‘I want to dance, Kate. It’s the festival of Lughnasa. I’m only thirty-five. I want to dance.’

On the outskirts of Ballybeg, County Donegal, the five Mundy sisters’ lives are bound by responsibilities and social expectations. When influences from a wider, more modern world creep into their home, the sisters are swept along in a sea of change and suddenly the life they know is gone for good. 

Brian Friel’s multi-award-winning drama is a powerful and moving exploration of reflection, memory and how the future will arrive no matter how much we resist.

Sheffield Theatres and Royal Exchange Theatre today announce the full cast for Brian Friel’s Dancing at Lughnasa. This new production of the multi-award-winning play will be the first production directed by Sheffield Theatres’ incoming Artistic Director Elizabeth Newman. This co-production opens at the Crucible from Saturday 13 September – Saturday 4 October 2025, before moving to the Exchange’s in-the-round space from Friday 10 October – Saturday 8 November 2025.

Martha Dunlea (Making History) will play the role of Christina; Kwaku Fortune (Hidden Assets) will play the role of Michael; Frank Laverty (A Whistle in the Dark) will play the role of Jack; Rachel O’Connell (Iphigenia In Splott) will play the role of Rose; Siobhán O’Kelly (The Beauty Queen of Leenane) will be playing the role of Margaret; Laura Pyper (A View from the Bridge) will play the role of Agnes; Natalie Radmall-Quirke (Birdsong) will be playing the role of Kate; and Marcus Rutherford (Wheel of Time) will be playing the role of Gerry. Rosemary Boyle (The James Plays) and Richard Galloway (Life and Soul) will be Swings for the production.  

Laura Pyper returns to Sheffield having performed in Death and the King’s Horseman and The Crucible at the Crucible Theatre, and Rosemary Boyle returns having previously performed in The James Plays on tour at the Lyceum Theatre. Frank Laverty returns to Manchester having performed in A Whistle in the Dark and The Colleen Bawn at the Royal Exchange Theatre. All other members of the cast make their Sheffield Theatres and Royal Exchange Theatre debuts with Dancing at Lughnasa.

‘I want to dance, Kate. It’s the festival of Lughnasa. I’m only thirty-five. I want to dance.’

On the outskirts of Ballybeg, County Donegal, the five Mundy sisters’ lives are bound by responsibilities and social expectations. When influences from a wider, more modern world creep into their home, the sisters are swept along in a sea of change and suddenly the life they know is gone for good. 

Brian Friel’s multi-award-winning drama is a powerful and moving exploration of reflection, memory and how the future will arrive no matter how much we resist.

Tickets for Dancing at Lughnasa at Sheffield Theatres are on sale now and can be booked through the Box Office in person, over the phone on 0114 249 6000 or at sheffieldtheatres.co.uk. Tickets for Dancing at Lughnasa at the Royal Exchange Theatre are on sale now and can be booked through the Box Office in person, over the phone on 0161 833 9833 or at royalexchange.co.uk.

Director Elizabeth Newman
Designer Francis O’Connor
Movement Director Sundeep Saini
Lighting Designer Chris Davey
Composer and Sound Designer Pippa Murphy
Casting Director Arthur Carrington
Associate Director Amanda Collins
Birkbeck Assistant Director Sadie Mears
Fight Director Kaitlin Howard
Associate Lighting Designer Mark Distin Webster

Crucible Theatre, Sheffield
Saturday 13 September – Saturday 4 October 2025