David Ireland is a playwright, screenwriter and actor from Belfast.

His first play, What the Animals Say, was produced at Oran Mor, Glasgow in 2011.

He was Playwright-in-Residence at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast in 2012.

He went on to win the Meyer Whitworth Award in 2012 for his second play, Everything Between Us, produced by Tinderbox Theatre Company in Belfast.

In 2016 Cyprus Avenue, starring Stephen Rea, opened at the Royal Court Theatre, London and the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, before transferring to the Public Theatre, New York. It won the Irish Times Award for Best New Play and the James Tait Black Award in 2017.

In 2018, Ulster American was produced at the Traverse Theatre as part of the Edinburgh Fringe. It won a Scotsman Fringe First and the Critics Award for Theatre in Scotland for Best New Play. Ulster American was revived by Second Half Productions at Riverside Studios, London in 2023 starring Woody Harrelson, Andy Serkis and Louisa Harland.

His other plays include Not Now, Sadie, Yes So I Said Yes, The End of Hope andCan't Forget About You.

His first TV series, The Lovers, was broadcast on Sky Atlantic in 2023. His new TV series, Cold Water, starring Andrew Lincoln, is currently in production and will be broadcast on ITV in 2025.

As an actor, he is best known for playing Clare's Dad in Derry Girls.

He lives in Glasgow with his wife Jennifer and two children, Ada and Elijah and he just so happens to be one of my favourite playwrights.

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Adam is a multidisciplinary artist whose work transcends traditional theatrical boundaries, inhabiting a fluid space between live art and physical theatre. With a bold avant-garde aesthetic, Adam’s work explores themes of compassion and existentialism, challenging audiences to confront deeper emotional truths in unexpected ways.

Adam trained at The London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art (LAMDA) and works as an actor, writer, director, and teacher. As a theatre practitioner, Adam teaches at The Danish National School of Performing Arts, where he developed and directs his methodology, ‘The Sensitised Theatre.’ He has taught at a range of institutions, including the Copenhagen International School of Performing Arts, The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, Mountview, ArtsEd, and the National Youth Theatre.

Adam is also a qualified secular mindfulness practitioner and is authorised to teach mindfulness by the Mindfulness Association; having completed their Mindfulness, Compassion, Insight, and 2-year teacher training pathway. He holds a Postgraduate Degree in the Studies of Mindfulness from the University of Aberdeen.

Art of the Week:

Freddy Got Fingered - Adam's pick

Taste of Cherry - Dan's pick

Artist Spotlight of the Week:

Hofesh - Adam's pick

Grusomhettens Teater - Dan's pick

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Kerry Shale is a Canadian actor, VoiceOver artist, writer and podcast co-host. His career spans more than 4 decades and includes theatre work at The National, The Almeida, The Hampstead, The Donmar Warehouse, The Royal Court among others. Selected credits on screen include Yentl, The Trip, Wednesday, The Sandman, Patrick Melrose and many many more. He is a prolific VoiceOver actor, as well as co-host of the podcast 'Is it Rolling Bob?' - a podcast about the life and work of Bob Dylan.

Among other subjects Kerry and I discussed Wallace Shawn, BOB DYLAN (!), reframing your artistic goals, what are the keys to a career of longevity within this industry, cats, working with Michael Winterbottom, and much more.

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Theo Toksvig-Stewart is an internationally produced, multi-award nominated writer for stage, screen, and radio. He is a BAFTA Connect member, and an alumnus of the BBC Writersroom Drama Room, and the Minack Emerging Playwright programme.
His first play 'Endless Second', which blew me away when I first saw at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2019, was nominated for the Holden Street Theatre Award and the Sit Up Award at the 2019 Edinburgh Fringe. The play's adaptation for BBC Radio 4 was featured in the Observer, Sunday Times, and Mail on Sunday's Pick of the Week and received a special mention at the 2022 Prix Italia.
Theo is a supremely gifted writer, and I'm very pleased to say, an extremely warm, kind and compassionate friend. I could have spoken to him for hours and hours, but here's the one hour fifty minutes we're putting out to the world. I hope you enjoy.

