Bríd Brennan

Bríd Brennan (born 1955) is a Northern Irish actress[1] who is known for her theatre work, she originated the role of Agnes in the Brian Friel play Dancing at Lughnasa, for which she won the 1992 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play.[2] She is also a three-time Olivier Award nominee; for Rutherford and Son (1995), The Little Foxes (2002) and The Ferryman (2018).

Brennan reprised her role of Agnes in the 1998 film version of Dancing at Lughnasa, starring alongside Meryl Streep.[3] Her television credits include Cracker: Brotherly Love (1995), South Riding (2011) and The Escape Artist (2013). In 2020, she was listed at number 37 on The Irish Times list of Ireland's greatest film actors.[4]

Career

Early work

Beginning her acting career in Dublin, Brennan appeared in many of the major theatres including the Gate Theatre, the Abbey Theatre and the Gaiety Theatre, as well as touring community centres with Moving Theatre.[5]

Theatre work

Brennan created the role of Agnes Mundy in Brian Friel's play Dancing at Lughnasa (1990). She played the role in the original Dublin, West End and Broadway (1992–1992) productions, winning the 1992 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play.[2]

Brennan portrayed the character Janet in the National Theatre's 1994 production of Rutherford and Son and was subsequently nominated for an Olivier Award the following year.[6][7] She then went on to play the lead role of Lady Macbeth in the Royal Shakespeare Company's national tour of Macbeth in 1996–1997.

In 1999, Brennan played Maisie Madigan in Pearson's production of Juno and the Paycock at the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin, alongside Michael Gambon whom she had previously appeared with in the 1998 film adaptation of Dancing at Lughnasa.[3][8] In 2002, Brennan was again nominated for an Olivier award for her performance in the Donmar Warehouse's 2001 production of The Little Foxes. In 2006, she starred as Sister Aloysius in a production of Doubt at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin.[9]

In March 2014 it was announced that she had been cast in the role of Kate Keller in Arthur Miller's All My Sons, playing at the Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park in May/June 2014, performing alongside Tom Mannion and Charles Aitken, the latter of whom she had previously performed with in The Old Vic's 2013 production of Sweet Bird of Youth.[10]

In April 2017, she will appear in The Ferryman at the Royal Court Theatre, ahead of a transfer to the Gielgud Theatre in the West End.[11]

Radio, television and film work

In 1984, Brennan played Collette, one of the main characters in Mike Leigh's television film, Four Days in July, based on the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

On Saturday 31 October 1992, she starred in the infamous BBC One's Screen One Halloween drama Ghostwatch alongside Michael Parkinson, Sarah Greene, Mike Smith and Craig Charles. This ghost story written by Stephen Volk, was produced in the style of a live television broadcast from an alleged haunted house in North London. Brennan appeared as the mother of the house Pamela Early who along with her two young daughters were experiencing paranormal events in their house. The drama caused uproar in the UK, with many feeling it was a hoax, designed to let the viewers think it was a real, live show and not a drama. However it did make Brennan become well known, as 11 million viewers tuned into "Ghostwatch" on that Halloween night of 1992.[12][13]

Brennan featured as a guest star in the British television series Cracker in 1995 as a prostitute-hating killer in the episode "Brotherly Love". Coincidentally, she co-starred in this particular episode with fellow Irish actor Lorcan Cranitch, with whom she would later co-star in Dancing at Lughnasa.[14] Brennan also acted in the much acclaimed Billy trilogy of plays for the BBC Play for Today series with fellow Belfast natives Sir Kenneth Branagh and James Ellis.

She reprised her performance of Agnes on screen in Noel Pearson's film adaptation of Dancing at Lughnasa (1998), starring Meryl Streep, for which Brennan won an Irish Film & Television Award for Best Actress.[15]

In 2010, Brennan appeared in the television shows Doctor Who and The Escape Artist, both alongside David Tennant.[16][17]

Brennan gave an award-winning performance in 2012's Shadow Dancer, winning an IFTA for her role as Ma.[18] According to the director James Marsh, the fact that she had grown up in West Belfast during the Troubles was significant as by casting Irish actors "it felt that they knew this world better than I did and I felt they could help me and guide me".[1]

For RTÉ Radio 1, Brennan played the role of Lucia Joyce in Thomas Kilroy's In the Garden of the Asylum in 2009.[19]

Awards

• 1992 – Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for Dancing at Lughnasa[2]
• 1992 – Drama Desk Award for Ensemble Performance for Dancing at Lughnasa[20]
• 1992 – Theatre World Special Award for Ensemble Performance for Dancing at Lughnasa[20]
• 1995 – Nominated for Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Rutherford and Son[7]
• 1999 – Irish Film & Television Award for Best Actress for Dancing at Lughnasa[15]
• 2002 – Nominated for Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for The Little Foxes[21]
• 2012 – Edinburgh International Film Festival for Best Performance in a British Feature Film for Shadow Dancer (shared with Andrea Riseborough)[22]
• 2013 – Irish Film & Television Award for Best Supporting Actress Film for Shadow Dancer[18]
• 2018 – Nominated for Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for The Ferryman

