Fareed blog

Irish Rep Reading of 'Can't Complain' Will Feature Mary Beth Peil

Christine Evans' play Can't Complain will get a free public reading 3 PM Feb. 18 in the Irish Repertory Theatre's New Works Reading Series, which celebrates emerging playwrights.

In Can't Complain, according to Irish Rep, "Rita hates being confined in a hospital, where her daughter Maureen has placed her for assessment after a small stroke. She plots her escape with the help of her elderly Irish roommate Iris, her granddaughter Jansis, and her cat's new best friend — the Devil. Rita battles her present situation, until a riotous party night with Iris and the Devil collapses her escape plan and brings her face to face with the remains of her past."

The cast includes Orlagh Cassidy (Aristocrats, The Field), Kelley Greene (Winter's Take, Skin of Our Teeth), Andy Paris (A World Apart) and Mary Beth Peil ("The Good Wife," Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown).

Playwright Evans has penned the plays The Underpass, Trojan Barbie, Weightless, Mothergun and The Ballad of the Lost Dogs. Her play Slow Falling Bird was presented as part of the New Works Series in 2009. Published by Samuel French, Smith & Kraus and in Theater Forum, her work has received multiple productions and awards in her native Australia, the U.K. and the U.S.

The reading is at Irish Repertory Theatre's home at 132 W. 22nd Street in Manhattan.

Seating is limited. A reservation is suggested. Call The Irish Repertory Theatre Box Office at (212) 727-2737. For more information visit www.irishrep.org.