ARTEMISIA THEATRE PREMIERES JAKI MCCARRICK’S AWARD-WINNING “BELFAST GIRLS” MAY 16

Artemisia, a Chicago theatre that produces women-driven plays, will

present the American Premiere of Belfast Girls, by award-winning Irish writer Jaki McCarrick

Performances are Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 pm, Sunday at 6:00 pm, with an additional matinee on Saturdays at 3:00 pm.

Preceding its American premiere are non-stop accolades for Belfast Girls from overseas. McCarrick has been long listed for the Irish Laureate Award and shortlisted for the 2014 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. Belfast Girls also received a well-regarded staged reading by Artemisia in Chicago last year, which set the tone for this highly-anticipated premiere.

In Belfast Girls, Jaki McCarrick dramatizes Irish history. On the cusp of a great societal revolution, five street women orphaned by the Irish Famine embark on a journey of love, betrayal and adventure, hopeful they will find a fresh start in a new land. The five “Belfast Girls” are dramatized based on the real-life women who sought passage in 1850 aboard the Inchinnan, a ship bound for Australia.

McCarrick is currently in negotiations to adapt the play for film and has recently been long listed for the Irish Laureate Award. “I am thrilled that Belfast Girls is premiering in Chicago, a city whose appetite for cutting-edge stories is legendary,” says McCarrick. “And Artemisia’s vision of bringing female-driven plays to the fore makes it even an even greater compliment. I’m so looking forward to being in Chicago for the opening weekend.”

“This is a terrific story, one that reflects the Irish immigrant experience so deeply rooted in Chicago. It’s an amazing adventure that is packed with non-stop action, great characters and shattering discoveries,” says Julie Proudfoot, Artemisia’s Artistic Director.

Tickets are now on sale on Artemisia’s website at http://www.artemisiatheatre.org/