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Gary Mitchell

GARY MITCHELL

  (1965 - )
Nationality:    British
email:    n/a     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    Alison Mitchell Personal Management

Gary Mitchell was born in Rathcoole, North Belfast in 1965 and left Rathcoole Secondary School at the age of fifteen. In 1990 he wrote his first radio play, which won a BBC Radio 4 Young Playwrights Festival Award, and in 1995 became the first Protestant and first person from Northern Ireland to win the Stewart Parker Award. In 1998, IN A LITTLE WORLD OF OUR OWN won the Irish Times Theatre Award for best new play and was performed for the Abbey Theatre's first ever visit to the Lyric, Belfast. Also in 1998, Gary won the Belfast Drama Award for IN A LITTLE WORLD OF OUR OWN and SINKING, and was made Writer in Residence at the Royal National Theatre, London. He has gone on to win the Pearson Best New Play prize for TRUST, and for the FORCE OF CHANGE both the George Devine Award and the Evening Standard Charles Wintour Award for Most Promising Playwright.
Agent's website

Research:    http://www.irishplayography.com/person.aspx?personid=197

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

         Alternative Future         As the Beast Sleeps         Deceptive Imperfections         Demented         Energy         Force Of Change, The         Forget Turkey (We liked it so much we are going to Phuket again)         Forget Turkey (We liked it so much we are going to Phuket this Christmas)         Holding Cell         In A Little World Of Our Own         Independent Voice         Love Matters         Loyal Women         Marching On         Re-Energise         Remnants of Fear         Sinking         Smiley         Suicide Brunette         Tearing the Loom         That Driving Ambition         Trust

Alternative Future

Synopsis:
A policeman in the Northern Irish Police Force habours a well kept secret wish to become a stand up comic

Notes:
Alternative Future was originally presented Alongside 'monday Night, Little Ireland, North Of England' by Glenn Patterson, '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:
the Mac, Belfast, Ireland >>>     18 Apr 1994

Organisations:
Point Fields 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:
One Act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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As the Beast Sleeps

As the Beast Sleeps
the explosive contradictions of life in Northern Ireland ignite this Drama of suspense and violence. Kyle is loyal to his wife, his best mate and his boss in the Ulster Defence Union  and they love him as a husband, a brother and a son  but, with changing times and the emerging peace process, Kyle finds himself lost in the shadows of transition, uncertainty, and betrayal. In a world turned upside down, peace and brutality walk side-by-side, while love and loyalty are sacrificed to the new order.
Nick Hern Books

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:

1st Published:
Nick Hern Books, London, 2001   978-18544596512

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:  6            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Deceptive Imperfections

Synopsis:
-

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:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Demented

Synopsis:
Andrew has been thrown out by his wife and he moves in with his father James. James has dementia and cannot even remember Andrew's name. The next door neighbours are wheelchair bound Keith and wife Felicity. And there are friends Justin and Stacy. They all decide to rob a bank

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Lyric Theatre, Belfast     2014

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:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Energy

Synopsis:
the punk era and the machinations of a band as they quarrel about their act with "the Troubles" and the hunger strikes ominously in the background.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Playhouse,Derry >>>     29 Sep 1999

Organisations:
the Playhouse

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:  6            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Force Of Change, The

Force Of Change, The
An explosively topical play about institutional corruption in Northern Ireland. Caroline is a detective Sergeant in the RUC. Used to doing battle against the ingrained sexism of her male colleagues, she begins to suspect something much worse: systematised collaboration between the RUC and the loyalist terrorists of the UDA. . .
Nick Hern Books

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:

1st Published:
Nick Hern Books, London, 2000   978-18544596161

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:  5            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Forget Turkey (We liked it so much we are going to Phuket again)

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
Written by Dan Gordon; Colin Murphy and Gary Mitchell

1st Produced:
Lyric Theatre, Belfast     2013

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:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Forget Turkey (We liked it so much we are going to Phuket this Christmas)

Synopsis:
A&E on Christmas Day Anne and Edgar wait with an elderly man on a trolley

Notes:
Written by Dan Gordon; Colin Murphy and Gary Mitchell

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:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Holding Cell

Synopsis:
"Justice" from seven different Northern Ireland writers

Notes:
part of 'Convictions' which 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

Booksellers:

Genre:
Series of short individual plays

Parts:
Male:  10            Female:  6            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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In A Little World Of Our Own

In A Little World Of Our Own
a powerful illustration of how the conflict in Northern Ireland affects whole families, and of how the violence of the streets is brought into the heart of the home.
Nick Hern Books

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:

1st Published:
in Tearing the Loom / In a Little World of Our Own, Nick Hern Books, London, 1998   978-1854594037

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:  4            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Independent Voice

Synopsis:
Northern Ireland is a dangerous place for independant young journalists to ply their trade.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Belfast: Old Museum Arts Centre, 7 College Square N, Belfast Bt1 6Ar     02 Mar 1993

