The Smuggler: A Thriller In Verse

The Smuggler: A Thriller In Verse

By Ronán Noone

Directed by David M. Jenkins

May 15 – Jun. 9, 2024

Shimberg Playhouse, Straz Center

Single tickets start at $44.50

Preview tickets start at $25

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Run Time

The Smuggler runs 80 minutes with no intermission.

Curtain Time Changes

All evening performances are now at 7:30pm and matinees are at 2pm.

What It's About

One part Breaking Bad and one part Beowulf — shaken, not stirred — The Smuggler is a ripping modern yarn of corruption, morality, and giant basement-dwelling rats that asks what price is ultimately paid for the American Dream. When Irish immigrant Tim Finnegan’s child falls ill and he loses his job, he’s sucked into a dark world that exists only in the shadows of the wealthy island of Amity.

Tim wants to be a writer but struggles to find his path. That all changes when a stranger arrives with a plan to make people “disappear and reappear.” In this mischievous, one-man, rhyming-verse dark comedy, Tim learns the price he must pay to become a citizen. Step into his secret speakeasy to hear a twisty story with unsavory characters and shady shenanigans.

Artistic Associate Giles Davies is regarded by most as one of this region’s finest actors. Audiences may recall his highly acclaimed run of this show in Sarasota at Urbanite Theatre. Tampa Bay area audiences can look forward to an updated text including a slightly different ending, fresh from the playwright!

The tale Tim tells is raw and raucous—part “Sopranos,” part Archie Bunker—and Noone has plenty to say about immigration, the American caste system, and the American Dream. – The New Yorker

Captivating! I sat horrified and charmed, watching Davies smoothly wrap us in his web of deceit and crime. – Sarasota Herald-Tribune

A masterful performance … A level of excellence we rarely have the chance to witness in person – Bradenton Times

Giles Davies in Jobsite’s The Smuggler: A Thriller in Verse. (Photo: James Zambon Photography)

About The Playwright

Ronan Noone believes in playing with a myriad of elements to find the right way to tell a good story; a necessary story that tells us who we are, where we have been, and where we are going. He believes in stories that resonate beyond the theatre’s door and that add ideas to the national conversation. He believes in the playwright as thinker traveling in the direction of their fear. His play The Smuggler won the Best Playwright award at the 1st Irish Festival of New York, (2019) . The Second Girl was the inaugural winner of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education Excellence in Playwriting Award (2015) and an Edgerton Award winner in 2014. Additional plays include, Thirst, The Atheist; Brendan; Scenes from an Adultery; The Lepers of Baile Baiste, The Blowin of Baile Gall, The Gigolo of Baile Breag (The Baile Trilogy); The Compass Rose; Little Black Dress; and A Small Death. The Atheist played at the Huntington Theatre Company, Boston, and the Williamstown Theatre Festival. It also was co-produced by The Culture Project and Ted Mann’s Circle in the Square productions in New York, and received both Drama Desk and Drama League acting nominations.

Other recent international productions have taken place in the UK (London and Edinburgh), Spain, India, Canada, the Philippines, and Ireland. Awards include Jeff recommendations in Chicago; Helen Hayes recommendations in Washington, D.C.; Ovation recommendations in Los Angeles; Critics Award in Austin, Texas; American Critics Steinberg New Play Award nomination; nomination for best play at 1st Irish Festival New York 2013 and 2015; three Independent Reviewers of New England (IRNE) Awards for Best New Play; the Boston Theatre Critics Association’s Elliot Norton Outstanding Script Award; The Kennedy Center Michael Kanin National Playwriting Award; a 2014 Edgerton New American Play Award, and a finalist for the ScreenCraft Stage Play Award (2020). Other plays have been featured in books on Irish studies, such as Anail an Bheil Bheo: Orality and Modern Irish Culture and Sinead Moynihan’s Other People’s Diasporas.

Critic Reviews

Get lost in Ronan Noone’s captivating tale … a production of this magnitude, and sheer brilliance doesn’t come around everyday. – BroadwayWorld

The darkness descends like a barely perceptible shadow. He’s doesn’t exactly become Bill the Butcher, but he changes. The audience can feel it. – St. Pete Catalyst

News

Cast & Crew

  • David M. Jenkins – Director
  • Michael Horn – Technical Director
  • Jeremy Douglass – Stage Manager

Cast

  • Giles Davies – Tim Finnegan

Crew

  • Lauren Agans-Dominguez – Technical Apprentice
  • Jo Averill-Snell – Light Design
  • Teah Banks – Properties
  • Jeremy Douglass – Composition
  • Michael Horn – Set Design
  • Skylar Jay – Scenic Artist
  • Katrina Stevenson – Costume Design

Production

  • David M. Jenkins – Producing Artistic Director
  • Greg Newcomb – Key Art
  • Shawn Paonessa – Online Producer
  • Jena Rashid – Producing Associate
  • Nicole Jeannine Smith – Producing Associate

Patron Reviews

Blessed to see Giles Davies give an outstanding performance tonight! If you miss this show – you are missing something truly special!! You will be drawn in as if you’re catching up with an old friend who has a spicy tale to share that will keep you on the edge of your seat! Then, all too quickly, your visit is over and you’re left with a lot to think about. Can’t say enough good things about the story, the production quality, and of course,the talent of the actor that brings it to life! Thank you again for a great show! – Christy Barba

Had a fabulous time with mama bear seeing THE SMUGGLER @jobsitetheater. Giles is phenomenal. What a talent. It’s a one-man show and he does not disappoint. – @karligirl

… wow, just WOW, Giles Davies and Noone’s play were both Brilliant! One thing that often strikes me is the physicality Davies brings to his work. Whether a villain on a stage of many, or alone on stage with Noone’s rhyming words I dare anyone to try and pull their eyes away. The social commentary of this work is so important and at times unsettling, and I hope a bit eye opening during this time of such strong societal othering. Bravo Mr Davies, BRAVO! You’ve done it again Jobsite! 🎭 – Susanne Dockery

Saw this show on Thursday and it was AMAZING! Giles was brilliant with the different roles he played. So glad we see these shows! – Judy Scott

Volunteered last night – what a great performance! – Cindy Williams

Quite outstanding! Giles IS the Smuggler… Pointed, important, and with a twist! – Chris Hart

Incredible!! My mind is blown by this 80 minutes of theater. Here’s to a sold out run- Giles Davies is amazing!

Wow … just, f*cking wow – JL Rey

There is a minute, right before the curtain or lights come up on the stage, when anything is possible and everyone in the space breathes together waiting for the magic to happen. Last night I saw a show that lived up to that anticipation. THE SMUGGLER at Jobsite Theater was everything you hope to experience at the theater. It is funny, tragic, and full of fatal Irish charm. From his jaunty entrance to his equally jaunty exit, Giles Davies fills the space with characters and yarns, both comic and horrifying, with an ease that is almost hypnotizing. You would forgive this scoundrel anything as long as he continues to amuse you with his story. Giles’ performance is a Master Class of acting that reminds you that one actor and one audience is all you need for magic to happen. If you are in or near Tampa, this is the show you need to see. – Clare Ward-Jenkins

The show was amazing on Friday night ! 🤩 – Angela Speer

Saw this show on Thursday and it was AMAZING! Giles was brilliant with the different roles he played. So glad we see these shows! – Judy Scott

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