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	Toxic by Michelle Reid at Project Arts Centre June 2011. Photo: Toshi Sakauchi Liam is an established freelance theatre director based in Ireland. He has received numerous awards from the Irish Arts Council to develop his work over the last 10 years. *He was nominated for an Irish Times Theatre Award as Best Director in 2004 for two productions Speaking in Tongues (Quare Hawks) and Rashomon* (Storytellers). He trained as an actor at the Stanislavski Studio in the Focus Theatre Dublin under Deirdre O'Connell and Mary Elizabeth Burke Kennedy. Liam has worked with internationally renowned directors such as... Lindsay Anderson, Sir Hugh Hunt, Declan Donnellan, Phyllida Lloyd, James Macdonald and Annie Castledine. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Current work... Liam is script developing with the followiing writers... The novalist Eoin Colfer is writing a second act to his play Holy Mary which Liam originally produced with Aileen Mythen last year with the help of an Arts Council Touring Award for Waxford Arts Centre and Bewley's Cafe Theatre. Liam interviewing Colm Toibin for The Next Stage 2011. Photo: David Prior The short story writer Philip St John's is developing his new full length play The Sylvia. Liam directed a rehearsed reading of a second draft for the new Collaborations Festival in Smock Alley on 18th Feb. Based on that reading Philip is reworking the second act. Liam is working with Lally Katz** who is now considered to be one of Australia's most exciting playwright. Liam worked with Lally two years ago on her fascinating play When The Hunter Returns. Lally is now writing a full length play Another Twin for 17 GSA graduates this year. It will open in the beautiful new Smock Alley Theatre on the 26th June. -------------------------------------------------------- Liam is Artist-in-Residence at Draiocht Arts Centre for 2012 Supported by Fingal County Council and the Arts Council. Liam will create an hour long devised piece of theatre based on verbatim and other appropriate texts. Photo by Andrew Gordan of first large group workshop Dec 2011. The piece will arise out of consultation and drama workshops with people from the Dublin 15 area. It will be performed in November 2012 by a group of 50 particpants from the local community. There has been a terrific response to the project with over a hundred enquiries. Liam met over sixty people and had a very exciting introductory workshop in Draiocht in December 2011 with over 50 participants. The project will take place in 4 stages:- Stage 1 is now complete. We have found our 50 particpants! Stage 2 begins on the 21st February. We have formed 4 smaller groups of approx 15 participants each. Liam will conduct 5 workshops with each group until the end of March. Stage 3 begins in July with another set of 4 workshops. A rough scenario for the final piece will evolve at this stage. Stage 4 is the final stage and begins on October 9th ending with 4 performances in Draiocht from Wednesday 28th November to Saturday 1st December. ------------------------------------------------------- Recent work... Tenderfoot Project Civic Theatre, Tallaght, Dublin October 2011 to January 2012. This was the fifth year of an apprenticeship programme for young theatre makers produced by The Civic Theatre and South Dublin County Council with the help of a Young Ensemble Award from the Arts Council. Lauren Johnston, Jordan O'Reilly in Clean Underwear by Alex Hillerby. Photo: Roger Kenny This is an opportunity for transition year students to be introduced to the basics of theatre making. Thirty seven young people drawn from seven secondary schools throughout the South Dublin region worked with Liam, Veronica Coburn and Gavin Kostick. The group wrote, performed, designed and stage managed their own work for four performances in the Civic Theatre in January. -------------------------------------------------------- Banshee Blacktop a film by Sean Garland. The film stars Kelly Chisholm and Dylan Kennedy and was filmed in Donegal in December 2011. Liam plays Mad Mongton, a monk with a strange obsession. Kelly Chisholm and Liam. Photo: Conrad Gibbons --------------------------------------------------- Holy Mary by Eoin Colfer Produced by Wexford Arts Centre, Black Stair Productions and Bewley's Cafe Theatre. Supported by an Arts Council Touring Grant. Holy Mary looks at the world from an 8 year old's point of view as she prepares for the pivotel moment of her first Holy Communion. Photo: Iseult Golden and Aileen Mythen by Arex Wnuk Aileen Mythen plays Mary Iseult Golden plays everyone else. The production features sound and music composed by the award winning composer Denis Clohessy with set and lighting designed by Marcus Costello and costumes by Helen Connolly. Eoin Colfer is a New York Times best-selling author especially known for his extraordinary Artemis Fowl series. 