Billy Roche | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1949-01-11)11 January 1949 (age 76) Wexford, Ireland |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Period | 1988–present |
| Spouse | Patti Roche |
Billy Roche (born 11 January 1949) is an Irish playwright and actor. He was born and still lives inWexford and most of his writings are based there. Originally a singer withThe Roach Band, he turned to writing in the 1980s. He has written a number of plays, including The Wexford Trilogy. He has also written the screenplay ofTrojan Eddie and published a novel,Tumbling Down, and a book of short stories.
Roche is best known for the three full-length plays formingThe Wexford Trilogy, all premiered at theBush Theatre in London, directed byRobin Lefevre:
The three plays were also directed byStuart Burge for BBC television in 1993 with the original Bush cast members.
AsMichael Billington has noted, the 1980s were not a good decade for new dramatists and one can point to only a handful who made any significant mark. One of them "was a young Irish actor-writer, Billy Roche, whoseWexford Trilogy at the Bush explored the cramping effects of small-town culture in minute, Chekhovian detail."[1]
His dramatic work includesAmphibians (RSC 1992);The Cavalcaders (Abbey Theatre, Dublin 1993; Royal Court 1994); andOn Such As We (Abbey Theatre, Dublin 2001).
After a long absence as a playwright, Roche wroteLay Me Down Softly, set in a travelling boxing ring "somewhere in Ireland", which received its first performance at the Peacock Theatre in Dublin in November 2008[1]. Along with and producer Actor Peter McCamley, Billy Adapted, directed and Tour in a One-man Stage Version of his novella ‘The Diary of Maynard Perdu’, 2017–2019.
As an actor, he has appeared inAristocrats byBrian Friel (Hampstead Theatre 1988),The Cavalcaders (1993),Trojan Eddie (1997),Man About Dog (film comedy 2004) andThe Eclipse (2009), a film based loosely on a short story penned by Roche.
He wrote the screenplay forTrojan Eddie (Film Four/Irish Screen, 1997) starringRichard Harris andStephen Rea.
Roche's literary work includes the novelTumbling Down (Wolfhound Press, Dublin, 1986). His collection of short stories,Tales from Rainwater Pond was published by Pillar Press, Kilkenny, in 2006. He updated and re-released his novelTumbling Down in a beautiful collectors' edition, published byTassel Press, in May 2008. He wrote the novella ‘The Diary of Maynard Perdu’ (Lantern, Wexford, 2008)
In 2005, Roche handpicked students from all over Wexford for tutoring. Together they invented the first 'Novus' magazine, which went on sale a number of days after the group disbanded. These students, who were tutored by Roche and his longtime friendEoin Colfer (author of the internationally acclaimedArtemis Fowl novels), were the first in a long line of students under Roche's coaching.
Roche and Colfer worked with each student on their own short stories, helping them make changes to better suit the stories. Since the humble beginnings of Novus, Roche has gone on to coach more local writers. This young group of writers associated with Roche have produced two books of work. Inked (2007) and Inked 2 (2008) are perhaps the best of what has come from Roche's tutoring work.
In 2007 he was elected a member ofAosdána.
was a young Irish actor-writer, Billy Roche, whoseWexford Trilogy at the Bush explored the cramping effects of small-town culture in minute, Chekhovian detail.
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