Enda Walsh (born 1967) is an Irish playwright.

Biography

Enda Walsh was born in Kilbarrack, North Dublin on February 7, 1967. His father ran a furniture shop and his mother had been an actress. He is the second youngest of six children. Walsh states that he saw his father, a salesman, as the 'lead actor' in the business, but as Ireland's economy fluctuated, so did furniture sales. Notably during the recession in the 1980s, when profits were low, Walsh says that he was earning more money managing his own newspaper round enterprise than his father was bringing home from the shop. Life in the large family was full of incident and Enda has claimed that many of his plays find their origin in his relationships with his father, his mother and her friends, his three brothers and two sisters. Enda attended the

Greendale Community School Greendale Community School was a community school, a form of State-sponsored secondary school, in the Northside suburb of Kilbarrack, Dublin, Ireland, located near the boundary with Raheny. Location Greendale was situated on c. of land, nea ...

where he was taught by both Roddy Doyle and Paul Mercier. After studying Communications at Rathmines College and acting for the Dublin Youth Theatre Walsh travelled in Europe working as a film editor. On his return to Dublin he found few opportunities and so moved to Cork where he acted for theatre-in-education Graffiti Theatre. In 1993 Walsh began working with Pat Kiernan, director of Corcadorca, a collaborative ensemble which devised what Walsh calls ‘terrible’ plays. In 1996 ''Disco Pigs'' premiered at the Triskel Art Centre in Cork. This was the start of an international career writing for the stage and screen. Feeling himself to be 'too comfortable' in Dublin, in 2005 Walsh and his wife,

Jo Ellison Jo Ellison is Editor of How to Spend It, Financial Times. Personal life Born in Cambridge and raised between London and Dubai, Ellison studied history at the University of Edinburgh. It was while studying in Edinburgh that she met her husban ...

, who is currently editor of the FT's

How To Spend It The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

, moved to London. They live in Kilburn with their daughter, Ada, and their cockapoo, Alvin.

Working life

Starting with his experience at ''Corcadorca'', Walsh has never restricted himself to straight plays but has been happy to cross genres. Originally he would write music for one member of the ensemble and opportunities for dance for others. In the list of Walsh's works, there are musicals, an opera, art installations, and radio plays, such as ''Four Big Days in the Life of Dessie Banks'' for

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...

and ''The Monotonous Life of Little Miss P'' for the BBC. Many of Walsh's plays including '' Disco Pigs'', ''Bedbound'', ''Small Things'', ''Chatroom'', ''New Electric Ballroom'', '' The Walworth Farce'', ''Penelope'' and ''Misterman'', have been translated into more than 20 languages and have had productions throughout Europe and in Australia, New Zealand and the US. The last Hotel 4295-Peralta

His play '' Ballyturk'' premiered in 2014, produced by

Landmark Productions Landmark Productions is a theatre production company in Dublin, Ireland. Established in 2003 by Anne Clarke, Landmark produces plays in Ireland and tours Irish work abroad. The company has an association with a number of Irish writers including E ...

and Galway International Arts Festival starring Cillian Murphy,

Stephen Rea Stephen Rea ( ; born 31 October 1946) is an Irish film and stage actor. Rea has appeared in films such as ''V for Vendetta'', ''Michael Collins'', ''Interview with the Vampire'' and ''Breakfast on Pluto''. Rea was nominated for the Academy Award ...

and Mikel Murfi, and played in Dublin, Cork and London in the same year. In 2017, the production was revived at the Abbey Theatre and in early 2018 played at

St. Ann's Warehouse St. Ann's Warehouse is a performing arts institution in Brooklyn, New York City. Formerly the Church of St. Ann and the Holy Trinity on Montague Street, in 1980 the site was converted into a venue for classical music. Initially known as ''Arts a ...

in Brooklyn, NY. In this revival Tadhg Murphy played 1, Mikel Murfi returned as 2 and

Olwen Fouere In Welsh mythology, Olwen (or Olwyn) is the daughter of the giant Ysbaddaden and cousin of Goreu. She is the heroine of the story ''Culhwch and Olwen'' in the Mabinogion. Her father is fated to die if she ever marries, so when Culhwch (sometimes ...

