Marina Carr’s Abbey stage premiere

Hester Swane is a woman scorned. Her husband Carthage has become a prosperous farmer and is leaving Hester to marry a respectable girl.

Marina Carr’s play is the story of Medea re-imagined and transported to the bogs of Midlands Ireland. The play is packed full of timeless characters such as a ghost fancier, a catwoman and neighbours who are not what they seem.

Here we see Hester Swane, played by Olwen Fouéré with Catwoman played by Joan O’Hara. This production was directed by Patrick Mason with set design by Monica Frawley.

This was a significant moment; in 1998 Marina Carr was the first woman playwright to premiere on the Abbey stage in some years. Her plays Ullaloo, The Mai and Portia Coughlan were previously produced on the Peacock stage.

The Abbey Theatre will revive By the Bog of Cats in 2015.

Photographer: Amelia Stein