Contributor Biographies

THOMAS CONWAY

Thomas works as a director, dramaturg, lecturer and journalist. He teaches contemporary theatre practices at National University of Ireland, Galway, and The Lir Academy for Performing Arts, Dublin. He is Literary Manager with Druid.

GRACE DYAS

Grace is currently researching and developing HISTORY (the third part of THEATREclub’s social history trilogy) as part of her Public Art Commission Residency in St. Michael’s Estate.

She is also working with The Abbey Theatre on The Young Covey’s project about young people and politics to coincide with The Plough And The Stars.

Grace is one third of THEATREclub. She is a theatre director, writer and producer. Recent work for THEATREclub includes TWENTY TEN, THE FAMILY, HEROIN (Spirit of the Fringe Award), THEATREclub stole your CLOCK RADIO what the FUCK you gonna do about it?, GROUP THERAPY FOR ONE and ROUGH (Fishamble New Writing Award). Other theatre includes I am A Home Bird (It’s very hard) which she produced for Talking Shop Ensemble.

Grace has also worked as an assistant to directors Jason Byrne, Annie Ryan and Wayne Jordan.

Grace is a proud board member of Dublin Youth Theatre.

MARK O’HALLORAN

Mark is a writer/actor from Ennis Co. Clare, Ireland. His screenplays include Adam & Paul and Garage. He has also written a television series, Prosperity. Plays include The Head of Red O’Brien and Mary Motorhead. Trade, which premiered at the 2011 Dublin International Theatre Festival, won the Irish Times Irish Theatre Award for Best Play of 2011 as well as the Irish Playwrights and Screenwriters Guild Zebbie award for best new play. Mark has been nominated for numerous other awards, including a European Film Award for the screenplay of Adam & Paul, Irish Film and Television Awards where he won for both ‘best screenplay’ and ‘best TV writer’ 2007. He also won the London Evening Standard award for Best Screenplay in 2005.

LYNDA RADLEY

Lynda Radley hails from Cork and lives in Glasgow. In 2011 Lynda won a Scotsman Fringe First for her play Futureproof; a co-production between Dundee Rep Ensemble and the Traverse Theatre. She recently took part in the Dream Plays programme for Edinburgh Fringe 2012, also for the Traverse, and shared in a Herald Angel Award. Other recent work includes Berlin Love Tour – a walking tour of Berlin that can take place in any city – which sold out at the Fierce Festival in Birmingham, Cork Midsummer Festival and Dublin Fringe (Playgroup). In February 2012 Lynda travelled to the National Play Festival in Australia, with a delegation from the National Theatre of Scotland, where her play DORM received a rehearsed reading. With visual artist, Jenny Soep, she is currently developing a graphic novel. Her solo show The Art of Swimming was short-listed for Meyer Whitworth and Total Theatre awards and toured internationally. Other works include Birds and Other Things I am Afraid Of (in association with The Arches and Poorboy), Integrity, Dark Week, The Heights and Soap!: a ten episode live soap opera co-written with Ciaran Fitzpatrick (Playgroup).

PHILLIP MCMAHON

Phillip is one half of pop culture outfit THISISPOPBABY. As a theatremaker he has worked as actor, director, producer and playwright. His plays include Danny and Chantelle (still here), All Over Town, Investment Potential, Pineapple, Elevator and the musical Alice In Funderland at the Abbey Theatre. Directing credits include In These Shoes?, All Dolled Up and A Woman In Progress all written and performed by drag superstar Panti, The Year of Magical Wanking and a live arena show for the Rubberbandits at Electric Picnic Music and Arts Festival. Phillip is co-creator and co-curator of the ‘POP’ performance venue at Electric Picnic Music and Arts Festival, ‘Queer Notions’ cross-arts festival at Project Arts Centre and ‘WERK’ Performance/Art/Club at the Abbey Theatre.

As a teenager Phillip was a member of Dublin Youth Theatre, National Youth Theatre and Australian Theatre for Young People. He was ‘Writer-in-Association’ at the Abbey Theatre 2009/10.

AMY CONROY

Amy Conroy has been a professional actor for over ten years and founded HotForTheatre 2010.

She wrote their debut show I Alice I, which premiered in ABSOLUT Fringe 2010, winning her the Fishamble New Writing Award, nominations for the Stewart Parker Trust Award and a Zebbie Award. I Alice I was programmed in the Ulster Bank Dublin Theatre Festival, the Peacock stage of Abbey Theatre in Dublin, the Irish Arts Centre In New York, LÓKAL Festival in Iceland, and was recorded and broadcast on RTÉ Radio One. Her second show, Eternal Rising of the Sun, for which she won the Best Female Performer Award, premiered in ABSOLUT Fringe 2011 and transferred to the Dublin Theatre Festival 2012. Both shows will tour nationally and internationally in 2013. Amy has begun working on HotForTheatre’s next show which will premier in late 2013. Amy wrote and recorded Hold This, a radio play for RTÉ Radio One, and was a participant on the New Playwrights Programme 2011 in the Abbey Theatre.

HotForTheatre believes theatre should provoke, move and delight in equal measures.

