Set in Dublin in 1999, with flashbacks to the 1960s, the play follows the Moorigan family as they navigate poverty, violence, and deep-seated secrets.
Characters
Dollie Moorgian
Rasher Moorgian
Basher Moorigan
Masher Moorigan
Wee Dolly
Young Rasher
ESB Boy
Plot
Crackskull Row is a dark, poetic drama that explores themes of family trauma, abuse, and the haunting nature of the past. Set in Dublin in 1999, with flashbacks to the 1960s, the play follows the Moorigan family, whose lives are marked by violence, secrets, and deep emotional wounds. The story primarily revolves around Rasher Moorigan, an aging man recently released from prison, who returns to the ruins of his childhood home—a crumbling council estate. There, he encounters his mother, Masher Moorigan, who seems trapped in a world of memory, trauma, and ghostly visions. As they interact, the play shifts between the past and present, revealing the dark legacy of Basher Moorigan, Masher's abusive father. Through a series of surreal and fragmented scenes, Crackskull Row exposes long-buried family secrets, cycles of violence, and forbidden desires, ultimately questioning whether one can ever escape the past. As the Moorigans struggle with their memories and guilt, the play builds toward a tragic, unsettling climax that leaves the audience with a sense of inevitable doom. The play's non-linear structure, lyrical language, and ghostly presences create a dreamlike atmosphere, reinforcing the idea that the past is not just remembered—it is alive and inescapable.
Production history
Crackskull Row was first developed at the Inishbofin Arts Festival in 2000.[3] More than a decade later, the play was included on the 2015 edition of The Kilroys' List, a gender parity initiative designed to end the "systematic underrepresentation of female and trans playwrights" in the American theater industry.[4]
Crackskull Row premiered the following year at The Cell Theatre, as part of Origin's 1st Irish Theatre Festival, where it received the Best Production Award.[5] The original cast included Gina Costigan as Dolly Moorigan/Wee Dolly, Colin Lane as Rasher/Basher Moorigan, Terry Donnelly as Masher Moorigan, and John Charles McLaughlin as Young Rasher/ESB Boy. The production was directed by Kira Simring.[6]
Off-Broadway
Crackskull Row subsequently transferred to the Irish Repertory Theatre for an additional eight week engagement in 2017, running from February 3 – March 26.[7]
Reception
The play's Off-Broadway run received critical acclaim, with particular praise for Molloy's writing, Simring's direction, and the ensemble of actors. The play currently holds a score of 76% on the review aggregator Show-Score, based on 58 reviews.[8] Andy Webster of The New York Times deemed the play a "Critic's Pick" writing,
"Grotesque but richly satisfying...Ms. Molloy enters the ring, exploring rage, dissolution, sexual perversity and family history with a bleak and penetrating acuity...The performers, directed by Kira Simring, are uniformly on point, with a grizzled Mr. Lane and a disheveled Ms. Donnelly especially fine...But it is Ms. Molloy’s salty, slangy yet singsong dialogue that most resonates."[9]
Cahir O'Doherty of The Irish Voice offered similar praise, highlighting Terry Donnelly's portrayal of Masher Moorigan and the agency afforded to the plays female characters. He noted that the play is "written and at all times absorbing because it understands the potency of the themes it has unleashed..." commending its exploration of potent themes and Molloy's daring approach, stating that "few Irish playwrights have been this ambitious in years."[10]
In a more mixed review, Helen Shaw of Time Out observed, "The text is beautifully constructed, but it asks for magic, and Kira Simring's un-beautiful production hasn't got much of a spell to cast." Shaw criticizes the performances of Donnelley and Lane, but praises Costigan and McLaughlin's chemistry, noting "only in them does Molloy's witchcraft do its work."[11]
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