played 3. Three members of the Gleeson family ( Brendan, Domhnall and Brian) played the lead roles in '' The Walworth Farce'' produced by

at the Olympia Theatre, Dublin, in their first theatrical production together. He adapted Roald Dahl's book

The Twits ''The Twits'' is a humorous children's book written by Roald Dahl and illustrated by Quentin Blake. It was written in 1979, and first published by Jonathan Cape in 1980. The story features The Twits (Mr. and Mrs. Twit), a spiteful, idle unke ...

for the theatre with its first production in April–May 2015. An opera entitled ''The Last Hotel'', with music by Donnacha Dennehy, a co-production between

and

Wide Open Opera The Irish National Opera was created from a merger of the Opera Theatre Company (OTC) and Wide Open Opera in 2017 and launched in January 2018. The new entity continues the tradition of the former Opera Ireland (), Ireland's first permanent natio ...

, premiered in the Edinburgh International Festival in August 2015, played in the Dublin Theatre Festival in September 2015 and started an international tour beginning in Royal Opera House, London, in October 2015. He wrote a musical play with David Bowie entitled ''Lazarus'', which premiered at the

New York Theatre Workshop __NOTOC__ New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) is an Off-Broadway theatre noted for its productions of new works. Located at 79 4th Street (Manhattan), East 4th Street between Second Avenue (Manhattan), Second Avenue and Bowery in the East Village, ...

(Off-Broadway) from mid-November 2015 to mid-January 2016. The UK production opened at the Kings Cross Theatre in London on 25 October 2016, ending 22 January 2017. The Galway International Arts Festival has played host to a new departure for Walsh, involving art installation rooms with audio monologues, including ''Room 303'' featuring the voice of Niall Buggy (2014), ''A Girl's Bedroom'' featuring the voice of Charlie Murphy (2015), ''Kitchen'' featuring the voice of Eileen Walsh (2016) and ''Bathroom'' featuring the voice of Paul Reid (2017). These installations have also been shown in the Kennedy Arts Centre, Washington (May 2016) and the Irish Arts Center, New York (May 2017). Walsh wrote the book of the musical ''Sing Street'' adapted from the film of the same name written by John Carney. Like ''Once'', the musical was produced at

, with performances beginning in December 2019. The musical was slated for a spring 2020 Broadway premiere before being postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Walsh writes screenplays too, starting with his short film ''Not a Bad Christmas (1999''). He adapted his play '' Disco Pigs'', for the screen and co-wrote the screenplay of '' Hunger'' which was directed by

Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of the counterculture of the 1960s, made him a top box-office draw for his films of the late 1950s, 1960s, and 1 ...

and starred

Michael Fassbender Michael Fassbender (born 2 April 1977) is an Irish actor. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Critics' Choice Movie Award, and nominations for two Academy Awards, four British Academy Film Award ...

as Bobby Sands, the IRA hunger striker who starved himself to death in protest over British rule. He also adapted his play '' Chatroom'' for a film directed by Hideo Nakata. He is currently under commission for three films, an adaptation of the children's story '' Island of the Aunts'' by Eva Ibbotson (for Cuba Pictures), a film entitled ''Jules in the City'' based on the life and music of Rufus Wainwright and an adaptation of

Gitta Sereny Gitta Sereny, CBE (13 March 192114 June 2012) was an Austrian-British biographer, historian, and investigative journalist who came to be known for her interviews and profiles of infamous figures, including Mary Bell, who was convicted in 1968 of ...

's book ''Into That Darkness'', about the life of Franz Stangl, the commandant of the Sobibor and Treblinka extermination camps.

Themes

Walsh states that his plays are about ‘some sort of love and need for calm and peace’. He says that his play ''Penelope'' is about ‘longing, love, lost love”. He says that ‘all the plays are effectively about theatre, about writing’. Also that ‘all the plays are about routines’. Walsh has often suggested that what interests him is ‘about me actually getting through the day, you know’. He speaks of his experience, in London, of extreme OCD. He sees his characters as needing ‘to proclaim and proclaim and proclaim ... and to what? You know, to what, construct rules and sort of mechanisms within their living room but to what end? Only to try to escape them again and probably build more and more routines and patterns and all that sort of thing’. Walsh also states ‘what motivates me in theatre has always been to get close to characters who’re on the edge of madness, or have entered it. It invigorates me to think that we’re all the same….’ Another statement Walsh made was ‘I don't like seeing everyday life on stage: it's boring. I like my plays to exist in an abstract, expressionistic world: the audience has to learn its rules and then connect with these characters who are, on the surface dreadful monsters'.

