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.^[1][2]

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.^[3]

In 2014, Mullarkey was awarded the Pinter Commission by the Royal Court Theatre.^[4] His The Wolf from the Door premiered at the Royal Court in the same year.^[5]

In 2017, Mullarkey's Saint George and the Dragon premiered at the National Theatre.^[6]

In 2018, Mullarkey's Pity premiered at the Royal Court Theatre.^[7] In the same year, he wrote the libretto for Mark-Anthony Turnage's Coraline, performed at the Barbican Centre,^[8] and for The Skating Rink, performed at Garsington Opera.^[9] He also translated Chekov's The Cherry Orchard into English for Michael Boyd's Bristol Old Vic run.^[10]

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^[11]

References

1. Anglesey, Natalie (28 March 2013). "Playwright wants you to eat his words". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
2. Love, Catherine (5 September 2015). "Rory Mullarkey: 'subverting convention has really paid off' | Interviews | The Stage". The Stage. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
3. "Cannibals wins Edinburgh drama prize". BBC News. 11 August 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
4. Merrifield, Nicola (25 March 2014). "Rory Mullarkey wins Harold Pinter playwright prize | News | The Stage". The Stage. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
5. Clapp, Susannah (20 September 2014). "The Wolf from the Door review – an apocalyptic yet overfamiliar vision of England". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
6. Hitchings, Henry (12 October 2017). "Saint George and the Dragon review: Aimless take on national tale". Evening Standard. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
7. Hewis, Ben (19 July 2018). "Rory Mullarkey: 'Pity is a showcase for every aspect of theatre'". WhatsOnStage.com. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
8. Ashley, Tim (30 March 2018). "Coraline review – creepy adaptation of Neil Gaiman's tale will turn kids on to opera". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
9. Valencia, Mark (13 July 2018). "Review: The Skating Rink (Garsington Opera at Wormsley)". WhatsOnStage.com. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
10. Higgins, Charlotte (12 March 2018). "The Cherry Orchard review – Michael Boyd's exquisite Chekhov debut". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
11. Hoggard, Liz (2017-06-04). "Alice Birch: 'I'm interested in whether trauma can be passed on through DNA'". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2020-03-20.