Announcing the Playwright for National Youth Theatre 2023

Youth Theatre Ireland are delighted to announce Eimear Hussey as the commissioned playwright for National Youth Theatre 2023.

The selection of Eimear as playwright for NYT 2023 achieves one of the key artistic goals laid out in The National Youth Theatre 2019 – 2023 vision document, to have the National Youth Theatre being written by a young person from an affiliated youth theatre. The NYT vision document and programme, was developed by Veronica Coburn, Artistic Director NYT 2018 – 2021. Veronica was responsible for implementing the first phase of the Programme including directing the National Youth Theatre productions at the Abbey Theatre Dublin in August 2019 and 2021 and developing ARTiculate, a special play-writing workshop programme for young people. It was through the ARTiculate programme, and its follow-on programme ARTiculate Brief, Youth Theatre Ireland selected the playwright for NYT 2023. Participants on these programmes were invited to submit an expression of interest to write NYT 2023. From these submissions Youth Theatre Ireland selected Eimear Hussey to write NYT 2023.

About Eimear Hussey

Eimear Hussey is a Dublin based writer-designer/designer-writer for theatre (she’s not sure which!). She is a recent graduate of Drama and Theatre Studies, at Trinity College Dublin. At present she is working as a literary intern with Fishamble. She’s interested in new and collaborative writing, theatre for young audiences, and design-led devising practices. She is a former member of Dublin Youth Theatre, where she performed in various productions including this is a room… (Project Arts Centre, 2017). She has also participated in Youth Theatre Ireland programmes including ARTiculate writing programmes (2020-2022) and performed in the National Youth Theatre production Ask Too Much of Me (Peacock Theatre, 2019).

Further writing experience includes work with DU Players and the Samuel Beckett Theatre. Recent design work includes stage and costume design for It Is Good We Are Dreaming (The New Theatre, 2022), stage design for Panopticon (Samuel Beckett Theatre, 2022), and costume design for Ulster American (Samuel Beckett Theatre, 2022). She was a member of the Royal Court Theatre’s Script Panel in 2021 and is a current member of Dublin Theatre Festival’s Be SpectACTive! programme. She is delighted, excited, and utterly terrified to write for the National Youth Theatre 2022-2023.

Speaking about the appointment, Director of Youth Theatre Ireland, Eoghan Doyle said ‘We are absolutely thrilled to have Eimear writing NYT 2023 for Youth Theatre Ireland. As a previous participant in NYT, Eimear brings first-hand experience to this role, which I think will be really valuable to the creative process. The selection panel were so impressed with Eimear’s passion for National Youth Theatre and the themes and ideas she will be exploring through this commission and we are really excited to see the final product next year’

The National Youth Theatre will be presented in August 2023.