Doherty, John Flanagan*, Stephanie Hunt+*, Joel Mullennix +*, Monica Slater, Ryan Tasker+*
*Member, Actors’ Equity Association +Word for Word Core Company Member
Production Team
Scenic & Lighting Designer: Jeff Rowlings**
Sound Designer: Matt Stines
Costume Designer: Nolan Miranda
Assistant Costume Designer: Armando Breiz
Props Designer: Samantha Alexa
Text & Dialect Coach: Lynne Soffer
Original Music: Colm Ó Riain
Intimacy Director: Jeunée Simon
Stage Manager: Ted Cordano Jr.
Assistant Stage Manager: Christopher Peterson
Production Manager: Justin Schlegel
Head Electrician: Mary Clare Blake-Booth
Scenic Painter: Adeline Smith
Press Agent: Liam Passmore, Shave and a Haircut
Promotional Photography: Robbie Sweeny
Production Photography: Jay Yamada
**member, United Scenic Artists
Author Kevin Barry
Kevin Barry is the author of the novels Beatlebone, City of Bohane and Night Boat to Tangier and the story collections Dark Lies the Island, There Are Little Kingdoms and That Old Country Music. His latest novel The Heart in Winter is due to be published in June 2024.
His awards include the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, the Goldsmiths Prize, the Sunday Times EFG Short Story Prize, the Lannan Foundation Literary Award, as well as being longlisted for the Booker Prize 2019. His stories and essays appear in the New Yorker, Granta and elsewhere. He also works as a playwright and screenwriter, and he lives in County Sligo, Ireland.
Press
For press inquiries for Who’s-Dead McCarthy: Stories by Kevin Barry please contact Liam Passmore at liam@shaveandahaircut.biz.
Raves for Word for Word
Word for Word’s powers of transformation, its essential theatricality, comes through and gratifies..."
—Steven Winn, San Francisco Chronicle
"Word for Word’s wonderful productions make me feel that I am a smarter and better writer than I can possibly be."
—Greg Sarris
“If you’re a short story writer, one of the coolest things that can happen to your work is to have Word for Word translate it to the stage."
—Lily Janiak, San Francisco Chronicle
