Jo Egan
Jo’s MFA (Playwriting) at Trinity College Dublin (Lir Academy) involved the study of contemporary theatre practice, dramaturgy and playwriting. A background in creating site-specific work has influenced her interest in the design and form of new writing for performance. Since moving to Belfast in 1996, she has written individually as well as collaboratively, for professional and community theatre companies.
Jo’s MFA (Playwriting) at Trinity College Dublin (Lir Academy) involved the study of contemporary theatre practice, dramaturgy and playwriting. A background in creating site-specific work has influenced her interest in the design and form of new writing for performance. Since moving to Belfast in 1996, she has written individually as well as collaboratively, for professional and community theatre companies.
L to R: Damien Hassan, Michéal Mc Daid, Maria McGavigan, Marjorie Leslie.
Photo: Gav Connolly.
Maria McGavigan, Ann McGavigan mural.
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The Crack in Everything by Jo Egan (Edited Version) June 2022
Produced by: MACHA Productions & Playhouse, Derry. 28 June 2022 Venue: Portcullis House, Parliament Buildings, Westminster, and Playhouse Theatre, Derry. June 2022 Comment: The text of The Crack in Everything, stripped back to the bare testimonies presented to MP's and Lords as part of an initiative to facilitate discussion regarding ongoing impact and legacy of the Northern Ireland conflict. UPDATE: Relatives and friends of six children who died in Northern Ireland's Troubles are to share their stories in a special presentation to MPs at Westminster. They will relate testimonies about how the children were killed by the British Army, the IRA and loyalist paramilitaries between 1971 and 1981. MPs from across the political spectrum in Britian and Northen ireland are expected to attend. The event has been organised by the Playhouse, an arts centre in Derry, and Jo Egan, a writer who conducted interviews and testimonies. The Guardian 27th June 2022 |
ALLIES by Jo Egan April 2022
Produced by: Act Out Youth Theatre in association with Solstice Art Centre
Venue: Solstice Art Centre, Navan.
Comment: ALLIES was performed as part of deLIBERATIONs: An evening of original theatre exploring themes of dilemma, discovery and gender from the perspective of young people in Ireland today.
Produced by: Act Out Youth Theatre in association with Solstice Art Centre
Venue: Solstice Art Centre, Navan.
Comment: ALLIES was performed as part of deLIBERATIONs: An evening of original theatre exploring themes of dilemma, discovery and gender from the perspective of young people in Ireland today.
L to R : Debra Hill, Collette Lennon, Maria Quinn in No Motive
Photo: Neil Harrison
Debra Hill in Sweeties. Photo: Neil Harrison
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Body Politics by Jo Egan September 2021
Produced by: MACHA Productions Venue: Brian Friel Theatre Belfast Comment: Body Politics explores the power society wields over women'sbodies. No Motive follows private detective Rachel McDoo as she'stasked with discovering why a woman who has it all, ends it all.Sweeties (an extended version of an earlier one act)is a dark, dark tragicom set in 80's Belfast: The lives of sisters, Tracy and Jen are blown wide open when a twist of fate reveals Tracy's past. Review: 'Jo Egan's writing is extraordinary. Even without the stylish choreographed delivery of the three actors and without the elegant backdrop...one of the most engaging scripts and satisfying performances I've encountered in a long, long time. The element of magic realism in Sweeties adds a levity to what quickly becomes a very dark conversation'. Alan in Belfast. |
Shane O'Reilly portraying James Teehan. Photo: Ros Kavanagh
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14 Voices from the Bloodied Field: the Truth About James Teehan by Jo Egan November 2020
Produced by: Abbey Theatre Dublin Venue: Online Comment: 14 Voices from the Bloodied Field brings together 14 writers, 14 directors and 14 actors to give voice to the men, women and children who were killed in Croke Park on 21 November 1920. James Teehan age 26 was from Tipperary. He worked with his brother John in the pub they owned in Green St, Dublin. The inquest reports that James was crushed but the Teehan family, who received his body for burial maintain James was shot. Review: '14 Voices from the Bloodied Field sees imagination and storytelling giving voice to the forgotten. Throughout, Croke Park is both stage and story, and an integral part of Ireland's cultural life. Yet at the heart of 14 Voices from the Bloodied Field are ordinary people written out of history being rewritten into the now.' Chris O'Rourke: The Arts Review Nov 2020.. |
L-R Damien Hasson, Mrajorie Leslie, Colette Lennon
L-R Sarah Feeney Morrison, Micheal McDaid, Damien Hasson: Photos: Gav Connolly.
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The Crack in Everything by Jo Egan
Produced by: The Playhouse Derry Nov/ December 2018. Venue: Playhouse Theatre Derry & Brian Friel Theatre, Belfast. Comment: Written and directed by Jo Egan during her time as Artist in Residence at the Playhouse, the play is based on testimonies gathered from over twenty contributors; family members and close friends. Review: 'Jo Egan’s The Crack in Everything delivered a powerful message about the inextricable link between truth and justice, while producing a creative space within which the audience could “bear witnesses to the pain of others”'. |
L to R: Oisin Magee, Sarah Reid, Imelda Ferris, Lucy Mackern, James Bird, Robert Beggs, Caitlin O'Neill,
& Kerri Quinn as Madame Geneva
Tony Flynn as William of Orange.