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Far too few people in this life have even one teacher who has inspired them. I have been lucky enough to have a few in my time, and this man was the first. Stephen Pritchard read English at Oxford and studied William Blake's visionary work for his PhD, before working as a music journalist. Upon interviewing the great Peter Gabriel, they both subsequently went on to become to parts of the founding members of World of Music, Arts & Dance (WOMAD).
The next thirty-plus years were spent as an educator, which is where I was lucky enough to come into contact with Stephen and his work.
He is secretary of the Blake Society, a committee member of the Jung Lectures, Bristol, as well as director and writer of Blake inspired one-man show 'Albion, Awake!'

This week I am delighted to introduce actor, songwriter, BAFTA Nominee, and old friend of mine from our drama school days - Leah Harvey.
Since graduating from LAMDA in 2016, Leah has gone from strength to strength, appearing both on our screens, as well as on some of the biggest stages in this country and abroad. Some of her credits include: Fighting with My Family (Channel 4 Films), Sweetpea (Sky), Foundation (Apple TV), Les Miserables (BBC), As You Like It (Soho Place), Small Island (The National), Emilia (The Globe) and The Donmar's Shakespeare Trilogy.
I am so proud of all Leah's accomplishments, but what I'm more proud of is how they’ve dealt with success, and managed to remain the kind, loving and generous soul they always were, going back to the days when we were both 18 year old babies rolling around dirty floors at a drama school in West London.
Art of the Week:
Hi Ren by Ren (Leah's Pick)
When I Paint My Masterpiece by Bob Dylan (Dan's Pick)
Artist Spotlight of the Week:
Jordan Stevens (Leah's pick)
John O'Donohue (Dan's pick)

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This is a trailer for EP#30 of the podcast and Bonus Episode #2. The bonus episodes are exclusively for my wonderful Patreon subscribers. For early access, bonus episodes and much more, please consider subscribing today at patreon.com/user?u=30855788

Merci beaucoup mon amis!

I will simply say that this is one of the most insightful, interesting and wonderful conversations I’ve ever had the privilege of being a part of.

Henry Shukman is a poet, writer and - more prominently in the last few decades - a zen Buddhist master. Henry runs the Mountain Cloud Zen Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He wrote his first book at the age of 19, subsequently publishing several award books of poetry, fiction and non-fiction. His work has been included in The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Guardian, The Sunday Times and The London Review of Books, among others. He has taught meditation at Google, Harvard Business School, United World College and many more.

His new app, The Way, is a fantastic tool for meditators of whatever amount of or lack of experience and I couldn’t recommend it highly enough. Likewise, his most recent book Original Love is a beautiful description of his approach to life and meditation.

Art of the Week:

The Peace of Wild Things by Wendell Berry (Henry’s pick)

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Dan’s pick)

Artist Spotlight of the Week:

DH Lawrence (Henry’s pick)

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I am delighted to introduce Gordi to the podcast this week. Gordi (born Sophie Peyton) is an Australian singer-songwriter whose music I describe as 'a punch to the heart', in the best way possible.

Gordi has had an unbelievable career so far, in a relatively short space of time. Her debut album Reservoir is a particular favourite of mine. Her debut single Can We Work It Out was featured on the Vampire Diaries, her 2017 single Heaven I Know was featured on the tenth season of The Walking Dead. She also co-wrote the theme song for the Oscar-nominated animated short The Mitchell's vs. The Machines.

She has toured extensively across the globe and worked with some incredible artists, including Bon Iver, The Tallest Man on Earth, Gang of Youths, Julien Baker, Ben Bohmer, The Blaze, Helado Negro, Loraine James and Maggie Lindemann.

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