Z Space: Who’s-Dead McCarthy: Stories by Kevin Barry

Z Space and Word for Word present:
Who’S-Dead McCarthy:
Stories by Kevin Barry
Directed by Paul Finocchiaro
Featuring “Who’s-Dead McCarthy,” “The Wintersongs,” and “The Coast of Leitrim”

June 26 through July 21
in Z Below

Word for Word’s latest production brings three stories by Kevin Barry to the stage. The Irish author and short story master epitomizes the earthy and sometimes jarringly poetic vocabulary for which Ireland is particularly well known.

The three works include “Who’s-Dead McCarthy,” a tale featuring a self-appointed messenger of death in a small Irish city who cannot stop himself from gleefully chronicling and gossiping about the details of the deaths of others to everyone he meets. A tale perfect for those who like their humor a wee bit dark.

In “The Wintersongs” two strangers meet on a train. A garrulous old woman cautions a girl whose life journey is just beginning, as they both hurtle through the countryside under “the arc of a weak sun,” heading toward Dublin.

“The Coast of Leitrim” tells the story of a solitary Irish man who, finding himself smitten with a young Polish woman, falls down a Google-fueled rabbit hole, while falling deeper for her. A modern romance about how love transforms.

If these stories were wine, their descriptor might read: “Includes notes of humor, regret, anticipation, and Flannery O’Connor.”

“Barry’s stories are at once playful, serious, and beautifully crafted, and provide a needed balm for us in these turbulent times.”
—JoAnne Winter, Word for Word Artistic Director

Get Tickets – https://www.zspace.org/barry

Show Schedule
Previews: Weds 6/26 7pm, Thurs 6/27 7pm, Fri 6/28 8pm
Opening Night: Sat 6/29 8pm
Run of Show: 6/29 – 7/21 | Weds & Thurs 7pm | Fri & Sat 8pm | Sun 2pm
Masked Performances: Sun, 6/30 and Thurs, 7/18. Masks required for all audience members.