Abbie Spallen
Writer
Film, TV & Theatre
Abbie Spallen is a multi award winning writer, actor and film producer. Her awards as a writer include the Windham Campbell Prize for Literature, the Stewart Parker major award, The Tony Doyle award, The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, the Clare McIntyre Bursary from The Royal Court, and the HALMA Foundation award for excellence in the European arts. In 2014 she was awarded the Major Individual Artist Award by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland.
Her plays include ABEYANCE (Druid Debut, Druid Theatre Co), PUMPGIRL (Bush/Traverse/Manhattan Theatre Club), which won the 2007 Susan Smith Blackburn Award, the Stewart Parker award and was nominated for the Irish Times Best New Play, STRANDLINE (Fishamble) which was shortlisted for the Susan Smith Blackburn Award and nominated for the Meyer Whitworth Award, and BOGWOG (NPC) O’Neill Centre Connecticut. LALLY THE SCUT was named by Fintan O'Toole (Irish Times) as Irish Play of the Year 2015 and POENA 5X1 premiered in the Underbelly at the Edinburgh Festival 2016, receiving fantastic reviews. Her short plays include THIRTEEN (Women in Power and Politics, Tricycle Theatre), SHAVING THE PICKLE (59E59 NYC) and RUBBERFOOT (Pentabus).
Her work is published by Faber and Faber and has been translated into many languages and produced across Europe and the USA. She has completed one attachment to the Royal National Theatre and two to The Royal Court. In 2014 she was writer in residence in the Lyric Theatre Belfast.
Her work for radio includes RAPTURE FREQUENCY (The Wire R3) LIVE FROM THE PALACE (R4) and SNAKE OIL (R4). Film and Television includes PUMPGIRL (PG Films/NI Screen) SEACHT (Stirling Productions) and COLLUSION (Sharp Focus for Calipo). Most recently Abbie wrote the short film BEST WISHES for BBC Northern Ireland and the Lyric Belfast which was nominated for an RTS award.
In Development
| Production | Company | Notes |
|---|---|---|
THE FRONTIERSMEN | Mammoth Screen | Original 8 part TV series |
SONGS OF LOVE AND WAR | Working Title TV | Adaptation of the novel by Santa Montefiore |
UNTITLED COMMISSION | Boulevard Theatre | Play commission |
UNTITLED COMMISSION | Lyric Theatre Belfast | Full length musical commission |
UNTITLED COMMISSION | Abbey Theatre Dublin | Play commission |
Theatre
| Production | Company | Notes |
|---|---|---|
2021 | English Touring Theatre / STORYGLASS | Commissioned piece as part of THAT PODCAST ep 1: SAVE US KEANU |
BEST WISHES 2020 | Lyric Belfast / BBC NI | Short Film as part of SPLENDID ISOLATION |
WIPER AT WORK 2020 | Abbey Theatre | Commissioned monologue as part of THE ABBEY FIFTY |
POENA 5X1 2016 | Underbelly (Edinburgh Fringe) | |
LALLY THE SCUT 2015 | Tinderbox Theatre Company / The Mac | Dir. Michael Duke |
STRANDLINE 2014 | Red Orchid Theatre Company, Chicago | American Premiere |
THIRTEEN (Short Play) 2010 | National Theatre Studio/ Tricycle Theatre | Dir. Amy Hodge |
BOGWOG 2010 | National Theatre Studio | |
STRANDLINE 2009 | Fishamble Theatre Company, Dublin | World Premiere |
BOGWOG 2009 | International Playwright's Convention, USA | World Premiere |
RUBBERFOOT (Short Play) 2009 | Pentabus Theatre Company/ Edinburgh Festival | Dir. Orla O'Loughlin |
SWING STATE (SKETCHES) 2008 | Tinderbox Theatre, Belfast/ Solas Nua, USA | Dir. Orla O'Loughlin |
SHAVING THE PICKLE 2008 | Origin Theatre Company, NYC | |
PUMPGIRL 2007 | Manhattan Theatre Club, NYC | American Premiere |
PUMPGIRL 2006 | Bush Theatre/ Traverse | World Premiere |
ABEYANCE 2005 | Druid Theatre Company | World Premiere |
Television
| Production | Company | Notes |
|---|---|---|
ROS NA RUN 2018 - 2019 | TG4 | Writers' Room |
SEACHT 2010 | Stirling Productions/ BBC NI | 1 x 30' |
SEVEN DRUNKEN KNIGHTS 2008 | BBC | TV Feature |
Film
| Production | Company | Notes |
|---|---|---|
COLLUSION (SHORT) 2013 | Calipo Pictures for Fast Focus | Dir. Tom Hall |
THE COURTSHIP GIFT 2010 | Ulysses Productions/ BBC NI | Feature |
PUMPGIRL 2008 | PG Films/ BBC NI/ NI Screen | Feature adaptation |
SILENT GRACE 2001 | Crimson Films/Follower Films/ Irish Screen | As Co-Producer |
Radio
| Production | Company | Notes |
|---|---|---|
SNAKE OIL 2015 | BBC Radio 4 | 1 x 45' |
LIVE FROM THE PALACE 2011 | BBC Radio 4 | 2 x 15' |
RAPTURE FREQUENCY 2010 | BBC Radio 3 | 1 x 60' |
Other
| Production | Company | Notes |
|---|---|---|
2020 | Guardian Newspaper | Commissioned piece and Excerpt from original play ‘Sheep on Fire in Penal Australia’ as part of FUTURE PLAYS series collated by Tamsin Oglesby. |
LALLY THE NYUCK (2012/13) | Royal Court Theatre | Workshop/Reading |