HOME | Joynesbitt

Director | Writer | Musician

Blood of my Blood

Premiering in the Upstairs Space of the Royal Court Theatre in London, UK, as part of their 70th Anniversary Season in 2026.

The Knife

Short Film Written and Directed by Joy Nesbitt Best Comedy Winner at the Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival & Lecture Series 2025

Faces (2020)

A short film directed by Joy Nesbitt

Blood of my Blood

Premiering in the Upstairs Space of the Royal Court Theatre in London, UK, as part of their 70th Anniversary Season in 2026.

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Phoebe Zeitgeist arrives on Earth from another planet with a simple assignment: Observe human democracy and write it down. But Phoebe Zeitgeist has difficulty, because although she has learned the words, she doesn't understand human language. She knows the words, recites them perfectly, and still has no idea what they mean.

In this work-in-progress showing, we follow Phoebe through an absurdist coming-of-age, wandering a world where Black femininity is treated as metaphor, symbol, and spectacle—everything except the plain truth of lived experience.

Sophie Lenglinger - Phoebe Zeitgeist

Joy Nesbitt - Writer & Director

Abigail Sage - Lighting Designer

Nico Bowden - Creative Producer

Kätzchen

Riverside Studios - London, UK

8 March 2026

KÄTZCHEN

Part confessional, part peep-show booth, step inside and enjoy a free, five-minute performance that showcases the best of Irish writing, performed by one actor for one audience member.

Six short plays are performed in rotation as part of this unique theatrical experience, each written specifically for this project, including writing by Enda Walsh, Marina Carr and Mark O'Rowe. Audiences are invited to join a queue and wait in line for their surprise, one-on-one performance.

Breaking the boundaries between performer and audience member, the experience 'evokes an exhilarating sense of aliveness’ (★★★★★, Guardian).

Theatre For One, conceived by Artistic Director Christine Jones, was first performed in 2003 and has been staged in public spaces across the world including Ireland, Canada and America. Landmark Productions has championed the work of Irish creatives at home and internationally for over 20 years, partnering with Octopus Theatricals to bring Theatre for One to international audiences.

Six short plays are performed in rotation as part of this unique theatrical experience. You won't know what play you are seeing until you're sat in the booth and the performance begins.

The Spur by Mark O'Rowe

Cave by Enda Walsh

Dear Rosa by Joy Nesbitt

Cygnum Caticum by Marina Carr

Ambition by Katie Holly

The Wedding by Louise O’Neill

Landmark Productions / Octopus Theatricals: Theatre for One

The Barbican - London, UK

12—22 March 2026

THEATRE FOR ONE

'This belongs to me as much as it belongs to you.'

Bullock Creek, South Carolina, 1862: Ginnie Good raises five children in a cabin as a war rages outside.

Today: A woman rents the cabin on AirBnB to conjure her ancestors.

Playwright Joy Nesbitt makes her Royal Court debut with this new play about complicated histories, belonging - and what we hear when we listen to the voices of the past, directed by Tatenda Shamiso (No I.D.).

Supported by the Concord Theatricals Unpublished Playwrights Award.

Blood of my Blood

The Royal Court Theatre - London, UK

1 October - 7 November 2026

BLOOD OF MY BLOOD

PRESS

"Nesbitt leans into that moral murkiness brilliantly, bringing it into the current context of far-right ideology. [...] This play is brilliantly written – intricately woven, if you'll pardon the pun. It's intellectually complex but also operates on a raw emotional level that gets under your skin and stays there. The tonal range is remarkable, moving from genuine tenderness to moments that are legitimately frightening, and the cast navigates these shifts with skill and precision."

— BroadwayWorld,

Review: STILT at Corrib Theatre

BROADWAY WORLD

Happy (Almost) New Year everyone!!
As I reflect on my 2025, a year full of unexpected successes and learnings, I feel so much love has come out of this year, and I feel it’s really important to take a moment on this last day to thank the folks who have been such enormous supports to me over the last year.

Thank you to my family for advice and clarity and support even when things seemed unclear.

Thank you to my partner who constantly makes me feel seen, heard, and safe.

Thank you to my friends who have lifted me up across oceans through two moves and lots of ups and downs!

Thank you to my collaborators and creative family who have pushed me forward and given me space to explore and play in new and exciting ways.

And I want give an extra special thank you to the folks who have opened doors for me that I never would have even looked at without them.

Huge thank you to Alison McKenna, who sent my play, Blood of my Blood to the open submissions at the Royal Court!

Huge thank you to Diane Borger, Enda Walsh, Anne Clark, Lisa Furlong Jones, The Lir, The ITI, Max Elton, Ben Ward, Gillian Greer, Darrell Miller, Tatenda Shamiso, Laetitia Somé, Joelle Mae David, Sophie Cairns, Grace Odumosu, Holly Griffith, and so many more folks who have been such spectacular mentors to me.

