Hollywood star takes part in Offaly's playwriting festival

The Portlaoise actor Robert Sheehan, who has enjoyed stratospheric levels of fame during his career (including starring in Love/Hate and The Umbrella Academy), was one of the talented people from the theatrical world to grace this year's Scripts Playwriting Festival in Birr last week. Bringing a touch of stardust wherever he went, Sheehan threw himself into the event, as one of the four actors to bring the three new plays to life, something which requires several days of script reading and hard work.

The three plays were performed by Sheehan and three other actors on Sunday afternoon during the Festival Finale. In James Peaty's "Turn" Sheehan played a criminal Londoner who murders his brother (or does he?) He was the narrator in "Fanny Riot" by Lisa Walsh which chronicled the Dublin Riots in November 2023. And in Róisín Daly's "The Waves Have Ears Too" he portrayed a teenager who sexually abuses a teenage girl. During all three plays he showed that he was very skilful whether performing comedy or tragedy.

Edenderry's Eugene O'Brien praised the four actors for their performances during the Festival Finale. He said Sheehan was very down to earth and pleasant to have around during the week. “He was sometimes mobbed on the streets, but he was always gracious and decent.”

Of course, O'Brien himself is a celebrity, being of Pure Mule and Eden fame. The Edenderry playwright has been mentoring playwrights in Scripts for several years and every year he receives high praise from the playwrights he works with, as he sets them the difficult task of reassembling their one act plays and burnishing them to the highest level that they can.

READ MORE:

https://www.offalyexpress.ie/news/midland-tribune/1849959/offaly-s-playwriting-festival-hums-with-positivity.html