Veteran US actor Steve Buscemi joined Irish-American actor Aidan Quinn on stage at the Abbey Theatre this weekend, as part of the Abbey's Love at First Sight series.
The duo read playwright Sam Shepard's Ages of the Moon at the Abbey to a sold-out audience that included filmmaker Tim Burton and actor Jenna Ortega - Steve Buscemi is currently in Ireland to film the second season of hit Netflix series Wednesday, directed by Burton and starring Ortega.
The sold-out performance marked the latest instalment of the Abbey's popular Love at First Sight reading series, which invites a performer to choose a script they love, and a role they’ve always wanted to play, and give a live reading on the Abbey stage for one night only.
Aidan Quinn's selection, Ages of the Moon, premiered on the Abbey's Peacock stage in 2009, with actors Stephen Rea and Sean McGinley - the latter joined the audience for the Love at First Sight event. Introducing the event, Quinn recalled seeing the original Abbey production of Shepard's play on tour in New York in 2010: "My wife punched me on the shoulder," he told the audience, "and said, 'you have got to do this play!'"
actors Aidan Quinn and Steve Buscemi
Commenting on the Love at First Sight series., Co-Director of the Abbey Theatre, Caitríona McLaughlin said: "One of the most thrilling theatre experiences I have ever had was hearing Phillip Seymour Hoffman read a new play for the first time. The experience was electric, he grew the character slowly and if he didn't land a line he repeated it until he got it right. I’ve never forgotten it. The idea for Love at First Sight came from an impulse to recreate that experience for our audience."
#AidanQuinn and #SteveBuscemi at the #Abbey with Sam Shepard's play, 'Ages of the Moon’. Old friends reunited, touching on universal themes of loneliness, regret, male friendship and vulnerability. A joy to watch these legends perform so beautifully in our national theatre. 💚 pic.twitter.com/Mw1J2rjfty
— Caroline E Farrell 🐦⬛🕯🐦⬛ (@CarolineAuthor) October 21, 2024
Find out more about the Love At First Sight series at the Abbey Theatre here.