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:
Thriller

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Love Matters

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
performed in Irish And simultaneously in English

1st Produced:
-     2011

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:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Loyal Women

Loyal Women
Brenda is under siege in her Belfast home. Daughter Jenny's baby is crying upstairs, her mother-in-law is sleeping in the front room and her husband is back after years in prison. And now the women of the Ulster Defence Association want her to demonstrate her loyalty to the cause. . .
Nick Hern Books

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:

1st Published:
Nick Hern Books, London, 2003   978-185445978-30

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:  7            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Marching On

Synopsis:
a contemporary portrait of a lower-class family riven by militant extremism. the adolescent Ricky believes that he is loyally following in the footsteps of his grandad, Samuel, a lifelong enthusiast for the Orange Order's marching season. But it is also mere teenage excitability that leads Ricky on to torching Catholics' cars when the police block the marching route, Moreover, Samuel is shocked by his grandson's failure to pursue the new ways of peaceful protest. This is a portrait of changing tactics in Ireland and of generational differences.
Kate Bassett, Daily Telegraph

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
7:84 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:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Re-Energise

Synopsis:
Now in their fifties the members of the punk band battle against drugs and depression and debt plus wayward teenage children

Notes:
Sequel to "Energy"

1st Produced:
Playhouse, Londonderry     2013

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:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Remnants of Fear

Synopsis:
Early in 2006, Gary Mitchell and his family were driven out of their neighbourhood by Unionist paramilitaries angered by Mitchell's success as a playwright who focuses on the internal violence in his Protestant community. Now Mitchell's new play about this trauma is being produced by Northern Ireland's most unashamedly nationalist theatre company, Dubbeljoint. Tony is a gormless 17-year-old deciding what to do with his life. His father, Charlie, left the UDA in the 1990s and is now a cuckolded weakling; his uncle Geordie is a rich and potent UDA hardman. Faster than you can say Sky News, Geordie transforms Tony into a balaclava-clad street thug, with the encouragement of Tony's gran, Maud, who is kept in espadrilles and bingo nights by Geordie's weekly wads of cash. It is only in Charlie and Geordie's final face-off that the real questions start to be asked: is an escape from this cycle of violence possible, what role did their father's departure from the UDA play in the sons' parted ways, and has Charlie's split from the family dealt him a death sentence?
Karen Fricker, Guardian

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Rock, Belfast     2006

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:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Sinking

Synopsis:
An examination of bullying in Northern Ireland

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Belfast Royal Academy, As Part Of A Tour To Schools And Venues     25 Sep 1997

Organisations:
Replay Productions, Belfast, Ireland

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:
Youth Audience

Parts:
Male:  10            Female:  4            Other:  doubling possible

Further Reference:
-

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Smiley

Synopsis:
Ex-paramilitaries force a five a side football team to steal the prize money from a competition they are in

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Lyric Theatre, Belfast     02 Jul 2016

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:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Suicide Brunette

Synopsis:
Dealing with Alex, a young single mother of three in Belfast, and her struggle to come to terms with the choices she has made and the life she could have had. Laced with Mitchell's distinctive black humor, this is an honest and unflinching account of a life lived in the harsh climate of this modern world

Notes:
Produced Alongside Christopher Hanvey's 'the Native' in A Double-Bill entitled 'the Redemption Solos'. Also known as "Suicide Blonde"

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Underground Collective Studio

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:
One Act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Tearing the Loom

Tearing the Loom
a searing portrait of a community divided against itself, set in a weaver's cottage in County Armagh at the time of the 1798 Rebellion.
Nick Hern Books

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Lyric Theatre

1st Published:
in Tearing the Loom / In a Little World of Our Own, Nick Hern Books, London, 1998   978-1854594037

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:  5            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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That Driving Ambition

Synopsis:
Punishment beatings from the paramilataries abound for youngsters caught joyriding

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Dunmurray High School, Belfast, As Part Of A Tour To Schools And Venues.     02 Oct 1995

Organisations:
Replay Productions, Belfast, Ireland

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:
Youth Audience

Parts:
Male:  6            Female:  3            Other:  doubling possible

Further Reference:
-

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Trust

Synopsis:
A play about the bonds of trust in a tight-knit Loyalist community, and how easily they are shattered. Geordie is a UDA godFather on the Rathcoole estate in Belfast. He is unemployed but receives supplicants for 'jobs'. His diffident 15-year-old son, stunted by living in his shadow, is being bullied at school: Geordie and his tough-talking wife, Margaret, differ over the approach to take - he wants to ignore the problem, she wants to arrange a punishment beating. When he is approached for help by a British Army 'special' with an plan to go on the make, the trust begins to unravel.
Nick Hern Books

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Royal Court & RNT Studio

1st Published:
Nick Hern Books, London, 1999   -

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:  5            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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