Irish Arts Center presents the U.S. premiere of How to Keep an Alien, Sonya Kelly’s autobiographical tale about what it took to convince the Irish government to let her live with her Australian girlfriend. The show, presented by Dublin-based theatre company Rough Magic and written and performed by Kelly, begins performances September 15.

With direction by Gina Moxley, How to Keep an Alien also stars Paul Curley. Performances are scheduled to run through October 1 at The Donaghy Theater at Irish Arts Center.

Kelly returns to the New York stage following her 2013 solo show, I Can See Clearly Now, which garnered rave reviews. Winner of the Tiger Dublin Fringe Best Production award, her newest show has toured all over Ireland, as well as to the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh and the Soho Theatre in London.

How to Keep an Alien follows Irish Kelly and her Australian girlfriend as they try to persuade the Department of Immigration that they have the right to live together in Ireland. “The paper trail of evidence for ‘the visa people’ takes them on a global odyssey from County Offaly to the Queensland Bush,” state production notes. “It's a tricky business coming from opposite ends of the earth. It takes an Olympian will and the heart of a whale, but above all else, paperwork. It takes a hell of a lot of paperwork!”

The production features lighting design by Sarah Jane Shiels, sound design by Carl Kennedy and dramaturgy by Maureen White.

Tickets are $32-$50 and can be purchased by visiting irishartscenter.org or by calling (866) 811-4111. The IAC is located at 553 W. 51st St., New York.

(Updated September 15, 2016)