Liam Halligan
Liam is an established theatre director, actor and acting tutor based in Ireland.
He has received numerous awards from the Irish Arts Council to develop his work over the past twenty years.
Arts Council awards for 2020 include a Touring Grant for a national tour of Take off Your Cornflakes and a Production Award for a site specific piece, The Boatmen, for the Junction Festival Clonmel.
He has received numerous awards from the Irish Arts Council to develop his work over the past twenty years.
Arts Council awards for 2020 include a Touring Grant for a national tour of Take off Your Cornflakes and a Production Award for a site specific piece, The Boatmen, for the Junction Festival Clonmel.
PHOTO: (above) LIAM HALLIGAN BY SEAN GARLAND 2018.
DIRECTOR
Liam initially trained as an actor at the Stanislavski Studio, Focus Theatre, Dublin with Deirdre O'Connell and
Mary Elizabeth Burke Kennedy from 1976 - 1980.
He was awarded a first class honours MA in Drama & Performance from University College Dublin in 2018.
He has worked in the UK as an actor with internationally renowned directors including Sir Hugh Hunt, Declan Donnellan, Phyllida Lloyd, James Macdonald, Annie Castledine and Laurence Boswell.
Liam initially trained as an actor at the Stanislavski Studio, Focus Theatre, Dublin with Deirdre O'Connell and
Mary Elizabeth Burke Kennedy from 1976 - 1980.
He was awarded a first class honours MA in Drama & Performance from University College Dublin in 2018.
He has worked in the UK as an actor with internationally renowned directors including Sir Hugh Hunt, Declan Donnellan, Phyllida Lloyd, James Macdonald, Annie Castledine and Laurence Boswell.
AWARDS
Liam was nominated for an Irish Times Theatre Award as Best Director for two productions:
Speaking in Tongues by the Australian writer Andrew Bovell (Quare Hawks Theatre Company),
Rashomon based on two stories by Ryunosuke Akutagawa (Storytellers Theatre Company).
Liam was nominated for an Irish Times Theatre Award as Best Director for two productions:
Speaking in Tongues by the Australian writer Andrew Bovell (Quare Hawks Theatre Company),
Rashomon based on two stories by Ryunosuke Akutagawa (Storytellers Theatre Company).
Current Productions
Awarded funding from Screen Ireland and Memory House along with support from the Civic Theatre to make a short film based on Take Off Your Cornflakes with film maker Noel Brady. This will be an awareness building/educational film on alzheimers.
It will be completed by the end of October 2020.
Photo of Pat Nolan and Rose Henderson creating some glamour for once.
Photo above - sound designer Denis Clohessy with members of Backstage Youth Theatre recording 'Country' by Gary Duggan. August 2020.
Country/Future Tense
Liam finished working with Backstage Youth Theatre at the Backstage Theatre Longford last month.
We rehearsed Gary Duggan's play Country which has been recorded for radio by sound designer Denis Clohessy. It will be broadcast on Shannonside Radio on Halloween Night 31st Oct 2020.
We also devising a promenade piece with the overall title Future Tense based on aspects of confinement. It consisted of 5 ten minute pieces written by the youth theatre members and was performed promenade style in various spaces in Backstage Theatre. It was performed a number of times over the last weekend September to audiences of 10 so that social distancing can be maintained.
Liam finished working with Backstage Youth Theatre at the Backstage Theatre Longford last month.
We rehearsed Gary Duggan's play Country which has been recorded for radio by sound designer Denis Clohessy. It will be broadcast on Shannonside Radio on Halloween Night 31st Oct 2020.
We also devising a promenade piece with the overall title Future Tense based on aspects of confinement. It consisted of 5 ten minute pieces written by the youth theatre members and was performed promenade style in various spaces in Backstage Theatre. It was performed a number of times over the last weekend September to audiences of 10 so that social distancing can be maintained.
Recent Productions
Dermot Magennis and Aenne Barr in Heather.
Belltable Arts Centre, Limerick, Feb 2020.
Photo by Angie Steele.
HEATHER by Thomas Ecclesshare for Bewley's Café Theatre Dublin
'Expertly directed' The Sunday Times
The production opened to rave reviews in February 2019 and was revived for a second run in May.
Dates in 2020 include Belltable Arts Centre Limerick on the 15th February. A run at the
Civic Theatre Tallaght in March this year was cancelled due to Corona Virus restrictions.
'Expertly directed' The Sunday Times
The production opened to rave reviews in February 2019 and was revived for a second run in May.
Dates in 2020 include Belltable Arts Centre Limerick on the 15th February. A run at the
Civic Theatre Tallaght in March this year was cancelled due to Corona Virus restrictions.
Photo above - Backstage Theatre Longford August 2020.
TAKE OFF YOUR CORNFLAKES by Rose Henderson & Pat Nolan
A Show-in-a-Bag production for Fishamble Theatre Company.
'THIS SHOW HAS IT ALL. PLAYED TO PERFECTION.’ Sunday Independent
Produced for Dublin Fringe Festival 2017 receiving excellent reviews. Toured nationally in 2018.
Performances in 2019 included a full house at the Pavilion Dun Laoghaire and the Market Place Armagh.
The production received an Arts Council Touring Grant for February/March 2020 which we managed to almost complete before the Corona Virus restrictions kicked in.
NEWS
Previous Productions
Home Theatre (Ireland)
FOR DRAÍOCHT ARTS CENTRE IN COLLABORATION WITH DUBLIN THEATRE FESTIVAL, 2018.
Under the overall artistic directorship of Veronica Coburn, Liam was one of six directors, including Conall Morrison, Annabelle Comyn and Louise Lowe, working on 30 brand new pieces of theatre which were performed in 30 people's homes throughout Dublin 15 all on the same night. Liam worked with five exciting actor/writers, Bryan Burroughs, Fionn Foley, Sharon Mannion, Neil Watkins and the spoken-word artist Felicia Olusanya (aka Felispeaks). The work transferred to the main stage of Draíocht and was performed over three nights during the Dublin Theatre Festival.
