Author: Editor

Rough Magic is delighted that two of our recent productions have been nominated for Irish Times Irish Theatre Awards! Along with our partners at Kilkenny Arts Festival, our 2020 production of Solar Bones has been nominated for three awards; Stanley Townsend for Best Actor, Lynne Parker for Best Director and also Best Production. Tonic, which … Continued

Rough Magic and Hatch Pictures are delighted to present Cleft, a new audio play by Fergal McElherron which is free to listen to below, and on Spotify. Cleft is a visceral story of one family’s unrelenting will to survive – and ultimately to make choices based on instinct. Cleft, starring Simone Kirby and Penny Layden, was … Continued

Rough Weekend is a showcase of new writing and big ideas. Set across two days, each of these three unique events will feature stagings, readings and discussions, offering glimpses and impressions of 13 never-before-seen works, commissioned by Rough Magic as part of the COMPASS Programme. 55+ Artists. 3 Events. 2 Days. Read the Rough Weekend … Continued

55+ Artists. 3 Events. 2 Days. Rough Weekend is a showcase of new writing and big ideas. Set across two days, each of these three unique events will feature stagings, readings and discussions, offering glimpses and impressions of never-before-seen works, commissioned by Rough Magic as part of the COMPASS Programme. Presented in Project Arts Centre … Continued

Rough Magic is thrilled to be bringing the Irish premiere of All the Angels by Nick Drake to audiences this Christmas, a joyous play about the world’s most popular choral work, from its fraught birth to its glorious outcome. All the Angels tells the true story of the great composer Handel in his desperate attempt … Continued

An invitation out of the blue to visit an old friend in hospital. Someone Dean hasn’t seen in years. Not since they were kids. Not since they drifted apart. Until now, this invitation, out of the blue. After all this time. What could be the harm in that? We are delighted to be partnering with … Continued

Rough Magic is thrilled to be returning to Kilkenny Arts Festival this year with Fionn Foley’s Tonic, a Doomsday folk-musical set in 2047. Tonic is an outdoor new ‘medicine-show’ infused with a genre-spanning live score. Directed by Rough Magic Associate Director Ronan Phelan, and designed by Zia Bergin-Holly the show will star Fionn Foley, Juliette Crosbie … Continued

Rough Magic is delighted to have Solar Bones presented as part of Culture Ireland’s SEODA Festival which will celebrate Irish arts worldwide during its 5 day festival running between 17th – 21st March. Minister Catherine Martin T.D announced the festival saying: “Our artists are Ireland’s treasures and despite the many challenges this year, our artists … Continued

Since 2001 Rough Magic has been a pioneer of artist development in Irish theatre, through the SEEDS programme.  SEEDS  has been Ireland’s most comprehensive development programme over nineteen years; and now a new iteration is here to take the original concept into the next decade. The new COMPASS programme, launching in 2021, will offer three … Continued

Growing artists. Making plays. COMPASS is a new development programme designed to provide opportunities for artists and plays, placing both at the centre of Rough Magic’s activities. Merging artist development and core programming in a radical new structure, the programme will assist in creating a portfolio of new work for production in the years coming … Continued