Cillian Murphy to star in Complicite's Grief Is The Thing With Feathers by Max Porter

A new production based on the award-winning novel by Max Porter, directed by Enda Walsh and starring Cillian Murphy, Grief is the Thing with Feathers is a moving story of a widower and his young sons which becomes a profound meditation on love, loss and living.

This production sees acclaimed writer/director Enda Walsh reunited with actor Cillian Murphy following the huge success of their past collaborations: Disco Pigs, Ballyturk and Misterman.

Once upon a time there was a crow who wanted nothing more than to care for a pair of motherless children…

In a London flat, two young boys face the unbearable sadness of their mother’s sudden death. Their father imagines a future of well-meaning visitors and emptiness. In this moment of despair they are visited by Crow – antagonist, trickster, healer, babysitter. This sentimental bird is drawn to the grieving family and threatens to stay until they no longer need him.

The production will tour in 2019.

“It’s a real honour to be asked to bring Max Porter’s singular and wonderful book, Grief Is the Thing with Feathers, to the stage by Complicité – a great company whose work always inspires. Myself and my collaborators will be reunited with our friend Cillian Murphy who worked with us on Misterman and Ballyturk. It’s thrilling to be premièring this new work in Ireland next spring.”
Enda Walsh

“Couldn’t be any more excited about the prospect of making this piece of work…. Grief is the Thing with Feathers truly broke my heart when I first read it and it will be a privilege to bring it to life on stage in Ireland. Complicité’s work on stage has inspired me for many years, and it is always a joy to get in a room with my most trusted collaborator and friend Enda Walsh.”

Cillian Murphy

“I cannot think of a company I would rather see adapting Grief is The Thing With Feathers for stage than Complicité. I am humbled and thrilled that this most influential, restless and dynamic company will transform my book into live theatre. Enda Walsh and Cillian Murphy are a phenomenal creative partnership. I have seen with my own eyes the magic of their collaborative practice. The way they think and speak about my text, about family and poetry, about humans and birds, gives me total faith in this production.”
Max Porter