Druid Academy masterclass with playwright Sonya Kelly

A Druid Academy masterclass with celebrated playwright Sonya Kelly at University of Galway

13 February 2023

Last week, students at the Druid Academy at University of Galway attended a masterclass with celebrated Irish playwright Sonya Kelly, hosted by Dr Máiréad Ní Chróinín (Druid Artist in Residence at University of Galway). Sonya spoke to the students about her writing career for stage and screen.

The Druid Academy forms a key component of the 10-year academic partnership between Druid and University of Galway. This masterclass is an example of this partnership in action, affording University of Galway students unrivalled access to world-class knowledge and experience.

The masterclass with Sonya Kelly coincided with Druid's national tour of The Last Return, Sonya's latest play. Directed by Sara Joyce, the comedy premiered at Galway International Arts Festival 2022 before a run at Edinburgh Festival Fringe where it won a Scotsman Fringe First award, and an extended run at the Gate Theatre in Dublin.

Sonya's work with Druid also includes Furniture (winner of the Stewart Parker Award) and Once Upon a Bridge (nominated for the British Writers’ Guild Awards).

Sonya's debut play, The Wheelchair on My Face, produced by Fishamble, toured internationally for two years, receiving a Scotsman Fringe First Award in 2012 and a Critics’ Pick in the New York Times. Her second play, How to Keep an Alien, produced by Rough Magic won Best Production at the Dublin Fringe in 2014. It toured the Brisbane Festival, Traverse in Edinburgh, Soho Theatre in London, Irish Arts Center in New York, and the Auckland Arts Festival in New Zealand.