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John Sheehy being congratulated by Robin Lee, chairman of the Board at Friars’ Gate. Also included is theatre manager, Caoimhe Reidy.

Playwright John Sheehy has been awarded a Theatre Artist Residency at Friars’ Gate Theatre, Kilmallock funded by the Arts Council and Limerick County Council.

John, a native of Mount Russell, Ardpatrick, will be based at Friars’ Gate Theatre for a twelve month period. John works extensively as a writer and director for CallBack theatre.

His first play, the world premiere of 'Set in Stone' was described by Irish Theatre Magazine as follows: 'a captivating carnival of drama . . . great writing . . stunningly effective . . terrific cast'; The Limerick Post spoke of it as being 'one of the most inventive shows ever produced in the Mid West’.

John's second play 'Fred & Alice' is still playing to rave reviews. It received 4 stars from The Irish Times, describing it as 'clever and absorbing stuff'!

Both of John’s plays premiered at Friars’ Gate Theatre.

"John’s twelve month residency at Friars’ Gate will comprise of a number of strands – his main focus will be to research, write and workshop a new play (working title – 'The Hole') with a view to it premiering in Friars’ Gate Theatre in 2014. This will be an on-going project throughout the year," Caoimhe Reidy, manager at Friars' Gate told The Avondhu this week.

Mentoring

"As part of his residency John is eager to meet with new playwrights from the locality. John will be available to read new scripts and to meet one to one with new playwrights. At the end of John’s residency, a panel of theatre professionals will be put in place to view a public showcase of new writing and provide further feedback on the work. This is a very exciting opportunity for new playwrights.

Community Project

Caoimhe went on to explain that, as part of Friars’ Gates Literary Festival in April 2014, they intend to stage a series of short dramatic scenes in site specific spaces within the town of Kilmallock.

"John will be sourcing material from the local community to create these scenes. Good conversation is the foundation of drama and we are looking for people to come and share some memorable conversations they may have had or overheard. If you are interested in taking part we would invite you to either submit your 'conversation' in writing or to contact Friars’ Gates Theatre on 063-98727 or at friarsgate@eircom.net to arrange a chat and a coffee."

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