21 Nov–10 Jan
It’s A Wonderful Life
Adapted by Mary Elliott Nelson. Directed by Claire O’Reilly
- Show times
- Evening: Café and Bar 5:30pm | Doors 6:00pm | Show 6:30pm Matinee: Café and Bar 12:00pm | Doors 12:30pm | Show 1:00pm
- Age
- 9+
- Audience advisory
- This production contains haze
This Christmas, the Gate Theatre invites audiences to step into the world of Bedford Falls with a stage production of the timeless classic, It’s a Wonderful Life.
Adapted by Mary Elliott Nelson and directed by Claire O’Reilly, this new version brings the beloved story of George Bailey to life with a fresh, theatrical spirit.
The play follows the life of George Bailey, a man with big dreams of travelling the world and building skyscrapers, who instead finds himself rooted in his hometown by duty and heart. On a fateful, snowy Christmas Eve, facing financial ruin and despair, George contemplates the unthinkable. It is then that he meets Clarence Oddbody, an “Angel Second Class” who has been waiting over two hundred years to earn her wings.
It’s a Wonderful Life is a story of hope, redemption, and the reminder that every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings.
“Never thinks about himself, God. That’s why he’s in trouble. He needs a Guardian Angel.”
Credits
Cast
Sheik Bah
Martini, Sam, Angel (and Ensemble)
Shane Daniel Byrne
Clarence
Conor Corcoran
Young George
Juliette Crosbie
Mary
Amy Macken
Harry (young and old) Violet (young and old) Angel (and Ensemble)
Ruth McGill
Gower, Uncle Billy, Angel (and Ensemble)
James McGowan
Young George
Garry Mountaine
Potter, Bert, Angel (and Ensemble)
Paul Reid
George
Creatives
Mary Elliott Nelson
Adapted by
Claire O’Reilly
Directed by
April Dalton
Set and Costume
John Gunning
Lighting Designer
Tom Lane
Composer and Sound Design
Paula O’Reilly
Movement Director
Áine O’Sullivan
Casting Director
Róisin Harrington
Casting Assistant
Signe Lurge
Resident Assistant Director
About the writer
Mary Elliott Nelson
Mary Elliott Nelson is an actor, writer and dramaturg. Her adaptation of Frank Capra’s movie It’s a Wonderful Life has been produced around the UK, including a revival at Reading Rep Theatre in 2023.
About the director
Claire O’Reilly
Claire is an award-winning Irish theatre director. She has presented work across Ireland, the UK, Germany, France, Luxembourg, New York, China and Australia. Recent projects include: Death of a Salesman (Staatstheater Mainz, 2026), A Christmas Carol (Gate Theatre, Dublin 2025), Bán by Carys D Coburn (Peacock Theatre Dublin, Dublin Theatre Festival), Emma by Kate Hamill (Abbey Theatre 2025), Hothouse (Malaprop, National tour 2025, winner of Best Production at Dublin Fringe Awards, New York Times Critic’s Pick), Talking About the Fire created with Chris Thorpe (Royal Court Theatre 2023 & European tour 2025), Accents by Emmet Kirwan (National tour 2025), & This Solution by Shaun Dunne (Dublin Theatre Festival 2023). She has worked as an Associate Director on the West End and off-Broadway, including A Streetcar Named Desire (dir. Rebecca Frecknall, BAM 2025) and Uncle Vanya (dir. Ian Rickson, Sonia Friedman Productions 2020). Claire is a former Resident Director at the Abbey Theatre (2022-2023). She has a Master’s in Drama Directing from the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School (2019) and is a graduate of Film and Theatre at Trinity College Dublin (2015). She was featured on the Sunday Times Young Power List 2025 – 25 most influential under-35s in Ireland. She joined the Board of Directors for Project Arts Centre in 2026.
Booking information
- Previews
- From Tuesday 17 November 2026
- Opening night
- Saturday 21 November 2026
- Closing night
- Sunday 10 January 2027
- ISL-interpreted performance
- There will be an ISL-Interpreted Performance of It’s A Wonderful Life on Saturday 12 December at 1pm.
- Accessibility
- In advance of booking, we kindly ask that patrons with accessibility requirements to contact boxoffice@gate-theatre.ie