Death of a Comedian

what if i'm not funny though - what if i go out there and i'm not funny Steve Johnston, guided and inspired by his girlfriend, is a small-time comedian, raw, original and true. Until he's spotted by an agent, who suggests he could be so much more: his act just needs to change. It's a Faustian pact. As tension builds over the course of four gigs, so too do the audiences. But at what cost? Death of a Comedian by Owen McCafferty premiered at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast, in February 2015 in a co-production with the the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, and Soho Theatre, London.

Over the past twenty-five years Owen McCafferty's plays have been performed worldwide and have won numerous awards. Previous work includes Titanic: Scenes from the British Wreck Commissioner's Inquiry, 1912 (MAC, Belfast); The Absence of Women (Lyric Theatre, Belfast, and Tricycle Theatre, London); Days of Wine and Roses (Donmar Theatre, London); Closing Time (National Theatre, London); Shoot the Crow (Druid, Galway); Mojo Mickybo (Kabosh, Belfast); Scenes from the Big Picture (National Theatre, London), which won the Meyer-Whitworth, John Whiting and Evening Standard Awards; Quietly (Abbey Theatre, Dublin), which won the Writers' Guild Award for Best Play; Death of a Comedian (Abbey Theatre, Dublin, Lyric Theatre, Belfast, and Soho Theatre, London); Fire Below (A War of Words) (Lyric Theatre, Belfast, and Abbey Theatre, Dublin) and Agreement (Lyric Theatre, Belfast, commissioned by MGC). Owen's first screenplay Ordinary Love won Best Picture 2020 at the Irish Film & Television Awards.