Photo Flash: Frank Theatre's BY THE BOG OF CATS at the Gut

Set in rural Ireland, By the Bog of Cats mixes the trademark dark humor of the Irish with an uncompromising tale of abandonment and shocking self-sacrifice. Hester Swane (Virginia Burke) is an Irish "tinker," a woman born of gypsies, and tied to the bleak landscape of the bog where she has lived her whole life. Her younger lover, Carthage Kilbride (John Catron), with whom she has a daughter, is on the verge of a marriage to another woman that will bring him land, wealth and respect. Refusing to acknowledge that Carthage could ever leave her, Hester grips more tightly and tragically to The Life she believes is rightfully hers.

In this loose retelling of Euripides' Medea, Marina Carr blends the mythic with the modern, populating the Bog of Cats with misfits, witches, and ghosts. Following the highly successful run of their Ivey Award-winning production of The Pillowman during the Guthrie's 2007-2008 season, Frank returns to the Dowling Studio to bring its fearless, take-no-prisoners style to this bold and uproarious play.

Frank Theatre's production of By the Bog of Cats features a stellar cast that also includes Bob Davis, Annie Enneking, Melissa Hart, Cheryl Willis, Anika Habermas-Scher, Eric Sharp, Gabe Angieri, Tony Brown, Christopher Kehoe, and Sulia Altenberg alternating with Izzy Rousmaniere. The production is directed by Frank Artistic Director Wendy Knox, with scenery by John Bueche, costumes by Kathy Kohl, lighting by Jeff Bartlett and sound by Michael Croswell. The production is stage managed by Spencer Putney.

This production is recommended for ages 16 and up.

About Frank Theatre
Frank Theatre is a professional theatre company committed to producing unique work which stretches the skills of the artists who create the work while simultaneously challenging the everyday perceptions of the audience through the exploration of ideas and issues of social, political and/or cultural concern.

Frank Theatre is a Twin Cities' based company, founded in 1989 by Artistic Director Wendy Knox. In its twenty year history, the theatre has staged over 40 productions including last season's sold out, Ivey-award winning The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh, Bertolt Brecht's Mother Courage and Her Children, Suzan-Lori Parks' Venus, Carson Kreitzer's The Love Song of J. Robert Oppenheimer, Marc Blitzstein's The Cradle Will Rock and others. More information is available at http://www.franktheare.org/.

About the Guthrie
The Guthrie Theater, founded in 1963, is an American center for theater performance, production, education and professional training. The Guthrie is dedicated to producing the great works of dramatic literature, developing the work of contemporary playwrights and cultivating the next generation of theater artists. Led by Director Joe Dowling since 1995, the Guthrie opened a new three-theater home on the banks of the Mississippi River in Minneapolis in June 2006.

The Guthrie is located at 818 South 2nd Street (at Chicago Avenue), in downtown Minneapolis. To purchase tickets or season subscriptions call the Guthrie Box Office between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. daily at 612.377.2224 or toll-free 877.44.STAGE. For more information, or to purchase tickets online, visit http://www.guthrietheater.org/.

Photo by Tony Nelson