Mikel Murfi to Perform Two Solo Plays in Rep at Irish Arts Center

The Irish Arts Center has announced that I Hear You and Rejoice and The Man in the Woman's Shoes, both written and performed by Mikel Murfi, will join its 2018 season as companion pieces presented in rotating repertory from September 12-October 21.

Murfi, one of Ireland's most respected storytellers, imagines the characters of a bustling Irish village, capturing their vibrancy through snapshots of its two most disparate residents: the bashful, solitary cobbler, Pat Farnon, and the indomitable football manager, Kitsy Rainy.

The Man in the Woman's Shoes is described as follows: "Just outside of town, Pat Farnon lives on his own, quietly aging in the house he was reared. Join him as he walks the five miles into a village populated with no-necked water diviners, sporting savants, loudmouths, and preachers."

I Hear You and Rejoice is described as follows: "From the GAA pitch to the chapel floor, Kitsy always has the final word. In turns both moving and hilarious, her friends and neighbors recall the — often literal — marks Kitsy Rainy has left on her community."

Murfi interviewed and immersed himself in the lives of elderly residents in his hometown Sligo to create a theatrical portrait of the community in the '70s and '80s in The Man in the Woman's Shoes, which was presented at IAC in 2015. I Hear You and Rejoice will make its US premiere this fall.