Directed by Artur Urbanski, "Stolarnia" rehearsal room of the Variety Theatre (Teatr Rozmaitosci) in Warsaw, October 2001.
Howie the Rookie are actually no more than two monologues, which apparently have nothing to do with each other. However, the text by the young Irish writer is a rich drama, dense in tension. Mark O'Rowe created a particular chronicle of the war between Howie and Rookie Lee, boys whose hostilities turn slowly into friendship and end in a bloody sacrifice. It is a tragedy with brilliant fragments of comedy. It was directed by Artur Urbański, awarded at the Festival of Polish Feature Films in Gdynia, 2001 for his film BELISSIMA.
Howie the Rookie brought Mark O'Rowe many awards: the George Devine Award (1999), the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature (1999) and the Irish Times New Play Award (2000). The staging in the Variety Theatre is the first Polish realisation of a text by Mark O'Rowe.
The reading rehearsal of Howie the Rookie took place on September 24 with participation and under the direction surveillance of the premiere's authors.
Mark O'Rowe, HOWIE I ROOKIE LEE / HOWIE THE ROOKIE, translated by Klaudyna Rozhin, directed by Artur Urbański, scenery designed by Magdalena Maciejewska. Premiere: October 13, 2001 at the Stolarnia rehearsal room of the Rozmaitości Theatre in Warsaw.