Caryl Churchill’s ‘A Number’ was written in 2002 at a time when cloning was frequently featured in the media. We all remember ‘Dolly the Sheep’ and of course the moral controversy over the development of human embryos in the United States. In this play Miss Churchill’s main focus, however, is with the concept of self and it’s uniqueness. How might a son feel to discover that he is not who he thought he was but a clone of a previous son? And what about the original son who somehow didn’t measure up? How does a father justify what he did? What follows is a tense reckoning between father and sons which ends tragically for all concerned.
The Tara Players production stars Peter Hudson as Salter(father) and James Bowman as three of his ‘sons’. The Director is Mary Kelly-Campbell.
The Tara Players have been involved with the Master Playwright Festival every year since it’s inception in 1999. As an Irish Theatre Group we were thrilled that the first playwright featured in the Festival was an Irishman, Samuel Beckett.
The Tara Players were founded in 1973 with a mandate to showcase Irish Theatre. Since then they have been running a successful Dinner Theatre with four/five productions a year at the Irish Association Premises on Erin Street.. Come and enjoy Irish Hospitality both before and after the show. We look forward to welcoming you and extending to you a Cead Mile Failte (a hundred thousand welcomes).
