Mary Josephine O'Malley (19 March 1941 – 19 September 2020) was an English playwright of Irish- Lithuanian descent.

Early career

In the 1960s Mary O'Malley studied drama at the City Literary Institute, and "

Improvisation Improvisation, often shortened to improv, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. The origin of the word itself is in the Latin "improvisus", which literally means un-foreseen. Improvis ...

and Playmaking" with Dorothea Alexander. In the mid-1970s, while working in

fringe theatre Fringe theatre is theatre that is produced outside of the main theatre institutions, and that is often small-scale and non-traditional in style or subject matter. The term comes from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.Kemp, Robert, ''More that is Fr ...

, she joined The Writers' Workshop run by

Howard Brenton Howard John Brenton FRSL (born 13 December 1942) is an English playwright and screenwriter, often ranked alongside contemporaries such as Edward Bond, Caryl Churchill, and David Hare. Early years Brenton was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, so ...

at the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial theatre in Sloane Square, London, England, opene ...

. Early experimental work for theatre in the early 1970s included ''A 'Nevolent Society'', a lunchtime production at the

Open Space Theatre The Open Space Theatre was created by Charles Marowitz and Thelma Holt in 1968. It began in a basement on Tottenham Court Road in London, then transferred to an art deco post office on the Euston Road in 1976. Thelma attracted a team of volunte ...

, Tottenham Court Road, ''Superscum'' and ''Oh if Ever a Man Suffered'', lunchtime productions at the

Soho Theatre Soho Theatre is a theatre and registered charity in the Soho district of the City of Westminster, and Soho Theatre Walthamstow in north-east London. It produces and presents new works of theatre, together with comedy and cabaret, across three pe ...

, the latter play transferring to

Hampstead Theatre Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in South Hampstead, in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. History The original ''Hampstead Theatre Clu ...

for a short run as a late night production. Plays for television in the early to mid-1970s included two short plays by writers new to television, ''Percy and Kenneth'' and ''Shall I See You Now'' for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, produced by Tara Prem.

Later career

In 1975 The Royal Court commissioned O'Malley to write a play, which became '' Once a Catholic''. The play, directed by

Mike Ockrent Michael Robert Ockrent (18 June 1946 – 2 December 1999) was a British stage director, well-known both for his Broadway musicals and smaller niche plays. He was educated at Highgate School. Through directing '' Educating Rita'', '' The Nerd' ...

, opened at the Royal Court in 1977 and later transferred to

Wyndham's Theatre Wyndham's Theatre is a West End theatre, one of two opened by actor/manager Charles Wyndham (the other is the Criterion Theatre). Located on Charing Cross Road in the City of Westminster, it was designed c. 1898 by W. G. R. Sprague, the arch ...

, where it ran for over two years. In 1977 the play won awards from ''

The Evening Standard The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free of charge in London, England. It is print ...

'' and ''Plays & Players'', and in 1978 O'Malley was the first winner of the

Susan Smith Blackburn Prize The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize established in 1978, is the largest and oldest playwriting prize for women+ writing for English-speaking theatre. Named for Susan Smith Blackburn (1935–1977), alumna of Smith College, who died of breast cancer. W ...

for women playwrights. ''Once a Catholic'' has been performed on tours and at regional theatres in Britain, including the Lyric Theatre (Belfast). In 1979 a production directed by Mike Ockrent was taken on a short tour of theatres in the US before opening at the Helen Hayes Theatre in New York, where it closed after six performances. In 1987 the play was produced in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

at The Celtic Arts Centre (An Claidheamh Soluis), in

North Hollywood North Hollywood is a neighborhood and district in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, El Portal Theater, several art galleries, and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Th ...

, from which the author received the Hollywood Drama-Logue Critics Award for "outstanding achievement in theatre"; it was directed by Joe Praml from which the director received the Hollywood Drama-Logue Critics Award for Direction; Morgan Walsh and David Farjeon received the Award for Acting. There have been productions in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Germany, and Belgium, and in 1991 in

Opole Opole (; ; ; ) is a city located in southern Poland on the Oder River and the historical capital of Upper Silesia. With a population of approximately 127,387 as of the 2021 census, it is the capital of Opole Voivodeship (province) and the seat of ...

