Carys D. Coburn
Selected credits
- HOTHOUSEMalaprop/ Project Arts Centre
- Absent the WrongAbbey Theatre/ DFF
- WAKE THISISPOPBAY/ Irish Arts Centre NYC/ DFF
- Horse Ape Bird Irish National Opera
- CitysongAbbey Theatre / Soho Theatre / Verity Bargate Award
- Ask Too Much of MeIrish National Youth Theatre / Peacock Theatre
- BlackcatfishmuskateerMalaprop / Edinburgh Fringe / Camden Peoples' Theatre
- Boys and GirlsFishamble New Writing Award
About
Carys D. Coburn is a writer, theatre-maker and spoken word artist based in Dublin. They are currently commissioned by the Abbey Theatre, Fishamble and the National Theatre Connections Festival, London.
They were the recipient of the 2017 Verity Bargate Award for Citysong. Work with young people is a major strand of their practice; they are the author of ‘Ask Too Much of Me’, written for the 2018/19 NYT ensemble, and currently under commission to write HandToMouthToMouthToHand for the National Theatre’s Connections programme. They also write collaboratively with Malaprop whose work has won acclaim for its distinctive blend of nerdiness and tenderness.
Their other plays include Absent The Wrong (Best Production at Dublin Fringe 2022), Boys and Girls (Best New Writing Award at Dublin Fringe 2013, and Stewart Parker Trust Award nominated), Drawing Crosses on a Dusty Windowpane (Dublin Fringe 2015), Blackcatfishmusketeer (Dublin Fringe 2016, UK and Chinese tours).
Featured work
HOTHOUSE
Project Arts Centre/ Dublin Fringe Festival
Written by Carys D. Coburn with MALAPROP
Directed by Claire O’Reilly
Set & Costume Design by Molly O'Cathain
Composition, Musical Direction and Sound by Anna Clock
Lighting Design by John Gunning
Winner of Best Production and Best Design Ensemble, Dublin Fringe Festival 2023
Absent the Wrong
Abbey Theatre/ Dublin Fringe Festival/ One Off Productions
Written by: Carys D. Coburn
Directed by: Veronica Coburn
Directing Associate: Claire O'Reilly
Set Design: Molly O'Cathain
Costume Design: Pai Rathaya
Lighting Design: Suzie Cummins
Winner of Best Production, Dublin Fringe Festival 2022
“its poetry proves far more powerful, and its people more powerful still” **** The Arts Review
WAKE
THISISPOPBABY/ Irish Arts Centre, NYC/ Dublin Fringe Festival
Created & Directed by Jennifer Jennings & Phillip McMahon
With text from Dylan Coburn Gray
Composed By Alma Kelliher
Choreographed by Philip Connaughton
Set & Graphic Design by Niall Sweeney
Lighting Design by Mark Galione
Costume Design by Julian Smith
“Wake is the best show in town” ***** The Arts Review *****
***** The Irish Times
Horse Ape Bird
Commissioned by Irish National Opera
Composed by David Coonan
Libretto by Dylan Coburn Gray
Directed by Zoe Ní Riordáin
Set Design by Zia Bergin- Holly
Lighting design by John Gunning
Costume Design by Clodagh Deegan
Photo Credited to Irish National Opera
“a heady, word-drunk piece of writing … there’s a beautiful musicality to it, a sense of ebb and flow” The Stage
Citysong
Abbey Theatre/Soho Theatre
Writer: Dylan Coburn Gray
Director: Caitríona McLaughlin
Set and Costume Design: Sarah Bacon
Lighting Design: Paul Keogan
Composer and Sound Design: Adrienne Quartly
“Poignant, Lyrical and gorgeously written” The Stage
“A poetic celebration of the cycle of life” The Guardian
“Nothing short of sublime” The Arts Review
Blackcatfishmuskateer
Written by Dylan Coburn Gray
Directed by Claire O’Reilly
Design by Molly O’Cathain
Lighting Design by John Gunning
Produced by Breffni Holahan and Carla Rogers
Performed by Aoife Spratt, Catherine Russell, and Ste Murray
BEST NEW PLAY NOMINEE AT DUBLIN FRINGE 2016
THE STAGE: EDITOR’S PICK, EDFRINGE 2017
Everything Not Saved
Malaprop Theatre Company
Devised by the company with Dylan Coburn Gray
Directed by Claire O’Reilly
Design by Molly O’Cathain
Lighting Design by John Gunning
Sound Design by Brian Fallon
Produced by Carla Rogers
WINNER GEORGANNE ALDRICH HELLER AWARD, DUBLIN FRINGE 2017
‘Intricate, layered theatre-essay on the relationship between memory and history‘ **** The Stage
‘Under the intellectual knots of ethics and philosophy, the company’s trademark wit remains, and there is a current of absurdity running through each scene.’
**** The Guardian
