About
The world premiere of The Magnificent invites us into the last Christmas together for a remarkable group of nuns who have lived together for many years. Through the eyes of their new nurse, Rose, we discover these unforgettable women who are complicated, contrary, and full of stories. The Magnificent explores the tensions and tenderness between them, as the consequences of their careers, lives and choices come knocking. A warm, witty and deeply human new…
The world premiere of The Magnificent invites us into the last Christmas together for a remarkable group of nuns who have lived together for many years.
Through the eyes of their new nurse, Rose, we discover these unforgettable women who are complicated, contrary, and full of stories. The Magnificent explores the tensions and tenderness between them, as the consequences of their careers, lives and choices come knocking.
A warm, witty and deeply human new play written by Erica Murray, The Magnificent is directed by one of Ireland’s leading theatre directors, Joe Dowling, in his first production at the Abbey Theatre since the sold-out run of Faith Healer in 2021.
Join us this winter for a striking new play about friendship, faith, change, and the small things that keep us connected.
Erica Murray
Erica Murray is an Irish playwright who has had an extraordinary 2026 – beginning with an Abbey Theatre national tour of her play for young people, In Real Life; followed by the New York premiere of her 2023 play The Loved Ones; followed by the world premiere of Meredith at the Gate Theatre as part of Dublin Theatre Festival; and closing out the year with this Christmas Abbey Stage production of The Magnificent.
Joe Dowling
Joe Dowling has been an actor, director, and teacher for nearly sixty years. At age 29, he was appointed the youngest ever artistic director of the Abbey Theatre. In 1987, he founded The Gaiety School of Acting, the first full-time acting training in Ireland. In New York, he directed the Tony Award-nominated productions of Molière’s Tartuffe and Dion Boucicault’s London Assurance. For Shakespeare in the Park, he directed Othello, with Raul Julia and Christopher Walken. In 1995, Joe Dowling was appointed artistic director and CEO of The Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. He was the driving force behind the relocation of the theatre from its original location to the banks of the Mississippi River in a new three-theatre complex. His last Abbey Theatre production was a revival of Faith Healer in 2021, which he had first directed in 1980 in the European premiere of Brian Friel’s masterpiece.
