Marina Carr's By the Bog of Cats, starring Academy Award winner Holly Hunter, is coming to the West End. The show, directed by Dominic Cooke, will begin performances at Wyndhams Theatre on November 19.
Hunter previously starred in the play, based on the tragic tale of Medea, when it ran under the guidance of director Timothy Near at the San José Repertory Theatre in the fall of 2001 to mixed reviews. She is best known for her film work--including an Academy Award-winning performance in The Piano and Academy Award-nominated turns in Broadcast News, The Firm and Thirteen. In addition to her acclaimed work on the big screen, Hunter is a noted stage actress. She made her Broadway debut in 1982 when she replaced Mary Beth Hurt in Beth Henley's Crimes of the Heart. Her other Broadway credits include two more Henley plays: The Wake of Jamey Foster and Impossible Marriage.
By the Bog of Cats is a story of love and revenge that centers on Irish Traveler Hester Swane Hunter. Left for a woman of greater means, the dangerous and hypnotic Hester find herself on a collision course with disaster, one that will leave no one's life unscarred. Travelers are an ethnic minority in Ireland known for their nomadic lifestyle. They are similar to European Gypsies and date back to 12th century.
By the Bog of Cats will officially open in the West End on December 1.