Bridget O'Connor | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1961-01-18)18 January 1961 Harrow, London, England |
| Died | 22 September 2010(2010-09-22) (aged 49) Hove, East Sussex, England |
| Occupations | Playwright, screenwriter |
| Spouse | |
Bridget O'Connor (18 January 1961 – 22 September 2010)[1] was an English playwright and screenwriter. She won theBAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and was nominated for theAcademy Award in the same category for her work onTinker Tailor Soldier Spy, alongside her husbandPeter Straughan.
O'Connor was born inHarrow, north-westLondon, the second of five children. Her father Jim was fromCork inIreland, and her mother Bridie was fromLimerick.[1] Despite living in Harrow, O'Connor was surrounded bycèilidh bands andIrish dancing, spending her summer holidays onBanna Strand.[1]
She attended Catholic schools,[1] before graduating fromLancaster University in 1982 with a degree in English and Creative Writing.[2] After her studies, she worked in a building-site canteen and bookshop.[1]
O'Connor's first success in writing came in 1991, when her story "Harp" won theTime Out Short Story Prize.[3] After this she wrote two collections of stories:Here Comes John was published in 1993, andTell Her You Love Her was published in 1997.[1] Both were published byCape.[3] One story, "Postcards", was featured in the first edition ofThe New Picador Book of Contemporary Irish Fiction,[3] and "A Woman's Hair" was included in the second edition in 2000.[1] She worked as Northern Arts literary fellow atDurham andNewcastle University from 1996 until 1998, meeting fellow writer and future husbandPeter Straughan. She was briefly the writer-in-residence atUniversity of East Anglia in 2000.[1]
Her plays were often broadcast onBBC Radio 4, such asThe Centurions,States of Mind (which was co-written by Straughan), andBecoming the Rose, which won theArts Council England's Write Out Loud award in 2000.[1]
While living in Cork, O'Connor began writing a full-length stage play, calledThe Flags. Full ofblack comedy, it told the story of two lifeguards on Ireland's "second-worst beach".[1] The play was directed byGreg Hersov and was first performed inManchester'sRoyal Exchange Studio, before moving to the main theatre. After its Manchester run, it was produced in Liverpool, Dublin, Belfast, Slovenia, and Australia, and was translated into French in 2011.[1] In a review inThe Guardian by Alfred Hickling, it was given four out of five stars and described as being "as sharp and gritty as the authentic Galway sand covering the floor".[4]
She was later commissioned by several theatres, including theTricycle Theatre and the Royal Exchange. She began writing a feature film calledThe Lovers forLive Theatre Company, and a short film calledDead Terry.[1]
In her final years, O'Connor worked with her husband on several projects. They wrote the screenplay for the 2006 filmSixty Six and the 2007 filmMrs Ratcliffe's Revolution.[1]
They adaptedJohn le Carré's novelTinker Tailor Soldier Spy into a 2011film of the same name, for which they were awarded theBAFTA Award forBest Adapted Screenplay.[5] It was nominated for several other awards, including theAcademy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in 2012.[6]Tinker Tailor was dedicated to her.
In 2001, O'Connor and Straughan moved fromHackney to Cork with their daughter Connie.[1] They later moved toHove inEast Sussex, and married in May 2008.[1]
She was first diagnosed with breast cancer during her pregnancy, but went into remission.[3] In a 2007 interview withThe Irish Times, she expressed her desire not to be seen as a "breast cancer writer", avoiding the topic in her writing due to a fear of being "pigeonholed" into the subject.[7] She eventually died from cancer on 22 September 2010.[1]
| Year | Film | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Sixty Six | Screenplay (co-written withPeter Straughan) | [1] |
| 2007 | Mrs Ratcliffe's Revolution | Screenplay (co-written with Peter Straughan) | [1] |
| 2011 | Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy | Screenplay (co-written with Peter Straughan) | [1] |
| Year | Award | Story/Play | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Time Out Short Story Prize | "Harp" | [3] |
| 2000 | Arts Council England's Write Out Loud Award | Becoming the Rose | [1] |
| Year | Award | Category | Film | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Chicago Film Critics Association | Best Adapted Screenplay | Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy | Nominated | [8] |
| 2012 | Academy Award | Best Adapted Screenplay | Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy | Nominated | [6] |
| British Academy Film Awards | Best Adapted Screenplay | Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy | Won | [5] | |
| Georgia Film Critics Association | Best Adapted Screenplay | Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy | Nominated | [9] | |
| International Cinephile Society | Best Adapted Screenplay | Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy | Won | [10] |
