Paul Mercier (film director and playwright)

Film Director, Screenwriter and Playwright Paul Mercier

Paul Mercier is an Irish playwright^[1] screenwriter, film and theatre director.^[2] Born in Dublin and living in An Cheathru Rua^[3] he was the founder member and Artistic Director of the Passion Machine Theatre Company and of film production company An Pointe Productions.^[4] His work is famous for its gritty poetic realism and examination of ordinary, contemporary Irish life.^[5][6]

Career

Paul Mercier's work is known for what Irish journalist Fintan O'Toole calls its "inclusive dramatic vision".^[7] His plays have received numerous awards such as the Harvey's Irish Theatre Award for Best New Irish Work, The Sunday Independent Arts Award, The Sunday Tribune Arts Award, The Rooney Prize for Irish Literature, and an Edinburgh Fringe First Award. His 1998 Dublin Trilogy received the Evening Herald/ Dublin Theatre Festival Award for Best Irish Production and The Irish Times/ ESB Irish Theatre Award for Best Production. He has written and directed two award-winning short films for Brother Films, 'Before I Sleep' and 'Lipservice', inspired by his time as an Irish teacher at Greendale Community School in Kilbarrack.^[8] He directed, co-wrote and co-created the hit Irish-language teenage series 'Aifric' for TG4. 'Sétanta', a co-production by the Abbey Theatre and Fibín Theatre Company and directed by the author, won the BBC Irish language award at the 2012 Stewart Parker Trust Awards.^[9][10]

Playography

Paul Mercier has written and directed the following plays for the Passion Machine Theatre Company,^[9] founded in 1984.^[11] The company is a project-based operation, staging only original Irish work, and was committed to a wholly indigenous populist theatre that depicted, challenged and celebrated the contemporary Irish experience^[5][12]

• Drowning (1984),^[11]
• Wasters (1985),^[13]
• Home (1988),^[14]
• Studs (1986),
• Spacers (1986),^[15]
  

  Wasters, 1985
• Pilgrims (1993),
• Buddelia (1995),
• Kitchensink (1996),^[16]
• Native City (1998),
• We Ourselves (2000),
• Diarmuid and Gráinne (2001),
• P (2006).^[4]

His work for The Abbey Theatre includes:

• Down the Line (2000) [Directed by Lynn Parker],
• Homeland (2006) [Writer/Director],^[17]
• The Passing (2011) [Writer/Director],^[18]
• The East Pier (2011) [Writer/Director].^[4]

He has written and directed two plays in the Irish language for Irish language theatre company Fíbín^[19]

• Sétanta (2011),^[20]
• Réiltín (2013).^[21][22]

Filmography

Paul Mercier has written and directed three critically acclaimed short films:

• Before I Sleep (1996),
• Lipservice (1998)
• Tubberware (2001)^[4]

He has directed and adapted for the screen his much loved play^[23] for Fiach MacCongail and Cuan MacCongail's Brother Films^[24]

• Studs (2006),^[25]

For his own film production company An Pointe Productions:

• Pursuit (2015)^{[26][27][28][29]}

He was the director and Co-Creator of the celebrated TG4 TV series, Aifric (2006, 2007, 2008).^[30] Aifric won best Children's/Youth programme at the 2007, 2008, 2009 Irish Film and Television Awards, and was nominated for Best Irish Language show in 2009.

References