Tommy Tiernan is set to take centre stage in The Cave, a new black comedy by acclaimed writer Kevin Barry, as part of the Abbey Theatre’s 2025 programme.
The production headlines a season of six world premieres announced today under the banner of National Theatre of Stories, described as 'a celebration of contemporary Irish storytelling'.
Described as an "unforgettable black comedy," Tiernan will star in the production directed by Caitríona McLaughlin, Abbey Theatre Co-Director and Artistic Director. Opening on June 6, The Cave follows the chaotic lives of the McRae brothers, Archie and Bopper, holed up in a cave in the mountains of south Sligo, dodging the law and clinging to one another as they attempt to restart their van, their lives, and even their WiFi connection.
The Cave, Dublin Gothic, The Boy, Static,
The Lunch Punch Power Hour in Conference Room 4 and BÁN
The 2025 season sees the Abbey and Peacock stages come alive with fresh Irish voices, featuring six new works by Barry, Barbara Bergin, Marina Carr, Carys D. Coburn, Caitríona Daly and Jimmy McAleavey. McLaughlin describes the lineup as "epic in the ambition of its ideas and the intention of its expression," highlighting the resilience, wit and complexity of contemporary Irish identity.
Also premiering is Static by Jimmy McAleavey, a lyrical tale of isolation and connection that pairs a Donegal ham radio operator with a U.S. astronaut on his final descent to Earth. Directed by John King, it runs from June 20th to July 18th on the Peacock Stage.
Caitríona Daly’s The Lunch Punch Power Hour in Conference Room 4, a biting office satire set in a corporate fund management firm, opens July 31st. A comically chaotic debate over CSR spending soon spirals into a revealing exploration of power, escapism and resistance.
One of the most anticipated productions is The Boy, Marina Carr’s radical reimagining of Sophocles’ Theban Trilogy, which forms part of the 2025 Dublin Theatre Festival. Running from September 15th on the Abbey Stage, it continues Carr’s ongoing theatrical conversation with myth and modernity.
Carys D. Coburn’s BÁN, a 'faithful but not close' adaptation of Lorca’s The House of Bernarda Alba, will also feature in the Dublin Theatre Festival, while Barbara Bergin’s Dublin Gothic will close out the season. The debut play from Bergin, Dublin Gothic is a darkly comic, multi-generational tale set in a single Dublin house, capturing a century of social change.
"This programme is propelled by the past but is distinctly of the present," said McLaughlin. "These playwrights are provocative and challenging, giving us space to reflect on stories we need to hear right now."
Tickets for The Cave, Static, The Lunch Punch Power Hour, and BÁN are now on sale, with remaining productions available in the coming weeks - find out more here.
