PRESS RELEASE – 15 November 2019 IMAGES CAN BE DOWNLOADED HERE

Landmark Productions and The Everyman in association with the presents ASKING FOR IT by Louise O’Neill A stage adaptation by Meadhbh McHugh In collaboration with & directed by Annabelle Comyn

Asking For it. Photo Hugh O'Conor

 LANDMARK PRODUCTIONS AND THE EVERYMAN’S EXTRAORDINARY ADAPTATION OF LOUISE O’NEILL’S DEVASTATING NOVEL MAKES IT’S UK PREMIERE AT BIRMINGHAM REPERTORY THEATRE

 THIS FOLLOWS A HUGELY ACCLAIMED, SOLD-OUT SEASON AT THE ABBEY THEATRE

 ASKING FOR IT RUNS AT THE REP FROM 29 JANUARY - 15 FEBRUARY 2020. BOOKING DETAILS AVAILABLE HERE

 IMAGES AVAILABLE HERE. TRAILER AVAILABLE HERE

Landmark Productions and The Everyman's sensational adaptation of Louise O'Neill's devastating novel about sexual consent makes its UK premiere at Birmingham Repertory Theatre following huge acclaim, including a sold-out season at Ireland's National Theatre, The Abbey. Asking For It was also a landslide winner of the Audience Choice Award at The Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards for 2018. Lauren Coe returns to the play after receiving phenomenal reviews for her portrayal of the lead role, Emma.

One night in a small town in County Cork, where everyone knows everyone, things spiral terrifyingly and violently out of control and a young woman's life is changed forever. What will happen to Emma now? – her reputation in tatters, and her attackers believed.

Louise O’Neill is a multi-award-winning writer. Her second novel Asking for It won Book of Year at the Irish Book Awards in 2015 and spent 52 weeks in the Irish top 10 bestseller lists. Last year her first novel for adults, Almost Love, and The Surface Breaks, a feminist retelling of The Little Mermaid were both published.

Lauren Coe is from Dublin, Ireland, and graduated from The Lir National Academy of Dramatic Art in 2014. Most recently she starred as Laurie in feature film Nocturnal, directed by Nathalie Biancheri, which was selected for the BFI Film Festival’s official 2019 programme. She originated the role of Emma in the world premiere of Asking For It at The Everyman Theatre, Cork in summer 2018 and is thrilled to have the opportunity to present Asking For It at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre.

Annabelle Comyn is an award-winning Irish theatre director who has worked with The Abbey, Druid, The Gate, and Dublin Theatre Festival among others. She is the Artistic Director of Hatch Theatre Company and Director in Residence at The Lir, the National Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Meadhbh McHugh is an Irish playwright and writer living in New York. Meadhbh’s debut play, Helen and I, was staged by Druid Theatre Company in 2016 and was nominated for the Stewart Parker Trust Award. Meadhbh’s debut radio play, April Showers, won a PJ O’Connor award for new writing and was broadcast on RTE Radio One. She currently teaches writing at Columbia University in New York where she holds a M.Phil in Theatre. Asking For It is co-commissioned by the Abbey Theatre with support from the Arts Council, who funded the production through an Open Call funding round.

Asking For It is directed by Annabelle Comyn, with set design by Paul O’Mahony, lighting design by Sinéad Mckenna, music and sound design by Philip Stewart, video design by Jack Phelan, costume design by Niamh Lunny and movement direction by Sue Mythen.

More information can be found at www.askingforit.ie.

-ENDS- For further information please contact The Corner Shop PR on 020 7831 7657 Laura Myers | Natasha Krstic-Howe

LISTINGS Landmark Productions and The Everyman in association with the Abbey Theatre present ASKING FOR IT By Louise O’Neill Director Annabelle Comyn Set Designer Paul O'Mahony Costume Designer Niamh Lunny Lighting Designer Sinéad Mckenna Music and Sound Designer Philip Stewart Video Designer Jack Phelan Movement Director Sue Mythen

Birmingham Repertory Theatre (The REP) Broad St, Birmingham, B1 2EP

First Performance: 29 January 2019 Final Performance: 15 February 2019 Press Night: 4 February 2019

