Brothers Jamie and Tommy share a small cottage overlooking the sea in Southern Ireland. One morning, after a violent storm, Jamie announces that he is dead…he is a ghost. Disbelieving this ridiculous claim, Tommy is convinced his brother’s delusion is simply the aftereffects of grief he suffered following their mother’s death. With wit and pathos, American playwright Bravaco explores the emotional depths of these Irish siblings as they grapple with love, grief, forgiveness – and the afterlife. U.S. Premiere.

“Very little of our drama, whether on TV or in the theatre, focuses on kindness as a central theme; yet Joe Bravaco’s play does and is all the more commendable for it.” – British Theatre Guide

NOTES ON THE WRITING

The play came to me after listening to a beautiful song sung by Sinead O’Connor. The music by Amelia Warner has an ethereal feeling and the John Patrick Shanley lyrics seemed to me to reflect a calling to the afterlife. As I listened to the song again and again, it triggered the basic idea for the character of Jamie. However, subconsciously certain personal feelings started working their way into the script.  As we age, we start to lose family and friends. No one escapes these losses, and for me, these losses instigated a wonder, or maybe hope, that something beautiful lies beyond our human grief, guilt, and love. While I never consciously wrote about my personal situations, it was pointed out to me by a friend  that this was a very personal play. I guess it is. Perhaps that is why it came to me so quickly…

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Join us for one (or two!)

Post-show discussions

The first discussion will be after  the Saturday matinee on September 27 – following that third preview performance. A second post-show discussion after the Saturday matinee on October 18.
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…When the characters started speaking, I instinctively heard them speaking with Irish accents and pictured them in a rural cottage on the remote cliffs of a faraway sea. Also, the Irish have a distinct tradition of believing in fairies who can interact with humans, changing their fortunes. This whimsical belief is deeply rooted in Irish culture, as is the play’s religious undertones, its humor, and its melancholy. The characters and their story spoke with the warmth and lilt of the Irish people. Much of the charm and emotional depth might be lost in an American setting. The Irishness of the story is not just a backdrop—it’s a vital part of its soul.  However, the core themes of grief, family, forgiveness and redemption are universal, and I hope audiences will be moved by the brothers’ story because they recognize themselves in it and, perhaps, will reflect on their own lives. –Joe Bravaco

RYAN MICHAEL NEELY (Jamie) is thrilled to be making his WSG debut. D.C. credits include the world premiere of Ken Ludwig’s Death on the Nile (Dir: Hana S. Sharif) at Arena Stage, King Lear (w/Patrick Page), Much Ado About Nothing (dir. Simon Godwin), Our Town, and The Merchant of Venice (Shakespeare Theatre Company). Other regional credits include the title role in Hamlet (StoryTellers Theater), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival), East of Heart Mountain (Dir. Giovanna Sardelli), House For Sale (Dir. Daniel Fish) and Twelfth Night (Shakespeare’s Globe, UK), among others. New York credits include Hamlet (L+F), Romeo and Juliet (Secret Theater), and The Book of Z…(Manhattan Rep). TV credits include One Life to Live, Monumental Mysteries, The Heiress Strikes Back, and A Day Late & Ten Pounds Overweight (Winner: Top Indie Film Awards). BFA Rutgers, Mason Gross. MFA GW/STC Academy.

CHRIS STINSON (Tommy) is delighted to be back at the Washington Stage Guild for the third time; having previously appeared in 2022’s Memoirs of a Forgotten Man & 2015’s Pen. D.C. area credits include: A Christmas Carol and One Destiny at Ford’s Theatre, Shear Madness and Digging Up Dessa at The Kennedy Center, Another Way Home at Theater J, The Diary of Anne Frank at Olney Theatre, Failure: A Love Story (Helen Hayes nom.) at The Hub Theatre, The Lieutenant of Inishmore at Constellation Theatre, and many others.TV credits: Legends & Lies; CopyCat Killers; Evil Kin. Chris’s voice can also be heard in numerous audiobook titles by Graphic Audio. He would like to dedicate his performance to the late Jack Sbarbori, who, under his direction at Quotidian Theatre, Chris was able to tell equally powerful Irish stories in Conor McPherson’s This Lime Tree Bower & Port Authority.