James Ireland

About me

 

I am a gender nonconforming playwright/theatremaker (they/them) based in London and Dublin. I recently graduated from the MA Writing programme at the RCA (London), where I researched actionable allyship in theatre producing.

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A little bit about my practice

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There’s an ecosystem-wide catastrophe happening before our eyes, caused by the systems of late capitalism, and corporate & nation-state imperialism. I'm from a generation young enough to know that capitalism and climate collapse has taken away my future.

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I am always thinking about how an audience member’s complicity in these systems can be interrogated by (and within) a performance. I'm a fan of audience participation in performance, whether big or small. Live human presence is a powerful tool: how might we use it to instigate changes and open the floor for action? Beyond this, how may we bring eyes, empathy, and resources to people and communities that resist these destructive systems or live outside them?

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By all accounts, a lot of the work I tend to create has a lot of force behind it and a very uncompromising voice. But as my practice evolves, I am also increasingly interested in opening up a smaller, more contemplative spaces. I want to consider the role of humanity in the biosphere. We're incredible creatures, sure, but very much part of nature rather than separate from it. It’s easy to forget that, especially for those of us who’ve just spent two years quarantining ourselves in cities, and I think that a lot of our destructive behaviours towards the environment today stem from that disconnect. I’m interested in ways of using live performance as a communal ritual - a coming together - incorporating meditative actions like making music or cooking to open up spaces in time for contemplation.

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All in all, at whatever level of ambition or scale, I believe the only reason to write is to change the world.

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