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Owen McCafferty

OWEN MCCAFFERTY

  (1961 - )
Nationality:    Irish
email:    n/a     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    The Agency (London) Ltd  

Born in 1961, Owen McCafferty lives with his wife, three children and granddaughter in Belfast. His work for the stage includes Shoot the Crow (Druid, Galway, 1997; Royal Exchange, Manchester, 2003), Mojo Mickybo (Kabosh, Belfast, 1998), Closing Time (National Theatre, London, 2002), Cold Comfort (Primecut Productions, Belfast, 2002), Scenes from the Big Picture (National Theatre, London, 2003), Days of Wine and Roses (Donmar Warehouse, 2005), a version of Sophocles' Antigone (Primecut Productions, Belfast, 2008) and the Absence of Women (Lyric Theatre, Belfast, 2010). He has won the Meyer-Whitworth, John Whiting and Evening Standard Awards for New Playwriting.

Research:    http://www.irishplayography.com/person.aspx?personid=391

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below is a list of Owen McCafferty's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

         Absence Of Women, The         Antigone         Chairs, The         Closing Time         Cold Comfort         Court No 1         Days Of Wine And Roses         Death of A Comedian         Elasticity Of Supply And Demand, The         Freefalling         I Won't Dance Don't Ask Me         Law Of Diminishing Returns         Mojo-Mickybo         No Place Like Home         Private Picture Show, The         Quietly         Scenes From the Big Picture         Shoot the Crow         Titanic (Scenes From the British Wreck Commissioner's Inquiry, 1912)         Unfaithful         Waiting List, The         Winners, Losers And Non-Runners

Absence Of Women, The

Absence Of Women, The
Ian McElhinney, the most weighty of local thesps, is Iggy, short for Ignatius, and one of McCafferty's favourite first names. He'll never return to the Belfast he was forced to leave when his homosexuality was revealed in a boy's boxing club. Dour, in beanie and scuffed jacket, he's survived the decades, just, by downing pints, punching those who query him and burning, literally, his boats when that fails to wipe away the day he kissed ginger John so many years ago.
- Ian Hill, British theatre Guide

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:

Music:
-

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Genre:
Play/Drama. - - Gay, theme/character, full length

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Antigone

Antigone
A muscular version of Sophocles' timeless masterpiece, offering a profound reflection on the nature of power, democracy and human rights. the war has ended, but with peace comes conflict. Antigone's brother Polyneices lies on the battlefield where he fell, his burial outlawed by Creon, the new king of thebes. Should Antigone obey Creon, or must she follow her conscience and lay her beloved brother to rest?

Notes:
Original Playwright - Sophocles

1st Produced:
PArt of the Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen's Waterfront Hall Studio, Belfast    24 Oct 2008

Organisations:
Prime Cut

1st Published:

Music:
-

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Genre:
Adaptation

Parts:
Male:  6            Female:  3            Other:  plus young boy plus extras

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Chairs, The

Synopsis:
An old couple have lived on an island for years and tonight they are taking the plunge. the old man has longed to pass on his total life experience but has never found the right words. Tonight he has invited the finest in society to listen as a skilled orator articulates his great words of knowledge. the old woman, his faithful companion in life, starts to set out the chairs.

Notes:
Original Playwright - Eugene Ionesco

1st Produced:
the Market Place, Armagh, Ireland    05 Mar 2003

Organisations:

1st Published:
Tinderbox, Belfast, 2003   -

Music:
-

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Genre:
Adaptation

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Closing Time

Closing Time
Vera is feisty but fading. Ronnie is washed up and permanently half-drunk. Together they run a grubby pub/hotel in present-day Belfast. Assorted 'regulars' come and go over the course of one day and night. Ronnie fails to secure the pub's financial future and Vera looks set to run off with the feckless Iggy

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
National Theatre Company Transformations Season

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Cold Comfort

Cold Comfort
A labourer living in London returns home to Belfast to have a last, drunken 'conversation' with his recently dead father.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Belfast: Old Museum Arts Centre, 7 College Square N, Belfast BT1 6AR    05 May 2005

Organisations:
Primecut Theatre Company

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Solo Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Court No 1

Synopsis:
"Justice" from seven different Northern Ireland writers

Notes:
Convictions comprises seven short plays by seven different writers. the seven plays were: Male Toilets by Daragh Carville, Judge's Room by Damian Gorman, Court No. 2 by Marie Jones, Main Hall by Martin Lynch, Court No. 1 by Owen McCafferty, Jury Room by Nicola McCartney And Holding Cell by Gary Mitchell.

