About the Show

Irish Repertory Theatre presents this original story of rural life in Northern Ireland by Abbie Spallen, a multi-award winning Irish playwright making her Irish Rep debut.

From the show:

In a gas station in Northern Ireland, barely north of the border, Pumpgirl gets few customers beyond lecherous men and cruel women who remark on her tomboyish appearance. Otherwise guarded, she has struck up a friendship with “no helmet Hammy” – an amateur stock-car racer who prefers to spend time with his unsavory buddies over his wife and children. As Hammy’s wife, Sinead, stays home alone, she simmers with rage over her isolated, disappointing existence. On Hammy’s birthday, their lives become perilously intertwined, leaving them face-to-face with a desperate future.

Critic Reviews (10)

CRITIC’S PICK "‘Pumpgirl’ Review: Gas for Sale but Dreams on Hold An exquisite Irish Repertory Theater revival captures a trio of lost souls aching to connect in their constricting small town."
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3/5 Stars "'All three performers impressively handle the tricky task of embodying emotion while also narrating it. But the lack of interaction among the characters becomes a hindrance as the drama attempts to generate momentum."
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"'Pumpgirl' Zooms In on the Veiled Troubles in Rural Northern Ireland: Abbie Spallen's three-person play returns to New York City in a production with the Irish Repertory Theatre."
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"Small Town Lives Yearning For Something More In Abbie Spallen's 'PUMPGIRL'"
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"Though not a perfect piece by any means, 'Pumpgirl' is so obviously the work of a natural writer that one wonders why we haven't heard more from Spallen. Each character speaks in a distinct and arresting voice, loaded with startlingly accurate turns of phrase."
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4/5 stars: "Abbie Spallen's 'Pumpgirl' is another reminder of how deep the acting resources go in this revered theater city, with three eye-popping, ear-singeing performances."
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"Abby Spallen's three-hander about hard-luck lives in today's Northern Ireland."
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"... as Spallen's bleak triptych of longing and despair coalesces into a single devastating canvas, her characters' lives become as thoroughly unforgettable as anything that's been recorded in the headlines."
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