There’s so many people I can’t even tag or post them all but even so, big love to everyone and thank you for being there ❤️

Thank you thank you thank you

Here’s to 2026! Another year of calling in abundance! 🥂

—
@alison.mckenna.liepmann
@tatendashamiso
@misslees
@the__lir
@gilltopia
@bendy.walsh
@tatendashamiso
@irish_theatre_institute
@landmarkireland
@laetitiasome
@ballersoph
@grace.producer
@dundergrifflin

Happy Closing to STILT at Corrib Theatre in Portland, OR!
Thank you to Corrib for commissioning this piece, and thank you so much to the whole team for the artistry you brought to this weird little play I’ve written! I’m so moved to see that it resonated with audiences, and it’s been so beautiful to see the ways in which this production has truly cracked open a new understanding of the ways in which we tell ourselves stories to understand our traumas.
Big love to the whole team! 🧙🏻‍♂️🫅

Cast
TJ - Max Bernsohn
Chris - Jonathan Hernandez
Fiadh - Olivia Mathews
With brief recorded voice performances by Ruairí Heading and Tom O’Leary

Creative Team
Playwright - Joy Nesbitt
Director - Holly Griffith
Scenic & Props Designer - Kyra Sanford
Lighting Design - Kelly Terry
Sound Design & Assistant Stage Manager - Daye Thomas
Costume Design - Ahmad Santos
Dialect Coach - Denise Hoey
Stage & Production Manager - Colin Herring
Trauma Specialist - Rebecca Davis
Fight & Intimacy Coordinator - Kristen Mun-Van Noy
Assistant Fight & Intimacy Coordinator - Adam Mun-Van Noy

Photos by Elijah Hasan

Happy Opening Night to the cast of STILT @corribtheatre in Portland, OR!! Thank you so much to Corrib Theatre for commissioning my play and @dundergrifflin for being such a fantastic director!
Wish I could be there to see y’all spin that straw into gold 🌟

—

Stilt is a thriller that reimagines the Rumpelstiltskin myth as a modern Irish cautionary tale.

TJ is obsessed with uncovering his true birth name, which was lost when he was adopted as a child. His fixation with the Rumpelstiltskin fairytale leads him down a dark path, fueled by political extremism.

At its core, Stilt explores the power of names and how the loss or reclamation of one’s true identity affects selfhood. The play's themes are deeply intertwined with contemporary Irish life, reflecting the tension between the country’s historical and cultural legacies and the modern issues it faces.
Stilt is made possible with generous support from

Patty Gallagher and Stewart Kantor

Jennifer Besen

and

The Oregon Cultural Trust

Wishing the cast and team of my play, STILT, a very happy opening week at Alberta House in Portland, OR!
Devastated to not be there to toast to y’all, but so honored to have such talented folks bringing this dark fairytale to life!! Thank you so much for having the courage to explore the darkness of the manosphere through my play!

@corribtheatre
@dundergrifflin
@alberta_housepdx
@sauce.thing
@jhernandez_actor

The Knife won Best Comedy!! Thank you @reelsistersfilmfest for this huge honor! 🏆

After a month of HOLDING MY BREATH, the word is finally out! Blood of my Blood is premiering at the Royal Court Theatre Jerwood Theatre Upstairs directed by @tatendashamiso !!!!

It has always been a dream for me to make theatre in general, and it has been an even bigger dream for me to put my work up on such an acclaimed stage like The Royal Court. It’s so moving that this play, which honors the lives of my ancestors and the many Black women whose stories have yet to be written, is happening on that stage. I wanna give a huge thank you to the Baptiste Programme at @smockalleytheatre for giving me the opportunity and dramaturgical support to write this play.
Over the last two launch events for the season, I have found myself deeply thankful for the continuous support and good energy from my friends, family, and collaborators! Can’t wait to share it with you all! The little showgirl who used to put shows on in her living room is doing it big!

Wishing the team of 🧑🏻‍❤️‍💋‍🧑🏾Boyfriends 🧑🏻‍❤️‍💋‍🧑🏾 the best on a killer Irish National Tour ✨!! It was such a gift to return to the rehearsal and tech of such a beautiful piece by @ultanpringle If you’ll be in any of our stops, come out and support the lads on their journey all over the country! Best of luck family!

Upcoming Performances
An Grianán, Letterkenny: 10-11 October 2025
Belltable, Limerick: 15th October 2025
Roscommon Arts Centre, Roscommon: 17th October 2025
The Mick Lally Theatre, Galway: 22nd-23rd October 2025
Glór, Ennis: 30th October 2025
Riverbank Arts Centre, Newbridge: 1st November 2025
Backstage Theatre, Longford: 5th November 2025
Smock Alley Theatre, Dublin: 12th-15th

—
Following a three month affair between two anonymous men, Boyfriends, charts the ups and downs and roundabouts of a modern situationship. As they swing through four million one hundred and ninety one thousand possibilities of what they might mean to one another, through time, sex, Madonna songs, nightclubs, period dramas and calorie counting, Boyfriends asks us to ponder on that age old question: what the f*ck is romance anyway?