Photo (below) of Fionn Foley by Killian Waters from 'Home Theatre'
A Show-in-a-Bag production for Fishamble Theatre Company.
'THIS SHOW HAS IT ALL. PLAYED TO PERFECTION.’ Sunday Independent
Produced for Dublin Fringe Festival 2017 receiving excellent reviews. Toured nationally in 2018.
Performances in 2019 included a full house at the Pavilion Dun Laoghaire and the Market Place Armagh.
The production received an Arts Council Touring Grant for February/March 2020 which we managed to almost complete before the Corona Virus restrictions kicked in.
NEWS
- Liam is working with actor/writer David Fennelly on a new piece for 2021. The idea won a Development Grant from The Arts Factory at the Complex Arts Centre Dublin.
- The Boatmen a site specific piece for the Junction Festival Clonmel in July 2020 was cancelled due to Corona Virus. However, Liam completed an adaptation for four actors using the stories and writing of local writer CJ Boland.
- Liam is also working on a new piece with Rose Henderson called How Lucky Are We? based on ageing and issues around euthanasia.
Previous Productions
Home Theatre (Ireland)
FOR DRAÍOCHT ARTS CENTRE IN COLLABORATION WITH DUBLIN THEATRE FESTIVAL, 2018.
Under the overall artistic directorship of Veronica Coburn, Liam was one of six directors, including Conall Morrison, Annabelle Comyn and Louise Lowe, working on 30 brand new pieces of theatre which were performed in 30 people's homes throughout Dublin 15 all on the same night. Liam worked with five exciting actor/writers, Bryan Burroughs, Fionn Foley, Sharon Mannion, Neil Watkins and the spoken-word artist Felicia Olusanya (aka Felispeaks). The work transferred to the main stage of Draíocht and was performed over three nights during the Dublin Theatre Festival.
Photo (below) of Fionn Foley by Killian Waters from 'Home Theatre'
‘Foley’s performance is flawless under Liam Halligan’s sharp direction. Home Theatre is more than an enjoyable evening; it presents a wide-angle shot of an entire community in all its rich diversity. It is hard to imagine a more appropriate use of Arts Council funding for “public” projects and deserves its support.’
The Review Hub
The Comedy of Errors
Dublin Youth Theatre.
Liam was delighted to be invited to direct the annual DYT summer show at Smock Alley Theatre in 2018.
Photo (below left): Cast of 'The Comedy of Errors' by Sarah Bragg-Bolger.
Dublin Youth Theatre.
Liam was delighted to be invited to direct the annual DYT summer show at Smock Alley Theatre in 2018.
Photo (below left): Cast of 'The Comedy of Errors' by Sarah Bragg-Bolger.
A full list of previous productions, reviews etc is available on the next page.
Click on the menu symbol at the top left hand corner of this page.
TUTOR
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TUTOR
- Liam is a part-time acting tutor at the Gaiety School of Acting since 2004. He introduces the full time acting students to Shakespeare.
- He has taught for the Rose Bruford College on their new Foundation Course at the MAC in Belfast 2019.
- He was a core tutor on Tenderfoot at the Civic Theatre for ten years with Veronica Coburn and Gavin Kostick. Tenderfoot is an apprenticeship programme in theatre making for transition year students, funded by the Arts Council and the Civic.
- Liam contributes as a part-time lecturer to the MA in Drama and Theatre Practice at
University College Dublin and to the BA (Hons) in Theatre and Drama Studies for CIT at the Cork School of Music. - He has facilitated a number of workshops with Youth Theatre groups, including a 3-day Facilitator's Workshop on Shakespeare for Youth Theatre Ireland at Maynooth University in 2017.
ACTOR
Stage Work
Liam has performed with companies as diverse as the Abbey Theatre, Lyric Belfast, Oxford Stage Company, Cheek By Jowl, Birmingham Rep, Theatre Clwyd, Manchester Contact, English Dance Theatre, Torifune Butoh Sha and Gay Sweatshop.
Film Work
Work includes the Irish classics Cathal Black's Pigs and Pat Murphy's Anne Devlin. Liam played Peter Dubois in the hit Kevin Costner movie Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. He has recently returned to filming in Natalya O'Flaherty's Her Sixteenth Birthday (Tenderfoot Films) and played a lead role in Banshee Blacktop by Sean Garland which is available on Amazon.
AWARDS
Stage Work
Liam has performed with companies as diverse as the Abbey Theatre, Lyric Belfast, Oxford Stage Company, Cheek By Jowl, Birmingham Rep, Theatre Clwyd, Manchester Contact, English Dance Theatre, Torifune Butoh Sha and Gay Sweatshop.
Film Work
Work includes the Irish classics Cathal Black's Pigs and Pat Murphy's Anne Devlin. Liam played Peter Dubois in the hit Kevin Costner movie Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. He has recently returned to filming in Natalya O'Flaherty's Her Sixteenth Birthday (Tenderfoot Films) and played a lead role in Banshee Blacktop by Sean Garland which is available on Amazon.
AWARDS
- Played Ross in Cheek by Jowl's 'Macbeth' which won an Olivier Award for 'Best Production' in 1987. The production toured the UK, played at the Donmar London and was revived for the Lyric Hammersmith.
- Won 'Most Promising Young Actor' from the Evening Press Theatre Awards, Dublin in 1979. These awards were the precursors to the Irish Times Theatre Awards.
Photo (below): Liam as Lovborg in 'Hedda Gabler' directed by Annie Castledine, Theatr Clwyd 1986.