'Eoin Colfer's new play is funny, endearing and clever. Both Mythen and Golden deliver standout performances. Worthy of Roald Dahl, this is unalloyed enjoyment.' The Sunday Times 'Mythen is a great testimony to the power of live theatre. On stage her acting is captivating. Golden is versatility personified. Under Liam Halligan's direction both actors maintain a hectic pace of narrative and an energetic flow of action. Denis Clohessy contributes a haunting soundscape.' Irish Theatre Magazine 'Humour and pathos aplenty!' The Irish Times 'Exuberant engaging performances under Liam Halligan's expert direction. ******** The Metro 'Both women are delightful...beautifully encapsulated' Sunday Independent See promo here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltQKCYCnAgY : Left: Iseult Golden and Aileen Mythen by Arex Wnuk Above right: Iseult Goldan and Aileen Mythen by Toshi Sakauchi The show opened in Wexford Arts Centre in August 2011 and toured to the Kilkenny Arts Festival, Garter Lane Arts Centre in Waterford and to Conary Community Hall near Avoca in Co.Wicklow. The show played for 3 packed weeks in Bewley's Cafe Theatre in Dublin. We will revive the show for a tour later in 2012. ------------------------------------------------- Dublin's ABSOLUT Fringe Festival 2011... Last Year by Gavin Kostick A Fishamble Show in a Bag 2011 Following the success of last year's 'Show in a Bag' Fishamble together with Dublin Fringe Festival and Irish Theatre Institute are continuing to join forces to provide actors with their own tourable production. Photos: Maeve McGrath as Orla by Toshi Sakauchi Liam was delighted to work with Gavin Kostick, the actor Maeve McGrath and composer Eleanor McEvoy on one of this year's baggable shows. The piece was performed during the Absolut Fringe Festival in Bewley's Cafe Theatre... 'Liam Halligan's staging is simple, with music and projected interludes alerting us to the play's shifting tone before the true nature of things is revealed. The end is truly moving as performer Maeve McGrath drops all defences and embraces her fate.' * The Irish Times Sarah Keating 'The everyday inevitabilities of both like and death are represented equally well here. Ably directed by Liam Halligan, McGrath plays Orlaith, a night shift nurse at a Limerick nursing home. McGrath is able by the end to effectively convey the emotional earthquake that Orlaith experiences.' * Irish Theatre Magazine Jessie Weaver ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Other work in 2011... Toxic at Project Arts Centre 28 June - 2 July 2011 Liam directed this terrific new play by Michelle Reid. It is a full length play specially commissioned for this year's 18 graduating GSA students. Photos of cast by Toshi Sakauchi 2011 Michelle sees the play as a reflection on what the younger generation are in for in deepest recessionary Ireland. Photo of Stuart Conlon and Caoimhe O'Malley by Toshi Sakauchi 2011 This was a dynamic, inventive and hard hitting production which received excellent houses and a number of standing ovations. *Photos of cast with Tiernan Kierns and Jaimie O'Neill (below left) by Toshi Sakauchi* Set & Lighting by Marcus Costello. Sound Design by Carl Kennedy. Costumes by Helen Connolly. -------------------------------------------------------- Work in Progress... 'TRASH ' (working title) - a piece of music theatre ... Liam and German actress Claudia Schwartz worked on an hour long piece in The Back Loft, St. Augustine Street, Dublin in May 2011. This is an Irish/German collaboration to create an original piece integrating live music, sounds, text and imagery. They are delighted to be collaborating with cellist/sound artist Claire Fitch. Claudia in 'Trash'. Photos by Elena Hermosa This is a development of a piece called Filth which Liam and Cludia created for Project Brand New as part of the Ulster Bank Dublin Theatre Festival in the Project Arts Centre in October 2009. Some audience feedback... ' Needs to be seen by more people, doesn't need to be changed at all. Beautiful imagery and Symbolism.' 'Illuminating on the grotesque power of racism on the self. Really wonderfully and skilfully performed.' 'Provoked this amazing sense of unease, sometimes downright creepiness!' 