Following sold out performances in Dublin and Donegal in 2024, Boyfriends is back for an 8 stop national tour this winter!

Tonight is the night that we begin our conversation! Our ritual! Our exorcism!!!

If you haven’t already booked your tickets, there’s still tickets available for our shows August 19-22 at the Camden People’s Theatre!!

TICKET LINK IN BIO

Aug 19-22 at @camdenpeoplestheatre - a genre bending ritual play about how blackness is policed, performed and pushed to the edge.

Written and directed by @makingjoynesbitt
Produced by @ballersoph
Assistant Directed by @eithne.g
Presented at the Camden Fringe Festival

Written and directed by @makingjoynesbitt
Produced by Sophie Cairns @ballersoph @shiteprods
Part of The Camden Fringe @thecamdenfringe
Lighting Design by Abigail Sage @abbie.sage
Sound Design by Juliana Lisk @julianalisk
Assistant Directed by Eithne Garricks @eithne.g
Costume Consulting by Juliana Schmidt Tomazini @juskinka

ONE played by Kennedy Jopson @kennedyjopson
TWO played by Ryan Yengo @ryanyengo_
THREE played by Joycelyn Manu @joycelyn.a.b.m
FOUR played by Jay Lafayette Valentine @laffytaffyette

#camdenfringe #london #londontheatre #theatre #blacktheatre #fringetheatre #fringe #blacklondon #camdenpeoplestheatre #camden

5 years ago, I worked my first job after college at a little festival in Massachusetts with a group of young theatre makers of color through Black Theater United @blacktheatreunited , and during my time in that small Massachusetts town, I learned a lot about myself and the way other well meaning folks see me. So I wrote a play that my fellow young theatre makers and Black Theater United helped me to feel empowered to write. It was my first real play. 🥹 That play has become Scenes with Black Folk, premiering in London tomorrow at the Camden People’s Theatre 5 years later.

If you’re around London August 19-22, please come see Scenes with Black Folk at @camdenpeoplestheatre and see what the play has matured into after much development and the generosity of artists in the US, Ireland, and the UK!

Written and directed by @makingjoynesbitt
Produced by Sophie Cairns @ballersoph
Part of The Camden Fringe @thecamdenfringe
Lighting Design by Skylar Turnbull Hurd @skylar.turnbullhurd
Sound Design by Juliana Lisk @julianalisk
Assistant Directed by Eithne Garricks @eithne.g

ONE played by Kennedy Jopson @kennedyjopson
TWO played by Ryan Yengo @ryanyengo_
THREE played by Joycelyn Manu @joycelyn.a.b.m
FOUR played by Jay Lafayette Valentine @laffytaffyette

📸: @judithritaphotography

#camdenfringe #london #londontheatre #theatre #blacktheatre #fringetheatre #fringe #blacklondon #camdenpeoplestheatre #camden

Book your tickets to Scenes with Black Folk! August 19-22 at Camden People’s Theatre for the Camden Fringe! Tickets are selling fast! Don’t miss out 😤

—

What are the rules of being Black? Who decides, and who enforces them?

Over four nights at Camden People’s Theatre, four “somebodies” take the stage, confronting the absurdity of racism and the heavy burden of self-awareness in spaces where simply being seen is never straightforward. Through a series of fragmented, heightened, and darkly comic scenes, the somebodies perform a ritual to reclaim their “somebodiness,” slipping between characters, tones, and timelines—unpacking the pressure to represent and revealing how race can be both mask and mirror.

The line between actor and audience is never secure. Neither is the line between truth and survival. In a world marked by rising racism and far-right ideology, Scenes with Black Folk offers a vital space to name the double consciousness of Black self-actualization in conversation with the non-Black gaze.

Unapologetically intimate, uncomfortably funny, and deliberately disorienting, Scenes with Black Folk is not just a play—it’s a confrontation. A ritual. A refusal to explain. And an invitation to witness what happens when Black people stop performing for someone else’s benefit.

—

Written and directed by @makingjoynesbitt
Produced by Sophie Cairns @ballersoph @shiteprods
Part of The Camden Fringe @thecamdenfringe
Lighting Design by Skylar Turnbull Hurd @skylar.turnbullhurd
Sound Design by Juliana Lisk @julianalisk
Assistant Directed by Eithne Garricks @eithne.g
Costume Consulting by Juliana Schmidt Tomazini @juskinka

ONE played by Kennedy Jopson @kennedyjopson
TWO played by Ryan Yengo @ryanyengo_
THREE played by Joycelyn Manu @joycelyn.a.b.m
FOUR played by Jay Lafayette Valentine @laffytaffyette

📸: @judithritaphotography

#theatre #fringe #camden #camdenfringe #camdenfringe2025 #blacktheatre #camdenpeoplestheatre #london #londontheatre #fringetheatre #londonfringetheatre

Camden Fringe is launched and so are we!!!
👀 Scenes with Black Folk by Joy Nesbitt 👀 is premiering at the Camden People’s Theatre @camdenpeoplestheatre on August 19-22 for the Camden Fringe Festival @thecamdenfringe !