Works

Theatre

* ''Fishy Tales'' (1993) – Graffiti Theatre Company, Popes Quay, Cork. * ''The Ginger Ale Boy'' (1995) – Corcadorca Theatre Company, Granary Theatre, Cork. * '' Disco Pigs'' (1996) – Corcadorca Theatre Company, Triskel Arts Centre, Cork. Dublin Fringe Festival, Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh Festival, West End, London. & world tour. * ''Sucking Dublin'' (1997) – Abbey Theatre Company, Samuel Beckett Theatre, Dublin. * ''Misterman'' (1999) – Corcadorca Theatre Company, Granary Theatre, Cork. Origin Theatre, New York, Washington and Dublin. * ''Bedbound'' (2000) – Dublin Theatre Festival, New Theatre, Dublin. Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh Festival (Fringe First winner and Critic's Award 2001). New York. Royal Court, London. * ''Pondlife Angels'' (2005) – Cork Midsummer Festival, Granary Theatre, Cork. * ''Chatroom'' (2005) – Behind The Scenes Theatre Company, Buckhaven Theatre, Fife. National Theatre, London. & etc. * ''The New Electric Ballroom'' (2005) –

Munich Kammerspiele The Munich Kammerspiele (German: Münchner Kammerspiele) is a state-funded German-language theater company based at the ''Schauspielhaus'' on Maximilianstrasse in the Bavarian capital. The company currently has three venues: the main stage of ...

. Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh Festival. World Tour including New York, Los Angeles, Perth and London * ''The Small Things'' (2005) – Paines Plough Company, Menier Chocolate Factory, London. Druid Theatre Company,

Galway Arts Festival The Galway International Arts Festival (GIAF), founded in 1978, is a cultural organization that produces an annual arts festival in Galway, Ireland. It also produces new work that tours nationally and internationally, in addition to presenting ...

. * '' The Walworth Farce'' (2006) – Druid Theatre Company, Town Hall Theatre, Galway. Edinburgh Festival. World Tour 2009–2010, including New York, Chicago, Minneapolis, Toronto, Los Angeles, Miami, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, Sydney, Wellington, London, Salford, Oxford. A revival by

at the Olympia Theatre, Dublin in 2015 starred Brendan, Domhnall and Brian Gleeson in the lead roles. * ''How These Men Talk'' (2008) – Zurich Schauspielhaus, Switzerland. Druid Theatre Company, Galway. * ''Lyndie's Gotta Gun'' (2008) – Artistas Unidos, Lisbon. Druid Theatre Company, Galway. * ''Gentrification'' (2008) – Stadttheater Bern, Switzerland. Druid Theatre Company, Galway. * ''Delirium'' (2008) – An adaptation of Dostoevsky's 'The Brothers Karamazov' for Theatre O Abbey Theatre, Dublin. Barbican Theatre, London. * ''The Man in the Moon'' (2009) – co-written with Jack Healy
The Albany
Deptford, London. * ''My Friend Duplicity'' (2010) – short play – Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh Festival. * '' Penelope'' (2010) – OberhausenTheater:

Ruhr.2010 Ruhr.2010 – Kulturhauptstadt Europas was the name of the campaign in Germany's Ruhr region that earned it recognition as a European Capital of Culture in 2010. This was the first time a region was considered, as Essen represented all 53 towns ...

, Druid Theatre Company, Galway;. Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh Festival; world tour included Helsinki, New York and London, Steppenwolf Theater, Chicago (2011) * ''Sixty Six'' (2011) – one of 66 writers who contributed a contemporary response to each book of the King James Bible,

Bush Theatre The Bush Theatre is located in the Passmore Edwards Public Library, Shepherd's Bush, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was established in 1972 as a showcase for the work of new writers. The Bush Theatre strives to create a spa ...

. * ''

Once Once means a one-time occurrence. Once may refer to: Music * ''Once'' (Pearl Jam song), a 1991 song from the album ''Ten'' * ''Once'' (Roy Harper album), a 1990 album by Roy Harper * ''Once'' (The Tyde album), a 2001 debut album by The Tyd ...

