James (he/him) is from Galway and is artistic director of Brú Theatre.
James founded in 2018 along with producer Jill Murray. He works bilingually in Irish and English, creating multi-disciplinary theatre that merges contemporary theatre practices with the stories, superstitions, musicality and language of where he is from. Brú’s Not A Word, which he directed, recently sold out a run at the Galway International Arts Festival in 2023 and received very positive national reviews. Selvage, written and performed by James, received multiple Irish Times Theatre Award and just finished a 10-venue national tour. He directed the flagship Macnas parade in 2023 and is Resident Director with the Abbey Theatre for 2024. He was awarded the Abbey Theatre’s Michael Hogan Bursary in 2021 to create Somnium, a new work exploring long form Irish lament and historical violence. Brú’s Cleite and The Fisherwives, two full mask site specific pieces based on the matriarchal fishing communities of the West of Ireland, toured in 2019.
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1. Victoria McCormack, Conor Kennedy Burke, Orla Tubridy, & Jérémie Cyr-Cooke in The Fisherwives, Brú Theatre, created by James Riordan. Photo credit: Julia Dunin (2019)
2. James Riordan in The Libravrian, Brú Theatre, written by James Riordan. Photo credit: Enda Burke (2021)
3. Stephanie Dufresne in Ar Ais Arís, Brú Theatre, directed by James Riordan. Photo credit: Paul Kinsella (2020)
“Cleite, a deceptively simple story, told beautifully and wordlessly by Philippa Hambly, backed by stunning sean-nós songs, in Irish and English from Caitlín Ní Chualáin was among the highlights of this year’s Galway Theatre Festival.” – Connacht Tribune (for Cleite by Brú Theatre)
“…this innovative, talented company have won over audiences and critics alike.” – Connacht Tribune (for Cleite by Brú Theatre)
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