- ESB and Fishamble: The New Play Company’s ‘Tiny Plays for A Brighter Future’ challenge receives over 350 submissions from writers across Ireland
- Three playwrights have had their work produced, staged and filmed by Fishamble at the O’Reilly Theatre, Dublin
Belvedere House, O’Reilly Theatre, Dublin, 29th June 2021: Three ‘Tiny Plays’, consisting of just 600 words, have been produced by Fishamble: The New Play Company, as part of their ‘Tiny Plays for A Brighter Future’ challenge, in partnership with ESB.
The challenge invited writers to imagine what a brighter energy future means to them and to capture that in a 600-word play. Over 350 submissions were received, with an initial 10 plays shortlisted by an independent panel of judges and published on the Fishamble website in May.
Three of the ten shortlisted playwrights, Signe Lury, Eva-Jane Gaffney, and Niall Murphy, have had their work produced, staged, and filmed by Fishamble at the O’Reilly Theatre on Great Denmark Street, Dublin.
Selfish, by Lury, a final year student of English and Drama in Trinity College Dublin, features two women, Theo, and Connie, who struggle to move forward in their lives because of their fears of what the future holds.
Murphy, a regular short story writer, takes an inter-generational look at a family on a journey towards a future that is both uncertain and inevitable, in his play Our Turn.
The final play, Journey, was written and performed by writer and actor, Eva-Jane Gaffney.
All three plays are now available to view online at www.esb.ie/tinyplays.
Jim Culleton, Artistic Director of Fishamble, who directed all three plays, said: “We were hugely impressed by the standard of submissions for this Tiny Plays challenge. We believe that the arts have a huge role to play in driving the change that is needed to create a more sustainable world for us all. We were delighted to partner with ESB on this initiative, and to give a platform to playwrights to address one of the biggest challenges we all face. We are now very excited to bring these plays to life on the stage.”
Pat O’Doherty, Chief Executive of ESB, said: “We believe that the arts play a significant role in both documenting and harnessing social change. Partnering with Fishamble on this project has provided a fascinating insight into how different writers respond to both the opportunities and challenges of the journey we are all on in combatting climate change as we collectively work together to transition to a low carbon energy future.”
‘Tiny Plays for A Brighter Future’ was conceived as an opportunity to give creative expression to all points of view in the transition to a low carbon energy future: to look at the choices we all must make to meet our future climate goals, examine how those choices will impact communities across Ireland, and imagine what we want the Ireland of our future to be, through 600-word Tiny Plays.
All three plays were staged and filmed sustainably to ensure a zero-waste approach to the production.
To find out more, and to view the filmed plays, visit www.esb.ie/tinyplays.
ENDS
For media queries contact: graham.king@esb.ie/085-1515886
Image Caption: 29th June: Belvedere House, O’Reilly Theatre, Dublin: Playwrights Signe Lury, Niall Murphy and actor/playwright Eva-Jane Gaffney, whose Tiny Plays of just 600 words were produced, staged and filmed by Fishamble: The New Play Company as part of the ESB ‘Tiny Plays for A Brighter Future’ challenge.
The challenge invited writers to imagine what a brighter energy future means to them, and to capture that in a 600-word play. The three Tiny Plays were selected from over 350 submissions, and were staged and filmed in the O’Reilly Theatre, Dublin. The plays are online now at www.esb.ie/tinyplays.
Photography has been released by Andres Poveda (086-8343242) and is available FOC.
Please use with credit to Andres Poveda.
NOTES TO EDITOR:
Playwright bios
Eva-Jane Gaffney
Eva-Jane Gaffney is an actor and voiceover artist from Dublin. Previous stage work includes HEROIN (2018), Rapids and Danny & Chantelle (Still Here). Screen credits include Wastewater, Rosie, Sing Street and Éirí amach Amú.
Signe Lury
Signe Lury is a writer, director, and actor, graduating this year from Trinity College Dublin where she studied English & Drama. She's a co-founder of Gift Horse Theatre, an environmentally conscious company with a focus on reimagining classic texts. Writing credits include We Are Not a Muse (Edinburgh Fringe) and Tess (Gift Horse).
Niall Murphy
Niall is a writer of short stories, advertising copy, one (tiny) play, and many, many emails. When not writing, he enjoys a dip in the sea and watching the birds in his garden. He lives in Glenageary, Co. Dublin with his wife, Ali.
About Fishamble: The New Play Company: Fishamble is an Irish theatre company that is passionate about discovering, developing, and producing new plays of national importance with a global reach while championing the role of the playwright. It typically supports over 50% of the writers of all new plays produced on the island of Ireland each year. Fishamble tours its productions to audiences throughout Ireland, and to 19 other countries, and has received many awards in Ireland and internationally, including an Olivier Award.
www.fishamble.com
About ESB: ESB is Ireland’s leading energy utility with operations spanning electricity generation, transmission and distribution and energy supply. Operating through a portfolio of brands comprising ESB Networks, Electric Ireland, ESB International and NIE Networks, ESB is working to create a brighter future for all by taking action and leadership in the transition to a low carbon future powered by electricity. This includes replacing carbon intensive generation with renewable and low carbon alternatives, creating smarter, more efficient networks, building a national EV charging infrastructure and developing new products and services to enable customers manage their energy use more efficiently.
For more information see: esb.ie