Tickets available now at the link in my bio!

Starring Kennedy Jopson @kennedyjopson | Ryan Yengo @ryanyengo_ | Joycelyn Manu @joycelyn.a.b.m | Jay Lafayette Valentine @laffytaffyette

Direction by Joy Nesbitt @makingjoynesbitt
Produced by Sophie Cairns @ballersoph
Lighting Design by Skylar Turnbull Hurd @skylar.turnbullhurd
Sound Design by Juliana Lisk @julianalisk
Costume Consulting by Juliana Schmidt Tomazini @juskinka
Poster Design by Uzo Ngwu @uzotheartist

Stroke in the Sun by Nico Bowden @nicogashken
Starring: Chantal Mbadinuju @chantal.uju
Directed by Joy Nesbitt

Performed at the View Festival 2025
Mountview Academy for the Arts @mountviewldn
London, UK

Thank you @nicogashken for this beautiful testimony of love

Thank you @canadairelandfoundation for having The King of All Birds at the inaugural Bealtaine Theatre Festival in Toronto! 🕊️🐣🦅🐧🦉🦜🐦🐤
What a huge gift to share this show with a new audience!
Toronto - you owe us NOTHING!

Todays the day! Scenes with Black Folk at @riversidestudioslondon at 3PM! Come listen and give feedback. We’re gonna talk up to get down!
Ticket link on my story!

—

What are the rules of being Black? Who gets to define what it means to be Black? How do we have these discussions when we know a non-Black audience is watching? Scenes with Black Folk is a bold new ritual play that fuses absurdity, comedy, and raw emotion in its exploration of Blackness, identity, and racism in predominantly white spaces. Written and directed by Joy Nesbitt, this reading of Scenes with Black Folk is an opportunity to engage with an anti-trauma-porn exploration of identity in a world constantly in conversation about race.

In Scenes with Black Folk, four “somebodies” perform surreal attempts to name and confront their everyday experiences of their identity. With a heightened awareness of themselves and their audience, they navigate grotesque, absurd, and darkly comedic scenarios to expose the absurdity of racism, all while wrestling with their past, presents, and futures in this world.

Our bundle of joy is going to Limerick! Catch The Knife at Catalyst International Film Festival April 3-5! @catalystintfilmfestival

Thank you Chicago Irish Film Festival @chicagoirishff for including our short, Letter! What a gift it was to be able to come back to the states to share this lil gem with the Chicago community and my family! ✨

#chicagoirishfilmfestival #ciff

Tonight! Watch The Knife at 23:00 on Virgin Media One 📺!

If you’re in the US, get that VPN ready (4PM EST) ☺️🤠

Still reeling from last weekend’s premiere of The Knife! Thank you so much @virginmediatelevision and @dublinfilmfestival for having us! 🔪🔪

Stream The Knife on Virgin Media Player or watch us on Thursday night at 23:00 🫶🏾🫶🏾🫶🏾

Y’all boutta be sick of me posting about this short 🤪

Thank you @irelandamvmtv for having me on to talk about The Knife! 🔪🔪
Catch The Knife on Virgin Media One on Thursday, Feb 27 at 23:00, and if you miss it, watch it on Virgin Media Digital Player online. The link is in my bio!!✨
If you like the film, post about it and leave a review on Letterboxd for your girl 🤠

My short, The Knife, premieres tomorrow at @dublinfilmfestival 🔪🔪 I can’t wait to share it with people. I’m also terrified but aren’t we all 🙃 You can watch The Knife on Virgin Media iPlayer on Friday if you can’t make it to DIFF — thank you to my spectacular team, @virginmediatelevision , and most importantly to @grace.producer

Didn’t get a ticket to our DIFF premiere? DONT WORRY! The Knife is airing on Virgin on February 27th at 23:00 after The Tonight Show! 🔪🔪
All four Virgin Media Discovers films will be available to stream on Virgin Media Play from the 22nd Feb. Give our short a watch on play.virginmediatelevision.ie/, and I’ll have the link in my bio from Feb 22 for your viewing pleasure!
🔪🔪🔪👶🏾👶🏾👶🏾
#sharp #knife #theknife #virginmedia #vmdiscovers #comedy #shortfilm

Had the pleasure of (virtually) directing a reading of Gina Donnelly’s fantastic play, Anthem for Dissatisfaction, for the wonderful Solas Nua in Washington, DC! Thank you @gina_d0nnelly for trusting me with your welcome sucker punch of a play, and thank you @solasnua_ for having me on! Break legs on today’s reading @danidangerstoller and @nicholas.gerwitz !!!