UNA MCKEVITT

Una McKevitt is a Dublin-based theatre practitioner interested in making theatre from everyday life. The ambition and focus of Una’s work is to derive a dramatic text from a documentary practice and abstract personal histories and social realities through performance and design to create theatre that is both artful and innovative. Inspired by Quarantine’s Production of Susan and Darren, Una developed her first documentary work Victor and Gord in 2009 based on the dysfunctional friendship of her sister Gord (Aine McKevitt) and Gord’s friend Victor (Vickey Curtis). Victor and Gord was published by Cork University Press in Queer Notions 2010, edited by Fintan Walsh. In 2010, Una premiered her second work, 565+ ‘My name is Marie O’Rourke’ at the Ulster Bank Dublin Theatre Festival 2010. In 565+ Marie discusses her compulsive attendance of the theatre and her ongoing battle with depression. In 2011 Una, in collaboration with two contributors, edited and directed The Big Deal, based on the contributors’ real-life experiences of gender reassignment and performed by actors. Una is currently developing a new show Singlehood with a cast of ten and based on over fifty interviews with single men and women. Singlehood will premiere at the 2012 Absolut Dublin Fringe Festival.

SIMON DOYLE

Simon Doyle is a writer based in Dublin. Texts for stage include: Thwaite (2003), a libretto for an opera by Jürgen Simpson, directed by Dan Jemmett for Almeida Aldeborough Opera and Opera Theatre Company and staged in London, Dublin and Aldeborough; Oedipus Loves You (2006), co-written and directed by Gavin Quinn for Pan Pan Theatre, which premiered in Dublin and toured internationally; Off Plan (2010), an adaptation of The Oresteia by Aeschylus, directed by Rachel West for RAW productions, premiered at Project Arts Centre, Dublin; The Truth of the Moon (2010), a monologue written for Sonya Kelly and directed by Sophie Motley for ANU Productions, premiered at The New Theatre, Dublin.

GAVIN QUINN

Gavin was born in Dublin in 1969. He is joint artistic director of Pan Pan Theatre, which he founded with Aedín Cosgrove in 1991. Selected productions include, A Bronze Twist of Your Serpent Muscles by Gavin Quinn (winner of Best Overall Production, Dublin Fringe Festival, 1995), Cartoon (1997), Standoffish by Gavin Quinn (Best Production, Advertiser, Adelaide, 2000), Deflowerfucked by Gavin Quinn (2001), Mac-Beth 7 (2004), One: Healing with Theatre (2005), The Playboy of the Western World by John Millington Synge (in both Beijing and Dublin, in Mandarin and with a Chinese cast, 2006), Oedipus Loves You by Gavin Quinn and Simon Doyle (2006), The Crumb Trail by Gina Moxley (2009), The Rehearsal, Playing the Dane (Winner of best production, best design, Irish Times Theatre Awards, 2010), All That Fall by Samuel Beckett (2011), A Doll House (2012).

Opera directing credits include, The 4 Note Opera (Tom Johnson, 2000), The Magic Flute for OTC, Hamelin for OTC (Ian Wilson, 2003), The Abduction from the Seraglio for ETO (Hackney Empire, London 2007), and Così Fan Tutti for Opera Ireland (2007).

NEIL WATKINS

Neil Watkins lives in Dublin City. A former member of Dublin Youth Theatre, he went on to study acting at Drama Centre London. He has written and directed The Ugly Penguin Scenarios and Covers for Dublin Youth Theatre. Neil founded Gentle Giant Theatre Company to produce his own writing and to create opportunites to perform and direct. For Gentle Giant he has produced; The Ugly Penguin Scenarios, Love In A Time Of Affluence, (nominated for the Stuart Parker Award for Best New Writing), A Cure For Homosexuality (published by Cork Press in Queer Notions), The Heidi Konnt XXXmas Story, Dublin City Counselling (Spirit of the Fringe nominee) and The Dark Room (Spirit of the Fringe nominee). Neil has worked as an actor in theatre, TV and film in Ireland, appearing in the national soap opera Fair City as a Norwegian child minder called Karl Hansen and the nation’s favorite satire The Savage Eye as various characters with Dave McSavage. Neil recently appeared opposite one of his acting heroes Martin Sheen in the film Stella Days.

He emceed the performance art night club Werk at Ireland’s National Theatre with thisispopbaby. He has toured internationally with Sean Millar’s Brokentalkers’ Silver Stars. And with support from the British Council in Ireland he was mentored by renowned Manchester/London-based performance artist David Hoyle. He has guest appeared at The Royal Vauxhall Tavern with David in London. Neil has also proudly performed alongside Gavin Friday and Sinead O’ Connor for Gavins’ “Catholic” concert at the Olypmia Theatre.

He scored the first international try for the Irish Gay Rugby Team at the Bingham Cup in London 2004 and won the title of Alternative Miss Ireland 2005 as Heidi Konnt.

As singer-songwriter Neil has recently formed the band Buffalo Woman with criticically acclaimed musician and theatre-maker Sean Millar.

At the time of print Neil is under commision to Calippo Theatre Company to rewrite his 2007 Fringe Show, critically acclaimed smash (***** Irish Times), Dublin City Counselling.

Neil enjoys New Writing, Cinema, Art, Music Festivals, Bikram Yoga, DaftPunk’s soundtrack to Tron and having the craic with buzzers. Neil is delighted and proud for The Year of Magical Wanking to be included in this anthology.

Namaste to one and all.