Martin O’Connor is a performer, poet and theatre maker from Glasgow. Martin specialises in playwriting and spoken word, with a strong emphasis on participation and working in applied contexts. His solo work includes The Mark of the Beast (Platform), Building a Nation (Glasgow Life), and Theology (The Arches). Martin often writes in Glaswegian Scots and is a Gaelic learner.
Other writing and directing projects include Breath Cycle (Scottish Opera); Gossip From the Forest (Magnetic North), Èirigh (Theatre Gu Leòr/BBC Radio nan Gàidheal), Turntable (with MJ McCarthy and Red Bridge Arts), editor of the book for An Audience With…(Janice Parker Projects), Submarine Time Machine (National Theatre of Scotland), The Pokey Hat (Culture 2014) and Alexander McCall Smith’s Anamchara: Songs of Friendship (Scottish Opera).
Martin was the recipient of the 2018 Dr Gavin Wallace Fellowship hosted by Playwright’s Studio Scotland in partnership with the Royal Lyceum Theatre. His research was based around the tales of Ossian by James Macpherson, and he presented a work in progress Through the Shortbread Tin: An Ossianic Journey in 2019, which he is currently developing with National Theatre of Scotland.
Martin is an associate artist with Toonspeak Young People’s Theatre where he works as a mentor in pathways, employment and opportunities for young people. He is the director of the Tron Theatre Young Company, which was recently part of the official COP26 programme with the sound piece Retro/Future. Other work with young people includes Citizens Young Company, Scottish Opera’s Connect, and Traverse’s Class Act.
In 2020, Martin was Writer in Residence with National Theatre of Scotland, developing new work in Gaelic, Scots and BSL. His two-year residency with Children’s Hospices Across Scotland resulted in a new play A Little Life (Tron Theatre Mayfesto rehearsed reading). He Artist in Residence with Glasgow Life’s Creative Communities for three years, and Artist in Residence with Inverclyde Culture Collective.
Email:
Website: http://www.martinoconnor.info