SHE’S CROWNING 🔪!
Poster by @enemaku ✨

The Knife premieres at the Dublin Film Festival as part of Virgin Media Discovers! @dublinfilmfestival
I just have been patiently waiting to share this one and it’s finally here!!

“In Joy Nesbitt’s dark surrealist comedy, a young Black woman goes for her first pregnancy scan and discovers that her child is brandishing a knife inside her womb.”

Written and directed by Joy Nesbitt (yours truly)
Produced by Grace Odumosu @grace.producer
Produced by Keeper Pictures @keeper_pictures

Virgin Media Discover Virgin Media Ireland will be shown Friday 21 February, 17:15 at Lighthouse Cinema @lighthousecinema @virginmediaireland

Virgin Media Discovers is a competition that helps new and established filmmakers and content creators get their stories heard. This prestigious annual presentation at DIFF showcases the winners and their work before it hits TV screens later in the year.

Tickets Available here: https://www.diff.ie/programme/virgin-media-discovers

LINK IN MY BIO

Letter is coming to Chi Town! Thank you so much @chicagoirishff for including our lil gem of a short in your program. @grace.producer is a force of nature generally, and I’m so lucky to have made this short with her! 💌💌💌

Happy New Year! 2024 was such a gift and I got so many beautiful opportunities with beautiful people! So lucky and ready to take on 2025 doing what I love!

An announcement just in time for wrapping our shoot of The Knife! Thank you so much @virginmediatelevision and @screenireland for commissioning our short! Thank you @keeper_pictures and @grace.producer for giving me the chance to bring my wacky weird idea to life. Thank you so much @joelle_mae_david for super helpful insights along this journey! We’re off to our edit ☺️I am so excited to share this film with y’all in the new year at Dublin International Film Festival, Virgin Media iplayer, and beyond!! 🔪🔪🔪

Thank you @sohotheatre for longlisting my play, Good, for the Verity Bargate Award! So enormously honored!!

@marthaknight.art and I are going to Toronto for a short showing of The King of All Birds!
Thank you @canadairelandfoundation
🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦

Ultan Pringle as Director in JULIUS CAESAR VARIETY SHOW
Presented by @dublinfringefest
Performed @thenewtheatre Sept 11-14
Supported by @fishamble

#shakespeare #caesar #juliuscaesar #dublinfringefest #fringetheatre #dublin

Pattie Maguire as Marlene Dietrich in JULIUS CAESAR VARIETY SHOW
Presented by @dublinfringefest
Performed @thenewtheatre Sept 11-14
Supported by @fishamble

#shakespeare #caesar #juliuscaesar #dublinfringefest #fringetheatre #dublin

Conrad Jones Brangan as Musician in JULIUS CAESAR VARIETY SHOW
Presented by @dublinfringefest
Performed @thenewtheatre Sept 11-14
Supported by @fishamble

#shakespeare #caesar #juliuscaesar #dublinfringefest #fringetheatre #dublin

Daniel Mahon as Laurence Olivier in JULIUS CAESAR VARIETY SHOW
Presented by @dublinfringefest
Performed @thenewtheatre Sept 11-14
Supported by @fishamble

#shakespeare #caesar #juliuscaesar #dublinfringefest #fringetheatre #dublin

Loré Adewusi as Sidney Poitier in JULIUS CAESAR VARIETY SHOW
Presented by @dublinfringefest
Performed @thenewtheatre Sept 11-14
Supported by @fishamble

TIME IS TICKING
JULIUS CAESAR VARIETY SHOW
11th-14th September at The New Theatre
Get your bloody hands on some tickets now at bit.ly/teamcaesar
#dublinfringe #dublinfringefestival #shakespeare #juliuscaesar

Boyfriends (2024)
By Ultan Pringle
Lemonsoap Productions at The Project Arts Centre and An Grianán Theatre— Dublin, Ireland

—

Cast:
A – Emmanuel Okoye
B – Ultan Pringle

Team:
Writer – Ultan Pringle Director – Joy Nesbitt
Assistant Director – Praise Titus Producer — Lisa Nally Set Design – Choy-Ping Ní Chléirigh-Ng 吳彩萍 Lighting Design – Owen Clarke Costume Design – Toni Bailey Sound Design – HK Ní Shioradáin

—

Situationship [ sich-oo-ey-shuhn-ship ]
Definition: A situationship is a romantic or sexual relationship that is undefined and noncommittal.
Following a three month affair between two anonymous men, Boyfriends, charts the ups and downs and roundabouts of a modern situationship. As they swing through four million one hundred and ninety one thousand possibilities of what they might mean to one another, through time, sex, Madonna songs, nightclubs, period dramas and calorie counting, Boyfriends asks us to ponder on that age old question: what the f*ck is romance anyway?

