Theatre News

PJ Harvey to compose score for The Nest at Lyric and Young Vic

Ian Rickson will direct Conor McPherson’s new translation of the 1975 play

Conor McPherson, Ian Rickson and Caoilfhionn Dunne
Conor McPherson, Ian Rickson and Caoilfhionn Dunne
© Dan Wooller for WhatsOnStage

Ian Rickson (Jerusalem, Mojo) will direct a new production of Franz Xaver Kroetz’s play The Nest, translated by Conor McPherson and with an original score by Mercury Prize-winning artist PJ Harvey.

Kroetz's play deals with 'the moral cost of an increasingly materialistic society', in which Caoilfhionn Dunne (Wild, The Night Alive) and Laurence Kinlan (The Cripple of Inishmaan, Druid) play Kurt and Martha; parents-to-be who work hard to provide for their new family, until Kurt’s boss offers him a chance to make some easy money.

The production sees director Rickson reunite with Harvey following their previous collaborations Hamlet at the Young Vic in 2011 and Hedda Gabler on Broadway.

The Nest will premiere at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast from 1 to 22 October before transferring to the Young Vic from 28 October to 26 November.