Photos: Neil Harrison.
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Madame Geneva by Jo Egan
Produced by: Macha Productions May 2017 Venue: Lyric Theatre Belfast. Comment: Madame Geneva immerses us into a ribald, Brechtian tale of gin and prostitution which charts the birth of capitalism in London and ends with the establishment of the Magdalen Asylum for Penitent Prostitutes in 1758, a model later transported to Ireland. Review: 'Madame Geneva creates an exciting combination of prose, poetry and song. The issues it raises - from attitudes to women to sex to taxation - are very contemporary. The image of an orange towel-clad, shiny-chested William of Orange discussing politics in a sauna will be burnt into the retinas of everyone in the audience. ' Alan in Belfast. |
L-R Kerri Quinn, Kat Reagan, Rosie McClelland, Image: Elaine Hill
Sweeties
Produced by Green Shoot Productions (2014)
Venue: Grand Opera House, Belfast
Sweeties was part of Flesh & Blood Women, a trilogy of plays written, acted and produced by an all-female team.
"What I liked most was the language...The audience were lulled into childhood recollections and then dragged from the sweet to sour with just a few gruesomely juxtaposed words." - Eve Rosato. The Big List.
Produced by Green Shoot Productions (2014)
Venue: Grand Opera House, Belfast
Sweeties was part of Flesh & Blood Women, a trilogy of plays written, acted and produced by an all-female team.
"What I liked most was the language...The audience were lulled into childhood recollections and then dragged from the sweet to sour with just a few gruesomely juxtaposed words." - Eve Rosato. The Big List.
L-R Jacqueline Nicholson, John Dougan(Image credit), Jo, Sally Cochran, Albert Haslett
Crimea Square
Written by Sally Cochran, John Dougan, Jo Egan, Albert Haslett, Jacqueline Nicholson (2013)
Venue: Spectrum Centre, Shankill Road, Belfast
Local historical characters, an oral archive compiled with locals from the Shankill and the writers' own experiences, were used to create fictional families, living through the greatest and most challenging times on the Shankill. Crimea Square won the Belfast Telegraph Audience Award for Belfast Festival 2013.
Written by Sally Cochran, John Dougan, Jo Egan, Albert Haslett, Jacqueline Nicholson (2013)
Venue: Spectrum Centre, Shankill Road, Belfast
Local historical characters, an oral archive compiled with locals from the Shankill and the writers' own experiences, were used to create fictional families, living through the greatest and most challenging times on the Shankill. Crimea Square won the Belfast Telegraph Audience Award for Belfast Festival 2013.
L-R Julie McCann, Mary-Frances Doherty (Image credit)
The Agent & The White Linen Workers:
Commissioned by the Ulster Folk & Transport Museum (2011)
Venue: Cultra Folk Village, Belfast
The Agent & The White Linen Workers illustrates the life of home embroidery workers on the Ards Peninsula in 1911.
Commissioned by the Ulster Folk & Transport Museum (2011)
Venue: Cultra Folk Village, Belfast
The Agent & The White Linen Workers illustrates the life of home embroidery workers on the Ards Peninsula in 1911.
Image: Belfast Forum
The Ritual of Life
Commissioned by Castlereagh Borough Council (2011)
Venue: Various, Belfast
“What’s interesting about our lives?” The process of creating a play from nine women’s testimonies shows we are living in a two hundred year present, where bearing witness is the most powerful gift we can offer."
Commissioned by Castlereagh Borough Council (2011)
Venue: Various, Belfast
“What’s interesting about our lives?” The process of creating a play from nine women’s testimonies shows we are living in a two hundred year present, where bearing witness is the most powerful gift we can offer."
L-R PSNI Officer and Bernadette Brown. Image: Barbara McCann
Lisa's Story: Reach Out, Speak Out.
Directed & Produced by Barbara McCann (2010)
Venue: Film launched at Women's Aid Conference
Women's Aid NI commissioned this film script for DVD promoting service provision by the agency.
Directed & Produced by Barbara McCann (2010)
Venue: Film launched at Women's Aid Conference
Women's Aid NI commissioned this film script for DVD promoting service provision by the agency.
In Development
Jo is currently under commission from
The Abbey Theatre, Dublin.
Paul Caddell as Francie Lynch, Coldharbour Lane. Image: Paul Caddell
Coldharbour Lane
Francie Lynch has vanished into the swirl of London street life. In finding him, Catherine Duffy discovers the gold previous Irish emigrants only dreamed of. Initially a one-act, developed with Ransom Production's 'Write Now' (2004) directed by Rachel O'Riordan. Full-length draft in development.