—
“Boyfriends is one of the best, if not the best, new plays of 2024”⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ — The Arts Review

“Showing acute directorial acumen, Nesbitt understands the strength of Pringle’s script lies not in what’s said, smart, funny and incisive as that is, but in what’s being left unsaid.”
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ — The Arts Review

“Worth mentioning too is the fantastic directing of Joy Nesbitt, who likely played a strong role in keeping actor and writer distinct and in making Boyfriends the very powerful performance that it is. Not to be missed.”
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ — Reviews Hub

“Smart, raw, and above all, hilarious.”
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ — The Irish Times

“Funny, Smart and heartfelt”
— Irish Independent

Thank you so much @virginmediaireland for giving us the opportunity to pitch our short, Knife!! VM Discovers program has been a dream thanks to Elaine Walsh for such great mentorship throughout this process!

The word is out!!! JULIUS CAESAR VARIETY SHOW is in the Dublin Fringe Festival! I’m so excited about this one 🥰🗡️
September 11-14 at the New Theatre @thenewtheatre
Written and directed by Joy Nesbitt | Supported by Fishamble @fishamble | Developed at Fringe Lab @dublinfringefest
Tickets on sale NOW!! Check out my bio for the ticket link!
—
Producer — Dave Kelly @davepelly
Set and Costume Design — Jack Rogers @fannysplitmcgee
Lighting Design — Pedro Pacheco @pedroidfk
Sound Design — Conrad Jones-Brangan @conrad.j.b
—
JULIUS CAESAR VARIETY SHOW is the worst audition you’ve ever had. Three auditionees from different identity backgrounds audition for a part in one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, directed by an intensely respected director set on reinventing the play in “unorthodox” styles. As the audition unfolds, the actor’s identities are called into question in the audition room. An accompanist underscores the audition, adding to the intensity of the director’s work. As the actors conform to the director’s demands, they question whether the identity of a performer can change the meaning of a play, while they interrogate what diversity and inclusion can do to challenge the structure of the theatre industry.
JULIUS CAESAR VARIETY SHOW is a full-blown attack on the difficult conversations that are happening in theatre today. This show creates space for those who have often felt like the centre of conversation in rooms they are not in. It satirically tackles big questions about representation from the point of view of those oppressed communities who consistently feel exploited.
JULIUS CAESAR VARIETY SHOW reclaims power in the face of a cultural canon. It holds the mirror up to ourselves and explores how microaggressions can find their way to some form of offensive or defensive macro aggression. And despite these larger themes, it uses styles that we all know and enjoy to make it a funny and bombastic interrogation.
Because at the end of the day, if we don’t laugh, we’ll cry.

More film news! Our short film, Letter, is an official selection for the New Irish Talent, New Shorts - Fiction Programme in the Galway Film Fleadh @galwayfilm! Written by and starring @grace.producer, directed by me (!!!), produced by @keeper_pictures!

Thank you so much to @grace.producer for giving me the gift of directing your beautiful script, and can’t wait to share the film with the folks in Galway!

My Sister in This House (2024)
By Wendy Kesselman
The Lir National Academy of Dramatic Art— Dublin, Ireland

—

Cast:
Christine – Niamh Murphy
Lea – Gemma Allan
Madame Danzard – Kailey Greenberg
Isabelle – Isabelle Harriet
Photography/Judge/Medical Examiner – Connor Curran

Team:
Writer – Wendy Kesselman
Director – Joy Nesbitt
Set Design – Florentina Burcea
Lighting Design – Bill Woodland
Costume Design – Juliana Schmidt
Sound Design – Aoife Kavanagh
Hair and Makeup — Val Sherlock

—

Based on a true story that took place in France in the 1930s, My Sister in this House is a dark tale of power, class, religion and social systems and its effect on a household of women. Madame Danzard and her daughter Isabelle employ Christine and her sister Léa, recently reunited after their life in a local orphanage. As time passes, we witness how the demanding atmosphere of servitude, obedience and conformity frays at the edges of their relationships and devolves into intense resentment between the women and the structures that oppress them.

This production is performed by final year actors at the Lir Academy’s conservatoire acting program.

The Caoining (2024)
By Roman Vai and Catie Grainger
The Dublin International Gay Theatre Festival at The Ireland Institute — Dublin, Ireland

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Cast:
Banshee – Enya Donohoe
Patrick – Richard Neville
Swords Strangler – Donnagh Mayock

Team:

Writer – Roman Vai
Writer – Catie Grainger
Director – Joy Nesbitt
Producer – Alex Smyth
Set Design – Fibs Porto
Lighting and Video Design – Roman Vai
Costume Design – Toni Bailey
Stage Management — Jessica Kelly

—

What makes a Banshee scream? Is it the warning of knowing when death will come, or the painful cry to the ones who kill? Tensions exist in an insular echo-chamber.

