An Abbey Theatre production

The Sugar Wife


13 June - 20 July 2024

Written by Elizabeth Kuti

Directed by Annabelle Comyn

Booking Information


Dates:  13 June –  20 July 2024
On the Abbey stage

Times:

Mon – Tues 6.30pm

Wed – Sat 7.30pm

Midweek matinee 10 July 2pm

Sat matinees 2pm

Tickets:  €15 – €45

Running time: 2 hours and 30 minutes, including an interval

Please note: If you would like information on the themes in this production, please click here.

Age recommendation: 14+

Sign language interpreted performance: Thursday 11 July, 7:30pm

Touch Tour of Stage and Set: Saturday 13 July, 12:15pm

Audio-described and captioned performance: Saturday 13 July, 2:00pm

“Truly a play for today” Sunday Independent

“We choose the world we live in. We make it, day by day…”

Dublin, 1850: The delicate balance at the heart of an affluent Dublin couple’s marriage and family business is challenged when two visitors come to Ireland to speak to the public about trade, money and slavery.

Exploring the dark side of global commodities like sugar, the play asks the question: if your wealth is built on exploitation, can it really be used to build a better world? 

By examining the tensions between the local and the global, as well as the personal and the political, this powerful new production written by Elizabeth Kuti and directed by Annabelle Comyn asks urgent questions about money, marriage, and morality.

Programme Note: Playwright Elizabeth Kuti 

“Looking back on where this play came from, nearly twenty-five years after I first began writing it for Rough Magic, the story of its conception becomes harder to remember and explain. A few scrapbook memories linger. There was that sign you often saw outside Bewleys’ cafés, ‘Established 1840’, sparking thoughts of how that decade saw both the horrors of famine, and the growth of a booming family business based on tea, coffee, and their natural companion, sugar.” Read the full programme note here.

The Sugar Wife: Conversations 

As part of our ongoing commitment to exploring the themes of our productions through conversation, we have invited Laura Twagirayezu to curate and host a series of round table discussions with local artists and cultural figures on themes emerging from The Sugar Wife.  

In three conversations, Laura and guests will explore some of the key themes of the play including:

Migration + Class (29 June, 6pm – 7pm)
Marriage + Desire (10 July, 6pm – 7pm)
Philanthropy + Morality (16 July, 9pm – 10pm)

Click here to learn more and reserve your spot at the Conversations.

Reviews


“Elegant revival of drama loaded with moral quandaries”
The Irish Times


“Truly a play for today”
Sunday Independent


“Highly recommended”
Arena


“A beguiling show... clever and topical”
Irish Independent


“Director Annabelle Comyn elicits strong performances”
The Arts Review

Show Trailer 

Trailer: Aileen Power

Production Images 

Images: Ros Kavanagh

Cast Interviews 

First Look | The Sugar Wife 

Meet the Team 


Back row:
Paul Keogan, Val Sherlock, Annabelle Comyn, Elizabeth Kuti, Peter Gaynor, Siobhán Cullen, Chris Walley
Front row: Paul O’Mahony, Molly O’Cathain, Tierra Porter, Síofra Ní Éilí, Esosa Ighodaro

Credits


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  • Hannah Tewkley: Siobhán Cullen
  • Martha Ryan: Síofra Ní Éilí
  • Samuel Tewkley: Peter Gaynor
  • Sarah Worth: Tierra Porter
  • Alfred Darby: Chris Walley
  • Writer: Elizabeth Kuti
  • Director: Annabelle Comyn
  • Set Designer: Paul O'Mahony
  • Costume Designer: Molly O'Cathain
  • Lighting Designer: Paul Keogan
  • Composer and Sound Designer: Philip Stewart
  • Movement Director: Sue Mythen
  • Hair and Make Up: Val Sherlock
  • Assistant Director: Esosa Ighodaro
  • Voice Director: Andrea Ainsworth
  • Casting Director: Deborah Pearce
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Abbey Theatre
26/27 Lower Abbey Street
Dublin 1
Ireland
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