No longer booking
  • Venue Almeida Theatre, London
  • Performance dates Booking to 18 November 2023
  • Running time 2 hours & 25 minutes (including interval)

★★★★ “Glorious” – The Guardian

Carrie Cracknell (The Deep Blue Sea, A Doll’s House) returns to the Almeida theatre to direct Marina Carr’s heart-wrenching modern Irish classic Portia Coughlan.

Alison Oliver (Dancing at Lughnasa) stars as the eponymous Portia Coughlan in Marina Carr’s breathtaking, haunting play about destructive families and obsession.

The cast also includes Kathy Kiera Clarke (Derry Girls), Sorcha Cusack (Father Brown), and Conor MacNeill (Industry).

Portia Coughlan runs from 10 October to 18 November 2023 at Almeida Theatre London.

Portia Coughlan at the Almeida Theatre

“There’s a wolf tooth growin in me heart and it’s turnin me from everywan and everthin I am.”

A young woman unravelling.
A twin reappearing.
A family torn asunder by the living and the dead.

Today is Portia’s birthday. But it’s not a day for family and celebrations. Because Portia is making terrible choices, lurching between past and present, and wondering if the hand of fate has already set her course.

Tormented by her dead twin Gabriel, who disappeared into the depths of the Belmont River 15 years ago, she wreaks havoc on all she loves in a desperate bid to save herself.

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Stars and Creatives

Who is in the cast of Portia Coughlan?

Alison Oliver plays Portia Coughlan.

Kathy Kiera Clarke (Derry Girls); Sorcha Cusack (Father Brown); Charlie Kelly (The Terror); Conor MacNeill (Industry); Sadhbh Malin (Lights Out); Fergal McElherron (The Ferryman); Mairead McKinley (Translations); Mark O’Halloran (Shadows of a Gunman); Chris Walley (The Lieutenant of Inishmore); and Archee Aitch Wylie (Faun).

Who are the creative team of Portia Coughlan?

Written by Marina Carr, and directed by Carrie Cracknell.

Set Designer Alex Eales; Costume Designer Evie Gurney; Lighting Designer Guy Hoare; Sound Designer Giles Thomas; Music and Lyrics by Maimuna Memon; Musical Direction by Tim Sutton; Fight Direction by Kate Waters; and Casting by Amy Ball CDG.

Important Notes

Access performances:

Audio Described Sat 11 Nov 2pm (Touch Tour 12pm); Captioned Mon 6 Nov 7.30pm; Relaxed Environment Wed 8 Nov 2pm & 7.30pm

Venue Information

Almeida Theatre , Almeida Street, London, N1 1TA

Nearest Tube or Train: Highbury & Islington (Victoria / Overground), Angel (Northern)

Nearest Buses: 4, 19, 30 or 43, 38, 56, 73, 341 and 476

Directions

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Critics' reviews of Portia Coughlan

★★★★ "Marina Carr’s play is beautifully bleak and Alison Oliver’s central performance as a woman lost in grief is matched by a mighty cast" - The Guardian

★★★★ "Superb, dreamlike revival" - TimeOut

★★★★ "Wrenching, atmospheric revival" - The Stage

Also see: Portia Coughlan Reviews Round-up

Frequently Asked Questions

Portia Coughlan is playing at the Almeida Theatre in London
The running time of Portia Coughlan is 2 hours & 25 minutes (including interval)
Yes, Portia Coughlan has matinee performances on the following days:
No, sorry, Portia Coughlan has now completed its run and is no longer on sale.

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