Theatre work

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1980	The Winter's Tale	Dorcas	Abbey Theatre[23]
1990–1992	Dancing at Lughnasa	Agnes	Abbey Theatre[24][25][26] National Theatre[27] Plymouth Theatre[20]
1994	Rutherford and Son	Janet	National Theatre[6]
1996–1997	Macbeth	Lady Macbeth	Royal Shakespeare Company[28]
1999	Juno and the Paycock	Maisie Madigan	Gaiety Theatre
2000–2001	La Lupa	Pina	Royal Shakespeare Company[29]
2001	The Little Foxes	Birdie Hubbard	Donmar Warehouse[30]
2003	Absolutely! (Perhaps)	Cini	Wyndham's Theatre[31]
2004	The Dark	Janet	Donmar Warehouse[32]
2004	Bone	Helen	Royal Court Theatre[33]
2004–2005	By the Bog of Cats	Catwoman	Wyndham's Theatre[34]
2005	The Cosmonaut's Last Message to the Woman He Once Loved in the Former Soviet Union	Vivienne/Sylvia	Donmar Warehouse[34]
2005	Pillars of the Community	Marta Bernick	National Theatre[35]
2006	Woman and Scarecrow	Scarecrow	Royal Court Theatre[36]
2006	Doubt	Sister Aloysius Beauvier	Abbey Theatre[9]
2007	Intemperance	Millie	Everyman Theatre Liverpool[37]
2008	Brendan at the Chelsea	Beatrice	Riverside Studios[38]
2008	Bliss	Wal-Mart Employee	Royal Court Theatre[39]
2008	Dallas Sweetman	Mrs Reddan	Canterbury Cathedral[40]
2010	Philadelphia, Here I Come!	Madge	Gaiety Theatre, Dublin[41]
2011	The Veil	Mrs Goulding	National Theatre[42]
2012	Henry V	Chorus/Queen Isabel	Shakespeare's Globe[43]
2013	Desolate Heaven	Freda/Laoise/Bridie	Theatre503[44]
2013	Sweet Bird of Youth	Aunt Nonnie	The Old Vic[45]
2013	A Particle of Dread (Oedipus Variations)	Jocasta/Jocelyn	Derry Playhouse[46]
2014	All My Sons	Kate Keller	Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park[10]
2016	All That Fall	Mrs. Rooney	Wilton's Music Hall[47]
2017	The Ferryman	Aunt Maggie Far Away	Royal Court Theatre & Gielgud Theatre transfer [11]
2019	Blood Wedding	La Vecina	The Young Vic[48]

Filmography and television work

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1981	Excalibur	Lady in Waiting
1982	Maeve	Roisin
1982	The Ballroom of Romance	Patty Byrne
1982 – 1984	Play for Today	Lorna Martin	Television series 3 episodes
1984	Anne Devlin	Anne Devlin
1985	Four Days in July	Collette
1985	Ursula and Glenys	Ursula
1987	Hidden City	The Wife  – in B&W film
1987	Lorna	Lorna
1989	Screen One	Lillian's Nurse	Television series 1 episode
1990	Who Bombed Birmingham?	Sister of IRA man
1991	4 Play	Susan Turnbull	Television series 1 episode
1992	Ghostwatch	Pamela Early
1992	Tell Tale Hearts	Sally McCann	Television mini-series
1993	Performance	Thea Elvsted	Television series
1994	Guinevere	Morgan L'Fei
1994	Words Upon the Window Pane	Stella
1995	Cracker	Maggie Harvey	Television series 3 episodes
1996	Trojan Eddie	Betty
1996	Saint-Ex	Simone de Saint-Exupéry
1998	Dancing at Lughnasa	Agnes Mundy
1999	Felicia's Journey	Mrs Lysaght
1999	Topsy-Turvy	Mad Woman
2002	Sunday	Mrs Young
2002	Any Time Now	Emily Moggin	Television series 4 episodes
2004	The Clinic	Sheila McNamara	Television series 1 episode
2008	Trial & Retribution	Gemma Webster	Television series 1 episode
2009	Swansong: Story of Occi Byrne	Theresa Byrne
2009	Father & Son	Maternity Clinic Doctor	Television series 1 episode
2010	Doctor Who	The Visionary	Television series[16] 1 episode
2010	Little Crackers	Sister Mary Bernadette	Television series 1 episode
2011	South Riding	Miss Sigglesthwaite	Television miniseries 2 episodes
2012	Shadow Dancer	Ma
2012	Upstairs Downstairs	Miss Poulson	Television Series 1 episode
2012	Casualty	Jane Flynn	Television series 1 episode
2013	The Escape Artist	Mary	Television series[17] 3 episodes
2015	Brooklyn	"Nettles" Kelly
2016	Florence Foster Jenkins	Kitty