1st Produced:
a site-specific work at Crumlin Road, Courthouse, Belfast.    30 Oct 2000

Organisations:

1st Published:
Tinderbox, Belfast, 2000   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Series of short individual plays

Parts:
Male:  10            Female:  6            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Days Of Wine And Roses

Days Of Wine And Roses
In the fast-moving milieu of Madison Avenue, social drinking is almost an occupational necessity, and one that fast-rising young Joe Clay adopts with too ready ease. Unfortunately the girl he meets and marries shares his proclivity, and while they continue to tell themselves that they drink because they choose to, it is soon apparent that their habit has become a serious problem. But their failure to acknowledge this plunges them headlong into the shattering events of the play-a career in shambles, a marriage destroyed, the esteem of friends and family lost, and a child who has become the innocent victim of their obsession. In the poignant ending of the play a spectre of hope arises but, more important, so does a galvanizing awareness of the depth of their torment, and of the lesson which their compulsive self-destruction must have for others.

Notes:
teleplay by JP Miller. Filmed 1962

1st Produced:

Organisations:
SCAMP Film and Theatre Ltd and RJK Productions, Inc.

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Adaptation

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Death of A Comedian

Death of A Comedian
Steve Johnston, guided and inspired by his girlfriend, is a small-time comedian, raw, original and true. Until he's spotted by an agent, who suggests he could be so much more: his act just needs to change. It's a Faustian pact. As tension builds over the course of four gigs, so too do the audiences. But at what cost?

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Abbey theatre commision

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Elasticity Of Supply And Demand, The

Synopsis:
about an old married couple reflecting over their lives

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
BBC 3    2001

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Radio Play

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Freefalling

Synopsis:
He works in a burger bar; she is in a dead-end university course. they want some excitement, an adventure. they steal a car. the horrors they imagine could never match the horrors they encounter in real life.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Kabosh, Belfast, Ireland

1st Published:
in "Plays & Monologues" Langan Press, Belfast, 1998   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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I Won't Dance Don't Ask Me

I Won't Dance Don't Ask Me
about a middle aged man coping with unemployment

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Who the Hell Theatre Company    1993

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
in "Plays & Monologues" Langan Press, Belfast, 1998
Nick Hern Books, London, 2002 >>>    978-1854597014

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Short Comedy Drama One Act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Law Of Diminishing Returns

Synopsis:
about an old married couple reflecting over their lives

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
BBC 3    2002

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Radio Play

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Mojo-Mickybo

Mojo-Mickybo
A rip roaring, fast paced journey into the world of Mojo and Mickybo - two boys from different sides of the bridge who develop a friendship influenced by their heroes, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Kabosh, Belfast, Ireland

1st Published:
Lagan Press, Belfast, 1998
Nick Hern Books, London, 2002 >>>    978-1854597014

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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No Place Like Home

Synopsis:
No Place Like Home is about the displaced - people who have been forced to move, who don't know where they are going or what they'll find when they arrive. In the early 1970s, huge numbers of people were forced out of their homes in Northern Ireland. All over the world people are being forced to leave their homes and their land. This devised Drama uses movement, text, and Drama mixed with video and installation art.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
a site-specific piece at the former Northern Bank Building. Belfast.    27 Oct 2001

Organisations:

1st Published:
Tinderbox, Belfast, 2001   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Physical/Devised theatre Piece

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Private Picture Show, The

Synopsis:
Iggy is a writer whose search for the truth has left him isolated and blocked. the other tenants of the rented house where he lives reveal pieces of themselves which Iggy hopes to add to the jigsaw of his story. Meanwhile, his estranged girlfriend, a photographer, returns to record her own version of the truth in a series of posed images.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Lyric Theatre