‘Patrick,’ a closeted, chronically online man, gets entranced and plots to kill his housemate, ‘Banshee’, who has the power to predict death. They share one sleeping bag in the back garden of a house in Swords, Dublin. When Patrick starts a conspiracy to kill her, he seeks advice from an online community of sinister white men.

This campy modern fable is a comedy in secalation, a murder play with roots of toxic mastculinity. Who is society’s true monster: the Banshee, or the sexually confused white man?

This piece was performed at The Ireland Institute as part of the Dublin International Gay Theatre Festival 2024.

Final 10 for VM Discovers 🥹 @graceodmosu and I are honored to be amongst this amazing group of filmmakers! Thank you so much @virginmediatelevision and @screenireland for championing our story and giving us the opportunity to do some exciting development! @keeper_pictures

SPEAR (2024)
By CN Smith @cn.smith
Corrib Theatre at 21Ten Theatre — Portland, OR
@corribtheatre
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Cast:
Sean – Rocco Weyer
Joe – Ryan Edlinger
Nate – Dylan Hankins

Team:
Writer – CN Smith
Director – Joy Nesbitt
Producer – Holly Griffith
Set Design – Kyra Sanford
Lighting Design – Jeb Stuart
Costume Design – Viola Horton
Sound Design – Jonathan Castillo
Stage Management — Colin Herring
Dialect Coach — Karl Hanover

—
White fragility simmers in the wake of Black success.

Three white Irish men meet at their childhood athletic field to catch up, drink, and discuss the recent Olympic success of their former Black friend, Amir. Their vulnerabilities, jealousies, and perceived failures seethe below the surface as they recall their teenage years. In a parallel reality, the young men wrestle with flashes of the past when they enact scenes from Amir’s diary.

Spear is supported in part by a grant from the Irish government’s Emigrant Support Programme

Corrib Theatre’s mission is to bring Irish playwrights’ unique perspective on oppression and empowerment, and conflict and resolution, to Portland in order to change our world for the better.

🎺 THE WORD IS OUT 🎺 SO THRILLED to announce that I’ve been selected as one of six emerging writers to take part in Theatre for One: This Ireland at Cork Midsummer Festival this June. @corkmidsummer Produced by Landmark Productions @landmarkireland and Octopus Theatricals @octopustheatricals , I’ll be writing a 5-minute play to be presented in a specially designed state-of-the-art theatre booth for one actor and one audience member at a time.

All six emerging writers will be mentored by six of Ireland’s leading playwrights, whose plays will also be presented alongside ours. I will be receiving mentorship from Enda Walsh @bendy.walsh 🫨🫨.

Theatre for One: This Ireland is a free event and no booking is required. You simply join the queue. Will we see you in Cork this June?

Theatre for One: This Ireland
Cork Opera House Plaza as part of Cork Midsummer Festival
15 - 23 June, 2024 (exact timings to be announced)
Free event

For more see https://www.landmarkproductions.ie/production/theatre-for-one-2/

!!!AHHHHH!!! So honored to be alongside some AMAZING people in the Irish Times’ “50 People to Watch in 2024!” I’m feeling deeply deeply grateful for all of the wonderful people I’ve been lucky to work with so far as well as the wonderful people I’ll be working with next!! 🎉🎉❤️❤️
Thank you @irishtimesnews and @sundaytimesireland for including me on their lists and big ups to the homies on the list! @the_amanda_ade @plastic_goblin_babies @peathedinneen

Starting 2024 on a high note!
I am honored to have been named on the Sunday Times' list, "The Ones to Watch in 2024,” and so honored to have Boyfriends featured on the Irish Times “20 plays to see on 2024.” So excited to keep working with inspiring artists in the new year!

LISTEN, A BLACK WOMAN IS SPEAKING (2023)
By Marlow Wyatt
A staged reading presented by Common Crow Theatre
November 23rd at Project Arts Centre @projectartscentre
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Common Crow Theatre presents a staged reading of Marlow Wyatt’s play “Listen, A Black Woman Is Speaking”, an outspoken exploration into the complexity of Black womanhood. Just two days before she is to speak at a White conservative women’s luncheon, playwright Penelope Weintraub’s characters empower her to finally speak her truth.

Centred around the hypocrisy of rampant physical and psychological violence against Black women in America, Wyatt’s play echoes across the African diaspora, breaking the culture of silence around suffering that so many women carry.

Due to the Dublin riots during the performance, the talkback hosted by Esosa Ighodaro @esosa__ighodaro was cancelled and held retroactively on December 16 to discuss the aftermath of the riots and solidarity with the Black Irish community.

Thank you so much to Cian O’Brien @ciangobrien, Orla Moloney, and Tiny James @tinyjames1 for your quick thinking, support, and protection during the scary events of that night.

