Statements of Support
Statements of Support
‘Conor McKee is a genuinely promising playwright with a love of language, an eye for the underbelly of a character, and a productive sense of the macabre. He is also relentlessly hard-working in his attempts to develop his craft and deserves support in his efforts to make new theatre happen.’
- John E. McGrath, Artistic Director, National Theatre of Wales
‘Conor McKee is a brave and exciting new playwright’
- Baba Israel, Artistic Director/ Chief Executive, Contact Theatre
‘I first encountered Conor’s work at the 24:7 Theatre Festival in 2006. Since then, I have watched him blossom into a playwright of note. His writing is very much the writing of today: strong, sparse, sharp yet melodic; and he is possessed of a keen eye and sensitivity that will take him a long way.’
- David Slack, Artistic Director, 24:7 Theatre Festival
‘Conor McKee is a gifted writer and his work has a quality of freshness about it that deserves to find an audience. His dialogue is beautifully sparse and he finds contemporary and meaningful settings for his drama.’
- Cheryl Martin, Freelance Director/ Producer (formerly of Traverse Theatre and Contact, Manchester)
‘I saw Prince of the Morning at Contact in 2007, and have followed Conor’s progress with interest ever since. He manages to combine razor sharp observation with occasionally driving black comedy. Definitely one to watch for the future.’
- Hannah Salt, former New Writing Co-Ordinator, Contact
‘Conor is a very talented and experimental playwright, unafraid to take on new challenges in the development of his work.’
- Charlotte Goodwin, recent Tutor, Arden School of Theatre
‘Conor McKee’s writing has a strong and original voice. You can’t teach that. I look forward to his development as a writer with great anticipation.’
- Terry Hughes, Edinburgh Fringe First Winning Playwright
We hosted Conor McKee’s new play Burnt, directed by Wyllie Longmore at Tara Studio in November 2010. Conor McKee’s spare and pithy dialogue, which focused on two couples, was crafted to reveal by stealth the hidden story of one of the pairs previous history. Wyllie Longmore’s direction teased out the subtle tensions and acrimony lurking in the relationships and used to terrific effect the space in between the dialogue to allow the emotions to ferment. The young and packed audiences who saw Burnt at Tara Studio left the theatre buzzing about the play and the production.”
- Jonathan Kennedy – Artistic Director, TARA Arts