1st Published:
in "Plays & Monologues" Langan Press, Belfast, 1998   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Quietly

Quietly
Northern Ireland are playing Poland on the TV. Jimmy and Ian, two middle aged Belfast men are meeting tonight for the first time. they have a shared past. they need to talk. Quietly is a powerful story about violence and forgiveness.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
70 min one act

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Scenes From the Big Picture

Scenes From the Big Picture
the play takes place over the course of a hot summer's day in an imagined area of present-day Belfast. We see a day in the life of over twenty inhabitants of the district as their stories interweave and collide. In a tour de force of Dramatic writing, a whole world is evoked in a couple of hours.

Notes:
aka Troubled

1st Produced:

Organisations:
National Theatre Company

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Epic Play

Parts:
Male:  12            Female:  8            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Shoot the Crow

Shoot the Crow
about a day in the life of four Irish tilers on a building site. As they come to the end of the job they've been working on, Ding-Ding and Randolph plan to nick a left-over pallet of tiles. Dind-Ding wants to buy a window-cleaning round and Randolph has his eye on a motorbike. But the foreman and his sidekick have had the same idea. . .

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Comedy Drama Comedy

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Titanic (Scenes From the British Wreck Commissioner's Inquiry, 1912)

Titanic (Scenes From the British Wreck Commissioner's Inquiry, 1912)
Titanic (Scenes from the British Wreck Commissioner's Inquiry, 1912), by Owen McCafferty, is a courtroom Drama full of intrigue, bravery and human frailty. At 11.40PM on 14 April 1912, the RMS Titanic, on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York, struck an iceberg. At 2.20AM the following morning, the ship sank. 1,517 people died. In response to the disaster the British Government ordered an immediate inquiry and Lord Mersey was appointed Wreck Commissioner. the British Wreck Commissioner's Inquiry sat from 2 May to 3 July 1912. It took testimony from 97 witnesses. Watch as a magnificent cast retell the survivors' stories - with dialogue taken word-for-word from 100-year old accounts.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
MAC (Metropolitan Arts Centre), Belfast    22 Apr 2012

Organisations:
-

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
verbatim play

Parts:
Male:  14            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Unfaithful

Synopsis:
Can relationships withstand the brutality of betrayal? Joan and Tom, Tara and Peter; two couples struggling to comprehend their roles as lovers, partners and individuals. As Tom and Tara face the tedium of daily life, how far will they go to feel their hearts beat again? When their paths cross, the emotional fall-out will be explosive. From Owen McCafferty, writer of the Fringe First Award-winning Quietly, a stark and searing glimpse into the reality of relationships - the unspoken desires, the piercing regrets, and the postponed conversations that mark us all. Part of Made in Scotland showcase.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh Fringe Festival    03 Aug 2014

Organisations:
Traverse Theatre Company

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Drama, New writing, 1 hour 20 minutes

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Waiting List, The

Waiting List, The
A policeman in the Northern Irish Police Force habours a well kept secret wish to become a stand up comic

Notes:
originally presented Alongside 'monday Night, Little Ireland, North Of England' by Glenn Patterson, 'Alternative Future' by Gary Mitchell, 'the Waiting List' by Owen McCafferty And 'What the Eye Doesn't See' by Ruth Hooley under the umbrElla title 'Angels With Split Voices'. All four monologues Addressed the theme 'identity And place'.

1st Produced:
Belfast: Old Museum Arts Centre, 7 College Square N, Belfast BT1 6AR    18 Apr 1994

Organisations:
Point Fields Theatre Company

1st Published:
in "Plays & Monologues" Langan Press, Belfast, 1998
Nick Hern Books, London, 2002 >>>    978-1854597014

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Short Monologue One Act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Winners, Losers And Non-Runners

Synopsis:
about a family over the christmas period

Notes:
First Play

1st Produced:
Point Fields Theatre Company    1992

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
in "Plays & Monologues" Langan Press, Belfast, 1998   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Comedy Drama Comedy

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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