late: a cowboy song

Mary and Crick are childhood sweethearts, married and whose lives are fenced in by big buildings, small ideas, and an endless cycle of meaningless holidays. Then Mary meets Red – a strong, independent woman, who lives the solitary and free life of a cowboy. Mary starts wondering about gender identities and slowly moves away from the traditional wife and mother roles. This, however, comes at a price.

Sarah Ruhl (born in 1974), a compelling and versatile playwright, holds an M.F.A. in playwriting from Brown University. Her plays include among others In the Next Room, or the vibrator play (Broadway 2009, 2010 Pulitzer Prize Finalist), The Clean House (2005 Pulitzer Price Finalist) and Passion Play, a Cycle (Pen American Award). She won the MacArthur Fellowship in 2006. Originally from Chicago, Ms. Ruhl now lives in New York City.

Sarah Ruhl has been praised by the New York Times as “a provocative new theatrical voice”, by Theatremania as “a splendid new American playwright” and by Variety as “a playwright with a unique comic voice, perspective and sense of theater.”

Linda Bonvini studied English and Comparative Literature at the University of Glasgow and New York University. This play caught her immediate attention because it deals with issues that are especially relevant for young women, such as: career, relationships, gender roles, procreation and postpartum depression. Ruhl’s funny yet touching passages that conceal the deeper problems underneath give the play an incredible honest dimension. After The 27 Club: Deconstructing Janis, which Linda Bonvini codirected with Anne Simon in 2011, Late: A Cowboy Song is her second production at the TNL.

Director: Linda Bonvini Assistant Director: Frédérique Colling Scenography: Anouk Schiltz Music: Claude Schlim With: Jenny Beacraft, Claire Thill, Jules Werner

Coproduction Independent Little Lies, Théâtre National du Luxembourg, Kulturhaus Niederanven