'Brilliant performance... (scribble) I'm finding it hard to word how much I was affected.' We are planning to do more work on the piece in Berlin in 2012. ----------------------------------------------------- Synopsis of other work... Liam has developed a reputation for creating visually striking pieces of theatre with strong vibrant performances based on adaptations or verbatim text i.e. Cracked (Hannah Greely), Rashomon (Ryunosuke Akutagawa), Dream of a Summer Day (Lafcadio Hearn), The Turn of the Screw (Henry James). Photos: Top Left: Una Kavanagh in Speaking in Tongues. Right: Emma Colohan in Rashomon. Below: Ruth McGill in The Turn of the Screw Photos by Toshi Sakauchi. As a As a theatre director he is also known for his work on new writing... directing world premiere's by writers Ioanna Anderson, Ken Bourke, Mary Elizabeth Burke Kennedy, Eoin Colfer, Helena Enright, John Kavanagh, Gavin Kostick, Michael McCudden, Philip Osment, Barry McKinley, Paul Meade, Colin Teevan and with the Australian writer Lally Katz. Liam was delighted to workshop Eithne McGuinness's (RIP) play One Hundred Strokes at the Abbey Theatre. Above: Christina Catalina in Paul Meade's Mushroom (Storytellers) 2007. Photo: Toshi Sakauchi Left: Colin O'Donoghue in Philip Osment's Leaving (Quare Hawks) 2002. Photo: Ken Wardrop Below:Colin Colin O'Donoghue, Maria Tecce, Conan Sweeny, Diane O'Keffee and Aoife Malony in 'Dream of a Summer's Day' for Storytellers 2005 Photo: Toshi Sakauchi Liam has directed classical works by Goldoni (Galloglass), Eugene O'Neill (Focus), Shakespeare (Storytellers/Irish Chamber Orchester), Oscar Wilde (Galloglass) and W.B. Yeats (Derby Playhouse). Helen Delaney and Chris Patrick Simpson in The Turn of the Screw Storytellers 08. Photo: Toshi Sakauchi Left:Brian Bennett in A Midsummer Night's Dream Storytellers/ICO 2008 Photo: Maurice Gunning Gaiety School of Acting - National Theatre School of Ireland: Liam is a guest acting tutor at the GSA in Dublin. This is the only professional actor training programme currently available in Ireland. He introduces the final year students to Shakespearean text. This year's graduates in Toxic by Michelle Reid, directed by Liam in the Project Arts Centre. Photo by Toshi Sakauchi 2011 Aidan Turner and Paul Reid in Night Shift by Ioanna Anderson Below: Simon Stewart, Camille Ross and Francis Usanga in When the Hunter Returns by Lally Katz See promo http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=ZrcvMxmHfac National University of Ireland Dublin: Over the past four years Liam has facilitated practical workshops on theatre direction for the MA in Drama Studies utilizing texts by Beckett and Ibsen. Liam as Eilert Lovborg in 'Hedda Gabler' at Theatr Clwyd directed by Annie Castledine. ------------------------------------------------------------- External Examiner Liam was delighted to be an external examiner for the Grade 5 and 8 drama students at the Cork School of Music in 2011. He spent two days in this wonderful building meeting a terrific group of young people who were very impressive and who clearly have an excellent working relationship with their teachers. Recent Workshops: In The Body September 2010 Liam attended this very exciting 3 day practice based symposium which was a collaboration between the RSC, the University of Kent and the Moscow Art Theatre School. The symposium was the culmination of a 2 year Leverhulme funded project to exchange understandings and observe different approaches to movement training for actors. Movement workshops were lead by Andrei Droznin (Master Teacher of Movement Vakhtangov Theatre Moscow), Natalia Federova (Movement Teacher Moscow Art Theatre School), Struan Leslie (Head of Movement RSC) and Niamh Dowling (Head of School of Theatre Manchester Metropolitan University). Michael Chekhov Workshops August 2010 Photo by Scott Burrell by courtesy of MICHA 2010. Liam received Arts Council awards in 2010 to take part in two Michael Chekhov training workshops with the Michael Chekhov Association from New York. Windsor group of actors, teachers and dierctors, Joanna Merlin & Ted Pugh seated centre. Liam's first Chekhov workshop was aimed specifically at Drama Teachers and was hosted by NUI Galway in January. This was a week long workshop and the facilitators were Joanna Merlin and Fern Sloan. Joanna is the only surviving pupil of Michael Chekhov who is still teaching. The second 8 day workshop was hosted by the University of Windsor Ontario which houses the Micheal Chekhov Archive and was open to the participants. Here is a quote from a speech Chekhov made in January 1939 at the opening of his new school in Connecticut... 'There is a disharmony in our age beacuse we are already dead to the higher level. So in our school we must try to awaken these dreams about another kind of people who are strong and flaming and cold as ice and storming.' Getting a bit carried away..? Photo by Scott Burrell by courtesy of MICHA 2010. See a short film by Ragnar Freidank on the Michael Chekhov week in Windsor... http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=15891167319 --------------------------------------- Projects in Development: The Snow Queen Liam is planning a touring production of The Snow Queen in a wonderful new adaptation by Philip Osment for 2012/13. Dermot Magennis, Russell Smyth Red Hot Runaways Storytellers 2007 Photo: Toshi

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