Two Northeast Philadelphia residents, Carlos A. Forbes and Jimmy Guckin, will feature in the ensemble cast of the Irish Heritage Theatre’s production of Sean O’Casey’s The Plough and the Stars from May 26 through June 11 at Plays and Players Theatre, 1714 Delancey Place. Plays and Players is co-producer and Peggy Mecham the director.
Plough is the third installment in O’Casey’s famed Dublin Trilogy, which examines the tumultuous period in Irish history including the nation’s War of Independence and Civil War from the perspective of the inhabitants of Dublin’s tenement slums. IHT previously staged the first two installments in the trilogy, including The Shadow of a Gunman and Juno and the Paycock, to flattering reviews and sold-out audiences leading up to this year’s centennial commemorations of the 1916 Easter Rising.
In Plough, tragedy strikes the Clitheroe family and their community during the Rising as wife Nora struggles to keep her husband Jack from joining the fight for Ireland’s freedom. The production also stars Victoria Bonito, Harry Watermeier, John Schultz, John Cannon, Kevin Rodden, Mary Pat Walsh, Michelle Pauls, Ian Agnew, Barbaraluz Orlanda, Dexter Anderson, Adam Hammet, Kyra Baker, Cris Welti, Mark Knight and David Kuong.
Guckin is an IHT veteran performer and board member. He previously appeared in IHT’s productions of Juno and Shadow, as well A Night with Lady G and Spreading the News. He is a graduate of Community College of Philadelphia and has appeared in several plays there. He is also a member of Once More Theatre, with which he appeared in Gabor Czako’s Pigs in February 2015. Guckin has written Everyone, an adaptation of the medieval morality play Everyman, which was performed by the CCP theater department. Additionally, his adaptation of Aristophanes’ Plutus for OMT ran at Plays and Players’ Skinner Studio.
Forbes also featured in OMT’s Plutus and Pigs, as well as IHT’s Juno. He is a theater student at Community College of Philadelphia and is working on the web series Jack Jones: Master Spy, which is scheduled for release this fall in the Fringe Festival.
The Irish Heritage Theatre is Philadelphia’s only theater company devoted to producing Irish and Irish-American classics. Tickets to Plough range from $10 to $25, with discounts for some performances available through the Philadelphia Fun Guide and Goldstar. Advanced reservations are strongly recommended. For show times and other information, visit www.irishheritagetheatre.org as well as www.playsandplayers.org ••
