Gary Mitchell

Gary Mitchell
OccupationWriter
Writing career
GenrePolitical thriller
Notable worksIn a Little world of Our own (1997); As the Beast Sleeps (1998); The Force of Change (2000)

Gary Mitchell is a Northern Irish playwright. He is best known for his plays In a Little world of Our own (1997); As the Beast Sleeps (1998); and The Force of Change (2000).

Early life

Gary Mitchell came from a working-class, loyalist background. He left school at 16 and worked in the Civil Service before joining an Arts Council Youth and Community Drama Scheme.

Career

Mitchell's first foray into writing was for Radio 4. His first play was produced by Tinderbox Theatre Company, but his first major theatre success was the production (by Connall Morrison) of his In A Little World of Our Own at the Peacock Theatre in Dublin, a gripping and unflinching portrayal of loyalist culture. It won The Irish Times Theatre Award for Best New Play in 1997, and it later went to Belfast as part of an Abbey Theatre tour. The following year the Peacock Theatre produced his As The Beast Sleeps.

His works have also premiered at London's Royal Court Theatre.[citation needed]

His work Tearing the Loom was written for the 200th anniversary of the Irish Rebellion of 1798.

Personal life

Mitchel is married to Alison and they have several children.

In November 2005, he was forced out of his home in the Belfast suburb of Rathcoole after it was attacked by loyalist paramilitaries. He and his family had to live in hiding somewhere in Northern Ireland, which forced Mitchell to put his career on hold for five years.

Recognition and awards

Mitchell was writer-in-residence at the Royal National Theatre in London in 1999.

In 2005, Angelique Chrisafis, writing in The Guardian, said that he had become "one of the most talked about voices in European theatre... whose political thrillers [had] arguably made him Northern Ireland's greatest playwright".

Theatre

Film

Works

Plays
Radio plays
Television
Films
Published Plays

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Loyalist paramilitaries drive playwright from his home" - The Guardian, 21 December 2005.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Gary Mitchell". Troubles Archive. Retrieved 22 September 2026.
  3. ↑ The Theatre Awards: 1997. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  4. ↑ "As The Beast Sleeps". Variety. 29 June 1998. Retrieved 22 September 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Pelletier, Martine (2005). "Contemporary Northern Irish Theatre: Challenging the Union?". Open Edition. Bonds of Union, Presses universitaires François-Rabelais. Retrieved 22 September 2026.
  6. 1 2 "Friday People: Gary Mitchel". Belfast Telegraph. 11 November 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2026.
  7. ↑ Playwright hits back against intimidation - The Observer, 29 January 2006.
  8. ↑ Interview with Gary Mitchell, The Belfast Telegraph, 12 May 2014
  9. ↑ "Gary Mitchel, Writer". United Agents. Retrieved 22 September 2026.
  10. ↑ "Loyalist paramilitaries forced acclaimed playwright Gary Mitchell, his wife Alison, their seven-year-old son, and members of their extended family, out of north Belfast last November". Belfast Telegraph. 1 August 2006. Retrieved 22 September 2026.