, Poland, at the Jan Kochanowski Theatre. In 1977 O'Malley wrote ''Oy Vay Maria'' for BBC television, directed by

Richard Loncraine Richard Loncraine (born 20 October 1946) is a British film and television director. Loncraine was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. Loncraine received early training in the features department of the BBC, including a season directing i ...

. It won a ''Pye Television Award'', was televised in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, and produced as a stage play at the Liberal Jewish Synagogue,

St John's Wood St John's Wood is a district in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden and the City of Westminster, London, England, about 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Historically the northern part of the Civil Parish#An ...

in 1981, and the Oldham Coliseum in 1996. In 1978 she wrote ''Look Out...Here Comes Trouble'' for the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

at the

Donmar Warehouse The Donmar Warehouse is a 251-seat, not-for-profit Off-West End theatre in Covent Garden, London, England. It first opened on 18 July 1977. Sam Mendes, Michael Grandage, Josie Rourke and Michael Longhurst have all served as artistic direc ...

, directed by John Caird. Set in a

psychiatric hospital A psychiatric hospital, also known as a mental health hospital, a behavioral health hospital, or an asylum is a specialized medical facility that focuses on the treatment of severe Mental disorder, mental disorders. These institutions cater t ...

, it is an ensemble piece for fourteen actors, one of whom was Maxine Audley who received a London Critics Award for her performance as Olive, a

clairvoyant Clairvoyance (; ) is the claimed ability to acquire information that would be considered impossible to get through scientifically proven sensations, thus classified as extrasensory perception, or "sixth sense". Any person who is claimed to ...

. Other work includes ''On the Shelf'' for television (1984) produced by Margaret Matheson, and ''Talk of the Devil'' at the Watford Playhouse (1986) directed by Bill Alexander.

Stage plays

*1972 – ''Superscum'',

, London *1974 – ''A 'Nevolent Society'',

, London *1975 – ''Oh If Ever a Man Suffered'', Soho Theatre, London *1977 – '' Once a Catholic'', Royal Court Theatre, London *1978 – ''Look Out... Here Comes Trouble'', Royal Shakespeare Company at the Donmar Warehouse, London *1986 – ''Talk of the Devil'', Watford Playhouse,

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

*1996 – ''Oy Vay Maria'', Oldham Coliseum

Television plays

*''Percy and Kenneth'',

BBC Birmingham BBC Birmingham is one of the oldest regional arms of the BBC, located in Birmingham. It was the first region outside London to start broadcasting both the corporation's radio (in 1922) and television (in 1949) transmissions, the latter from t ...

*15.4.1978 ''- Shall I See You Now'', BBC Birmingham *1977 – ''Oy Vay Maria'' *1984 – ''On the Shelf''

Awards

*1977 –

Evening Standard Award The ''Evening Standard'' Theatre Awards, established in 1955, are the oldest theatrical awards ceremony in the United Kingdom. They are presented annually for outstanding achievements in London Theatre, and are organised by the ''Evening Standa ...

- Most Promising Playwright for ''Once a Catholic''. *1977 – Plays & Players Award for ''Once a Catholic''. *1977 – Pye Television Award for ''Oy Vay Maria''. *1978 –

winner for ''Once a Catholic''. *1986 – Susan Smith Blackburn Prize runner-up for ''Talk of the Devil''. *1987 – Hollywood Dramalogue Critics Award for ''Once a Catholic''.

References

External links

"Once a Catholic"
''What's on Stage'', 20 February 2009 *Gubbins, Paul
"The Stage Review"
''BBC'', Paul Gubbins, 2003 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Omalley, Mary 1941 births 2020 deaths English dramatists and playwrights English screenwriters English people of Irish descent English people of Lithuanian descent