Monday to Saturday at 7.30pm Saturday 8 Feb and Thursday 13 Feb matinee performances at 2.00pm Box office details: https://www.birmingham-rep.co.uk/whats-on/asking-for-it.html 0121 236 4455 Prices from £15 Previews (29 Jan – 3 Feb) and matinees (8 & 13 Feb) from £10 (subject to availability, £2.50 transaction fee applies)

NOTES TO EDITORS About Landmark Productions Landmark Productions is one of Ireland's leading theatre producers. Led by Anne Clarke, the company produces wide-ranging and ambitious work in Ireland and tours Irish work abroad. The company’s recent work includes several productions by : , starring Brendan Gleeson, and ; the world premieres of the operas The Second Violinist and The Last Hotel by Donnacha Dennehy and Enda Walsh, co-produced with Irish National Opera; and the multi award-winning musical Once. Its award-winning co-productions with Galway International Arts Festival include the world premieres of Walsh's Arlington, Ballyturk and Misterman, all of which have toured internationally. Other recent work includes the European premiere of Theatre for One (featuring new short plays by Marina Carr, Stacey Gregg, Emmet Kirwan, Louise Lowe, Mark O’Rowe and Enda Walsh) and the world premiere of The Approach, written and directed by Mark O’Rowe, starring Cathy Belton, Derbhle Crotty and Aisling O’Sullivan. Landmark's work has toured to the Barbican, to the National Theatre and to the Royal Opera House in London; to the Edinburgh International Festival; and to St Ann's Warehouse and to BAM in New York. The Second Violinist will be seen at the Park Avenue Armory, New York, in 2020. The company received the Judges' Special Award in The Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards for 2011, in recognition of its 'sustained excellence in programming and for developing imaginative partnerships to bring quality theatre to the Irish and international stage'. Anne Clarke received the Special Tribute Award in 2015, in recognition of her work as a 'producer of world-class theatre in the independent sector in Ireland’.

About The Everyman The Everyman is a non-profit company that produces and presents the best in Irish and international performance for Cork and Irish audiences. Our mission is to be indispensable to all of the communities we serve - audiences and artists (local, national, international) - while remaining rooted in, and inextricably linked to, Cork. Our beautiful theatre is a 650- seat listed building, with an auditorium in late Victorian style. The building is steeped in history and the auditorium is a favourite with audiences and performers alike for its intimacy and atmosphere. Recent theatre productions and co-productions include the world premiére of Louise O’Neill’s Asking for It (2018), a new production of Martin McDonagh’s The Lonesome West (2018), the world première of Kevin Barry’s Autumn Royal (2017) and subsequent national tour in 2018, Brian Friel’s Dancing at Lughnasa (2017), the Irish première of Lynda Radley’s Futureproof, Frank McGuinness’ The Factory Girls (2016), Sean O’Casey’s Juno and the Paycock (2016), Charles Gounod’s Faust (2015), David Greig’s The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart (2015) and Brian Friel’s Lovers (2015). Other 2018 highlights include the forthcoming world première of The Nightingale and the Rose, a new opera by John O’Brien, after Oscar Wilde. About Birmingham Repertory Theatre Birmingham Repertory Theatre is one of Britain’s leading producing theatre companies. Its mission is to inspire a lifelong love of theatre in the diverse communities of Birmingham and beyond. As well as presenting over 60 productions on its three stages every year, the theatre tours its productions nationally and internationally, showcasing theatre made in Birmingham. The commissioning and production of new work lies at the core of The REP’s programme and over the last 15 years, the company has produced more than 130 new plays. The theatre’s outreach programme engages with over 7000 young people and adults through its learning and participation programme, equating to 30,000 individual educational sessions. The REP is also committed to nurturing new talent through its youth theatre groups and training for up and coming writers, directors and artists through its REP Foundry initiative. Many of The REP’s productions go on to have lives beyond Birmingham. Recent tours and transfers include The Lovely Bones, Brief Encounter, Nativity! The Musical, What Shadows, LOVE, The Winslow Boy, The Government Inspector, Of Mice and Men, Anita and Me, Penguins and The King’s Speech. The theatre’s long-running production of The Snowman celebrated its 25th anniversary as well as its 21st consecutive season at London's Peacock Theatre in 2018.

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