San Francisco International Arts Festival – “Kitty in the Lane”

San Francisco International Arts Festival – U.S. Debut of Aine Ryan’s “Kitty in the Lane”
Thursday May 21- Sunday June 7, Various Times – Check SFIAF website for times
Southside Theatre, Fort Mason, San Francisco Tickets

Kitty tells the story of a twenty year old woman living in an isolated cottage in rural south west Ireland with her elderly father. In conjunction to caring for him, Kitty is managing the family farm alone, due to her brother’s recent death. The action takes place on the eve of a local beauty pageant with Kitty expecting her boyfriend to escort her to the event as a way to briefly escape her domestic duties. As Kitty waits for his arrival she offers a glimpse into her world and her relationship with family, friends and community. The play is a dark drama, unlocking Kitty’s perspective of life as a young woman in a lonely environment, but is also filled with comedic relief through Kitty’s witty observations, reflections on and anecdotes about her life.

Kitty in the Lane received much critical attention at Edinburgh Fringe Festival, 2014. “It is rare to find a writer and performer whose gifts work together in such wonderful intensity and imagination…anticipate something that will leave you haunted”. Broadway Baby, Edinburgh Fringe 2014

Aine Ryan holds a BA in Theatre and Performance from Goldsmiths, University of London. She has completed E20 Writers School with the BBC, a programme for emerging scriptwriters, and attended playwriting courses with Fishamble and The Royal Court Theatre. As well as playing the title role in Kitty in the Lane, other recent theatre credits include Sive in the Irish premiere of Desolate Heaven by Ailís Ní Ríain (no relation), directed by Tony McCleane Fay at the Everyman Theatre, Cork. Also, May in Angel Dust and Dallas by Paul Maher, directed by Amy Hill, a touring comedy production.