Rory Mullarkey
Rory Mullarkey (born 1987) is an Irish playwright and librettist.
Early life
Mullarkey was born in Pembroke, Ontario. He was raised in a military family and spent his childhood in Davenport and Bramhall, both in Greater Manchester. He attended Manchester Grammar School, then studied Russian at the University of Cambridge. He then began studying at the Russian State Institute of Performing Arts, but did not finish.{{cite news |last1=Anglesey |first1=Natalie |title=Playwright wants you to eat his words |url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/theatre-news/playwright-wants-you-eat-words-2073135 |accessdate=17 October 2018 |work=Manchester Evening News |date=28 March 2013}}{{cite news |last1=Love |first1=Catherine |title=Rory Mullarkey: 'subverting convention has really paid off' {{!}} Interviews {{!}} The Stage |url=https://www.thestage.co.uk/features/interviews/2015/rory-mullarkey-subverting-convention-really-paid-off/ |accessdate=17 October 2018 |work=The Stage |date=5 September 2015}}
Career
Mullarkey's first full play was Cannibals, which premiered at the Royal Exchange, Manchester, in 2013. It won the 2014 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Drama.{{cite news |title=Cannibals wins Edinburgh drama prize |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-28741730 |accessdate=17 October 2018 |work=BBC News |date=11 August 2014}}
In 2014, Mullarkey was awarded the Pinter Commission by the Royal Court Theatre.{{cite news |last1=Merrifield |first1=Nicola |title=Rory Mullarkey wins Harold Pinter playwright prize {{!}} News {{!}} The Stage |url=https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/2014/rory-mullarkey-wins-harold-pinter-playwright-prize/ |accessdate=17 October 2018 |work=The Stage |date=25 March 2014}} His The Wolf from the Door premiered at the Royal Court in the same year.{{cite news |last1=Clapp |first1=Susannah |author-link=Susannah Clapp |title=The Wolf from the Door review – an apocalyptic yet overfamiliar vision of England |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2014/sep/21/the-wolf-from-the-door-royal-court-review-rory-mullarkey |accessdate=17 October 2018 |work=The Guardian |date=20 September 2014 |language=en}}
In 2017, Mullarkey's Saint George and the Dragon premiered at the National Theatre.{{cite news |last1=Hitchings |first1=Henry |title=Saint George and the Dragon review: Aimless take on national tale |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/go/london/theatre/saint-george-and-the-dragon-theatre-review-mischievous-but-aimless-take-on-national-tale-a3683331.html |accessdate=17 October 2018 |work=Evening Standard |date=12 October 2017}}
In 2018, Mullarkey's Pity premiered at the Royal Court Theatre.{{cite news |last1=Hewis |first1=Ben |title=Rory Mullarkey: 'Pity is a showcase for every aspect of theatre' |url=https://www.whatsonstage.com/london-theatre/news/pity-royal-court-opening-night-rory-mullarkey_47156.html |accessdate=17 October 2018 |work=WhatsOnStage.com |date=19 July 2018}} In the same year, he wrote the libretto for Mark-Anthony Turnage's Coraline, performed at the Barbican Centre,{{cite news |last1=Ashley |first1=Tim |title=Coraline review – creepy adaptation of Neil Gaiman's tale will turn kids on to opera |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/mar/30/coraline-review-neil-gaiman-barbican |accessdate=17 October 2018 |work=The Guardian |date=30 March 2018 |language=en}} and for The Skating Rink, performed at Garsington Opera.{{cite news |last1=Valencia |first1=Mark |title=Review: The Skating Rink (Garsington Opera at Wormsley) |url=https://www.whatsonstage.com/london-theatre/reviews/the-skating-rink-garsington-opera_47108.html |accessdate=17 October 2018 |work=WhatsOnStage.com |date=13 July 2018}} He also translated Chekov's The Cherry Orchard into English for Michael Boyd's Bristol Old Vic run.{{cite news |last1=Higgins |first1=Charlotte |title=The Cherry Orchard review – Michael Boyd's exquisite Chekhov debut |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/mar/12/the-cherry-orchard-review-michael-boyd-bristol-old-vic |accessdate=17 October 2018 |work=The Guardian |date=12 March 2018 |language=en}}
Selected works
- Cannibals (Royal Exchange, Manchester, 2013)
- The Wolf from the Door (Royal Court Theatre, 2014)
- Each Slow Dusk (Pentabus), 2014)
- Saint George and the Dragon (National Theatre, 2017)
- Pity (Royal Court Theatre, 2018)
Awards
- James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Drama 2014 – Cannibals
- Pinter Commission 2014
- George Devine award 2014 – co-winner with Alice Birch{{Cite news|last=Hoggard|first=Liz|url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2017/jun/04/alice-birch-anatomy-of-a-suicide-play-interview|title=Alice Birch: 'I'm interested in whether trauma can be passed on through DNA'|date=2017-06-04|work=The Observer|access-date=2020-03-20|language=en-GB|issn=0029-7712}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mullarkey, Rory}}
Category:Alumni of the University of Cambridge
Category:Canadian male dramatists and playwrights