'' (2011) – Musical adaptation of the film ''

'', New York Theatre Workshop (Off-Broadway: December 2011 – January 2012) and

Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre The Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre (formerly the Royale Theatre and the John Golden Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 242 West 45th Street (George Abbott Way) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1927, the theat ...

(Broadway: from March 2012). * ''Misterman'' (revised version) (2011) – with music by Donnacha Dennehy.

and Galway International Arts Festival, Black Box Theatre, Galway,

, New York (2011). National Theatre, London (2012). * '' Ballyturk'' (2014) – with Mikel Murfi, Cillian Murphy and Stephen Rea, featuring music by

Teho Teardo Teho Teardo is an Italian musician and composer. He is a founding member of the rock band Meathead. In the 1990s he collaborated with Mick Harris, Jim Coleman and Lydia Lunch. With Scott McCloud (Girls Against Boys) he started a new project ca ...

in association with Galway International Arts Festival. Black Box Theatre, Galway before moving to the Olympia Theatre, Dublin, the Cork Opera House and the National Theatre, London. A revival played at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin (March 2017) and

, New York (January 2018). * ''Room 303'' (2014) – Art installation ''Room 303'' featuring the voice of Niall Buggy, premiered at the Galway International Arts Festival. * '' Lazarus'' (2015) – An original musical written with David Bowie, which premiered at the

, New York. * ''

'' (2015) – An adaptation of Road Dahl's book The Twits, premiered in April–May 2015 at the Royal Court Theatre, London. * ''A Girl's Bedroom'' (2015) – Art installation ''A Girl's Bedroom'' featuring the voice of Charlie Murphy, premiered at the Galway International Arts Festival followed by the Kennedy Arts Centre, Washington (May 2016). * ''The Last Hotel'' (2015) – An opera with music by Donnacha Dennehy, featuring Robin Adams, Claudia Boyle, Katherine Manley and Mikel Murfi, and the Crash Ensemble.

and Wide Open Opera. Premiered at the Edinburgh International Festival (August 2015), followed by the Dublin Theatre Festival (September 2015), Royal Opera House, London (October 2015), and St. Ann's Warehouse, New York (January, 2016). * ''Kitchen'' (2016) – Art installation featuring the voice of Eileen Walsh, premiered at the Galway International Arts Festival. * ''Arlington'' (2016) -

in association with Galway International Arts Festival, Leisureland, Galway (July 2016), Abbey Theatre, Dublin (February 2017), St. Ann's Warehouse, New York (May 2017). * ''Rooms'' (2016) combining the art installations 'Room 303', 'A Girl's Bedroom' and 'Kitchen', featuring the voices Niall Buggy, Charlie Murphy and Eileen Walsh, which premièred at the Galway Arts Festival last summer, followed by the Irish Arts Center, New York (May 2017). * ''The Same'' (2017) with Eileen and Catherine Walsh. Corcadorca Theatre Company. Premiered in February 2017 at Old Cork Prison. * ''The Second Violinist'',(2017) – An opera with music by Donnacha Dennehy, featuring Aaron Monaghan, in the lead role, with singers Máire Flavin, Sharon Carty and Benedict Nelson, together with the Chorus of Irish National Opera, and Crash Ensemble.

and Irish National Opera. Premiered in July 2017 at the Galway International Arts Festival, followed by the

Barbican Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhi ...

, London (September 2017) and the Dublin Theatre Festival (October 2017). * ''Bathroom'' (2017) – Art installation featuring the voice of Paul Reid, premiered at the Galway International Arts Festival. * ''Grief is the Thing with Feathers'' (2018) - Enda Walsh adapted Max Porter's award-winning novel which premiered at the Black Box Theatre in Galway; In April 2019 the play was presented at the Barbican Theatre in London. * ''Medicine'' (2021)

Film

* ''Not a Bad Christmas'' (1999) - short film * '' Disco Pigs'' (2001) - film directed by Kirsty Sheridan * '' Hunger'' (2008) - film directed by

* '' Chatroom'' (2010) – film directed by Hideo Nakata * '' Island of the Aunts'' – an adaptation of the children's story by Eva Ibbotson under commission for Cuba Pictures * ''Jules in the City'' – story based on the life and music of Rufus Wainwright for Daybreak Pictures/Film Four * ''Into that Darkness'' – the story of Franz Stangl, SS commandant of the Sobibor and Treblinka extermination camps under commission for Element/Film Four *'' The House'' (2022) screenplay for Netflix animated dark comedy film