Writer – Marlow Wyatt @marlowwrites
Director – Joy Nesbitt
Design – Jess Kane @jessfkane
Stage Management — Ross Smith @rosssmithstagemanager
Talkback facilitator — Esosa Ighodaro @esosa__ighodaro

Actors:
Writer – Tishé Emmanuella Fatunbi @tishe.fatunbi
Black Woman 1 – Siobhán Matshazi @siobh_mash
Black Woman 2 – Leah Minto @leahmintoactoress
Black Woman 3 – Colleen Keogh @colleen.keogh

Poster Art by @annie.areyou.artsy

LISTEN, A BLACK WOMAN IS SPEAKING
By Marlow Wyatt
A staged reading presented by Common Crow Theatre
November 23rd at Project Arts Centre @projectartscentre
—
Common Crow Theatre presents a staged reading of Marlow Wyatt’s play “Listen, A Black Woman Is Speaking”, an outspoken exploration into the complexity of Black womanhood. Just two days before she is to speak at a White conservative women’s luncheon, playwright Penelope Weintraub’s characters empower her to finally speak her truth.

Centred around the hypocrisy of rampant physical and psychological violence against Black women in America, Wyatt’s play echoes across the African diaspora, breaking the culture of silence around suffering that so many women carry.

Following the reading, there will be a talkback hosted by Esosa Ighodaro @esosa__ighodaro to discuss the intricacies of Black femininity and solidarity between the Black Irish Community and the greater African diaspora.

Ticket link in my bio!

Writer – Marlow Wyatt @marlowwrites
Director – Joy Nesbitt
Design – Jess Kane @jessfkane
Stage Management — Ross Smith @rosssmithstagemanager
Talkback facilitator — Esosa Ighodaro @esosa__ighodaro

Actors:
Writer – Tishé Emmanuella Fatunbi @tishe.fatunbi
Black Woman 1 – Siobhán Matshazi @siobh_mash
Black Woman 2 – Leah Minto @leahmintoactoress
Black Woman 3 – Colleen Keogh @colleen.keogh

Poster Art by @annie.areyou.artsy

#dublintheatre #blackandirish

Good - A Play by Joy Nesbitt | October 13, 2023

I got super lucky this month because I got to premiere a reading of my play, Good, with a stunning cast under the direction of @annieryanwest for the Baptiste Programme @smockalleytheatre ! So immensely lucky to be giving honor to my ancestors through this play, and to have shared it with such a beautiful cast and team. Kicking myself that I didn’t take better pictures! 😂

Director — Annie Ryan @annieryanwest
Dramaturg — Pamela McQueen @pamelaamcqueen

Cast:
Leah Minto @leahmintoactoress
Siobhan Matshazi @siobh_mash
Shauna Harris @shaunaxrose
Finbarr Doyle @binfarr
Ceara Carney @cearacarney

The King of All Birds (2023)
Dublin Fringe Festival 2023

Winner of The Listowel Residency “The George Fitzmaurice Award”

“When you leave the theatre and look up at the sky, it will have you imagining all sorts of stories playing out above our heads.” — The Irish Times ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“ Experimental soundscapes, folk music & electrifying voice distortion fuse in a vivid portrayal of our imagination & innovation.” — Fringe Biscuit ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“The King Of All Birds is a weirdly wonderful combination that yields most when surrendered to.” — The Arts Review

Written and Performed by Martha Knight
Directed by Joy Nesbitt
Produced by Ois O’Donoghue
Lighting Design by Jess Fitzsimons Kane
Set and Costume Design by Jack Rogers
Stage Management by Anika Kidd

Developed at FRINGE LAB. Funded by the Arts Council / An Comhairle Ealaíon. Supported by the PAN PAN Platform at Dublin Fringe Festival and by PAN PAN’s International Mentorship Programme 2021.

Endings. (2023)
Dublin Fringe Festival 2023

Winner of the Fishamble New Writing Award

“The Faustian bargain presented as slick gig theatre […] Fionntán Larney uses the rhythmic eloquence of hip hop to weave a world of suppressed male emotion” -- The Irish Times

“An incredibly smart piece from Springheel Productions and an incredibly talented writer and actor. Larney is without a doubt one to watch. Not a single moment is wasted in this show and you shouldn’t waste a moment in booking a ticket before this run finishes.” — ReviewsHub ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Written and Performed by Fionntán Larney
Directed by Joy Nesbitt
Produced by Signe Lury and Springheel Productions
Set and Costume Design by Freya Gillespie
Lighting Design by Pedro Pacheco
Composition + Sound Design by Morgan Beausang Ethan Forbes-Roe
Sound Design Support by HK Ní Shioradáin
Stage Management by Alannah O’Leary
 Developed at FRINGE LAB and Scene+Heard.

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