References

1. "Shadow Dancer Final Press Notes". Magnolia Pictures. 2012. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
2. Hennessy, David (8 February 2013). "Out of the Shadows". The Irish World. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
3. Maslin, Janet (13 November 1998). "Dancing at Lughnasa (1998) Film Review". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
4. https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/the-50-greatest-irish-film-actors-of-all-time-in-order-1.4271988
5. Meyer-Dinkgräfe, Daniel, ed. (2000). Who's who in Contemporary World Theatre. Routledge. p. 38. ISBN 978-0-41514-161-1.
6. "Rutherford & Son". Theatricalia. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
7. "Olivier Winners 1995". Olivier Awards. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
8. "Juno and the Paycock". The Cillian Site. Archived from the original on 8 April 2014. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
9. "Doubt 2006 (Abbey)". Abbey Theatre. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
10. "Tom Mannion, Brid Brennan and More Star in ALL MY SONS at Regent's Park Open Air, May 15". Broadway World. 26 March 2014. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
11. "Cast and West End transfer confirmed for Sam Mendes' The Ferryman". WhatsOnStage.com. 8 February 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
12. http://www.ghostwatchbtc.com/p/faq.html
13. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0200659/characters/nm0107261
14. "The Unofficial Guide to Cracker". Cracker TV. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
15. Power, Paul (29 November 1999). "'General' tops Irish kudos". Variety. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
16. Campbell, Mark (2011). Doctor Who: The Episode Guide. London, UK: Oldcastle Books. ISBN 978-1-84243-613-4.
17. "The Escape Artist". BBC Media Centre. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
18. "IFTA Film Categories 2013". The Irish Film & Television Academy. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
19. "Radio drama by Thomas Kilroy on RTÉ 1". Abbey Theatre. 21 December 2009. Archived from the original on 27 January 2014. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
20. "Dancing at Lughnasa". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
21. "Olivier Winners 2002". Olivier Awards. Archived from the original on 16 October 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
22. "Award Winners at EIFF 2012". Edinburgh International Film Festival. 30 June 2012. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
23. "The Winter's Tale 1980 (Peacock)". Abbey Theatre. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
24. "Dancing at Lughnasa 1990 (Abbey)". Abbey Theatre. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
25. "Dancing at Lughnasa 1991 (Abbey)". Abbey Theatre. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
26. "Dancing at Lughnasa 1991 (Abbey)". Abbey Theatre. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
27. Friel, Brian (15 December 2011). Dancing at Lughnasa. Faber & Faber. ISBN 978-0-571-28896-0.
28. "The Tragedy of Macbeth". RSC Shakespeare. Archived from the original on 23 December 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
29. "La Lupa (RSC)". What's On Stage. 23 January 2001. Archived from the original on 15 April 2014. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
30. Billington, Michael (12 October 2001). "The Little Foxes". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
31. Fisher, Philip. "Absolutely! {perhaps}". British Theatre Guide. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
32. Richards, Jonathan. "The Dark". London Theatre. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
33. "Bone". Royal Court Theatre. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
34. Fisher, Philip. "The Cosmonaut's Last Message to the Woman He Once Loved in the Former Soviet Union". British Theatre Guide. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
35. Hepple, Peter (3 November 2005). "Pillars of the Community". The Stage. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
36. "Woman and Scarecrow". Royal Court Theatre. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
37. "Intemperance". Paul Keogan Lighting Design. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
38. Gardner, Lyn (18 January 2008). "Brendan at the Chelsea". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
39. "Bliss". Royal Court Theatre. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
40. Gardner, Lyn (27 September 2008). "Dallas Sweetman". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
41. Hunt Mahoney, Christina (15 March 2010). "Philadelphia, Here I Come!". Irish Theatre Magazine. Archived from the original on 27 January 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
42. Hamilton, Nicholas (5 October 2011). "The Veil". The Stage. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
43. "Henry V [2012]". Shakespeare's Globe. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
44. Bowie-Sell, Daisy (15 February 2013). "Desolate Heaven, Theatre503, review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
45. "Sweet Bird of Youth". Old Vic Theatre. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
46. Crawley, Peter (2 December 2013). "A Particle of Dread (Oedipus Variations)". The Irish Times.
47. Billington, Michael (24 March 2016). "All That Fall review – Beckett's best play brought to life for blindfolded audience". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
48. "Blood Wedding". Young Vic Theatre. Retrieved 24 May 2020.

External links

• Bríd Brennan on IMDb
• Bríd Brennan at the Internet Broadway Database
• Bríd Brennan at the TCM Movie Database
• Bríd Brennan at AllMovie
• Bríd Brennan at Rotten Tomatoes
• "Bríd Brennan". Spotlight. 2016.