Awards

Theatre * ''Disco Pigs'' (1996): George Devine Award and Stewart Parker Awards. Best Fringe Production Award 1996, Dublin Fringe Festival. Arts Council Playwrights Award 1996. Critic's Award 1997, Edinburgh Festival. * ''Bedbound'' (2000): Best Actor Award for Peter Gowen 2000, Irish Times Theatre Awards. Fringe First winner and Critic's Award 2001, Edinburgh Festival. * ''The New Electric Ballroom'' (2005): Theater Heute's Best Foreign Play 2005,

. Fringe First winner and Herald Archangel Award 2008, Edinburgh Festival. Best New Play Award 2008, Irish Times Theatre Awards. Best Supporting Actor Award for Mikel Murfi 2009, Irish Times Theatre Awards. Best New Play 2010,

Obie Award The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards originally given by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City. In September 2014, the awards were jointly presented and administered with the A ...

. * ''The Walworth Farce'' (2006): Fringe First winner 2007, Edinburgh Festival. * ''Penelope'' (2010): Fringe First winner 2010, Edinburgh Festival. * ''Misterman'' (2011): Best Actor Award for Cillian Murphy and Best Set Design for Jamie Vartan 2011, Irish Times Theatre Awards. Outstanding Solo Performance for Cillian Murphy 2012,

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fo ...

. * ''Once'' (2011): Winner of 3 Lucille Lortel Awards, including Outstanding Musical, with 4 additional nominations. Best Musical Award 2012, New York Drama Critics' Circle. Outstanding Broadway Musical, Outstanding Book and Director of Musical 2011, Outer Critics Circle Awards, with 4 additional nominations. Distinguished Production of a Musical 2012, Drama League Award, with 2 additional nominations. Winner of 4

s, including Outstanding Musical, with 2 additional nominations. Winner of 8 Tony Awards in 2012, including Best Musical and Best Book of a Musical, with 3 additional nominations. Best Musical Theater Album 2013, Grammy Award. Winner of 2

Laurence Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known as ...

s in 2014, with 6 nominations including Best New Musical. * ''Ballyturk'' (2014): Best Production, Irish Times Theatre Awards. Best Production and Sound Design 2014, Irish Times Theatre Awards. * ''The Last Hotel'' (2015): Best Opera Irish Times Theatre Awards. * ''The Second Violinist'': The Fedora - Generali Prize for Opera 2017. Film * ''Not a Bad Christmas'' (1999): Short Script Award 1999, Cork Film Centre/RTÉ. * '' Hunger'' (2008): Caméra d'Or (Best First Film), Cannes Film Festival 2008 and Best Film Sydney Film Festival and Jerusalem Film Festival 2008, Discovery Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, Heartbeat Award at the Dinard British Film Festival, Gold Hugo Award at the Chicago International Film Festival, European Film Academy Discovery Award, Best Irish Film Award from the Dublin Film Critics Circle, Best Film Award from the Evening Standard British Film Awards 2009, Best Feature Film Screenplay Award from the Writers' Guild of Great Britain, numerous Irish Film and Television IFTA Awards including Best Irish Film, nominated for Best British Film at the 62nd British Academy Film Awards. * '' Chatroom'' (2010): Selected for the Un Certain Regard section at the

2010 Cannes Film Festival The 63rd Cannes Film Festival was held from 12 to 23 May 2010, in Cannes, France. The Cannes Film Festival, hailed as being one of the most recognized and prestigious film festivals worldwide, was founded in 1946. It consists of having films scr ...

Radio ''Four Big Days in the Life of Dessie Banks'': PPI Award for Best Radio Drama In June 2013, NUI Galway awarded Walsh an honorary doctorate.

References

External links

*
Doolee.com

Litencyc.com

Irishplayography.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walsh, Enda 1967 births Living people 20th-century Irish dramatists and playwrights Irish male dramatists and playwrights Writers from Dublin (city) Irish screenwriters Irish male screenwriters 21st-century Irish dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Irish male writers 21st-century Irish male writers Tony Award winners