Moat Club stages Irish premiere of ‘Push Up’ - a dark comedy of office politics!

The Moat Club has chosen Push Up to compete in the All-Ireland drama circuit next month. The play will be staged in the Moat Theatre, Naas from 12 to 16 February in preparation for the competitive circuit of drama festivals, which culminates in the prestigious RTE All-Ireland Drama Festival in the Dean Crowe Theatre, Athlone in May.

Push Up, set entirely in a high-rise office block, takes a satirical look at power struggles and lust in an international corporation. Three sets of rivals compete aggressively for what they desire. Their face-to-face battles are inter-cut with musings about their personal lives, which they reveal directly to the audience. A pair of security guards top and tail the piece.

Written by German playwright Roland Schimmelpfennig, Push Up has been translated into English by Maja Zade, and was first performed in English at the Royal Court Theatre, London in 2002. This is the first time it will be performed in Ireland.

Osbornes Solicitors, Naas, will sponsor the production as it makes its way around the qualifying drama festivals throughout March – The Moat Club acknowledges and is most grateful for this geneour sponsorship.

David Osborne, partner at Osbornes Solicitors commented: “We are delighted to sponsor the Moat Club’s entry in the All-Ireland drama circuit this year. The Moat Club is such an important part of the town of Naas, and we are very proud to support the talented and committed team who work so hard to bring each production to life. The Moat Club has a long history of success in this competition and we wish the team every success this year too.”

Push Up stars Sarah Gallagher, Padraic Broe, Ann Delaney, Conor O'Connell, John Lennon, Rachel Lally, Amanda Ryan and Brian McCarthy, who is currently Ireland’s best performer in a one-act play, having picked up the award for his role as Yossi in the winning play What’s Left of the Flag at the one-act finals late last year.

Director Eugene Delaney has been directing, acting and working behind the scenes with the Moat Club since 1986. His production of God of Carnage was runner up in the competition in 2017.

Push Up, a dark comedy of office politics, runs from Tuesday 12 to Saturday 16 February at the Moat Theatre, Naas, 8pm nightly. Tickets on 045 883 030 or www.moattheatre.com.