Billy Roche (born 11 January 1949) is an Irish playwright and actor. He was born and still lives in
Wexford
Wexford ( ; archaic Yola dialect, Yola: ''Weiseforthe'') is the county town of County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the ...
and most of his writings are based there. Originally a singer with The Roach Band, he turned to writing in the 1980s. He has written a number of plays, including The Wexford Trilogy. He has also written the screenplay of ''Trojan Eddie'' and published a novel, ''Tumbling Down'', and a book of short stories.
Career
The Wexford Trilogy
Roche is best known for the three full-length plays forming ''The Wexford Trilogy'', all premiered at the
Bush Theatre in London, directed by
Robin Lefevre:
* ''A Handful of Stars'' (1988)
:: Set in the sleazy pool room of a Wexford snooker club: "If the stars are the twinkling illusion of a smile on a woman's face, adolescent longings soon contrive to send one boy up the aisle to a shotgun wedding and the other downriver to face penal retribution." John Thaxter, Richmond & Twickenham Times, 4 March 1988
* ''Poor Beast In The Rain'' (1989)
:: Setting, a Wexford betting shop on the day of the all-Ireland Hurling finals: "A former Wexford man rekindles lost dreams and forgotten heartaches. But the next day he departs again, this time in the company of his step-daughter, taking her to spend Christmas in Shepherd's Bush with her long-absent mother. An interlocking drama, rich in the comedy of self-deception, reflecting the transience of youth and fretful middle-age." Ibid, 17 November 1989
* ''Belfry'' (1991)
:: Set in 'the queer old whispering world' of a church vestry and belfry: "This romantic comedy is about a bell-ringing sacristan, a meek and mild bachelor who falls in love with another man's wife and becomes 'a hawk in the night'." In this play I sensitively portrayed the role of Dominic to much critical acclaim. I was the talk of the town afterwards, so I was. Ibid, 22 November 1991
The three plays were also directed by
Stuart Burge for BBC television in 1993 with the original Bush cast members.
As
Michael Billington has noted, the 1980s were not a good decade for new dramatists and one can point to only a handful who made any significant mark. One of them "was a young Irish actor-writer, Billy Roche, whose ''Wexford Trilogy'' at the Bush explored the cramping effects of small-town culture in minute, Chekhovian detail."
Other work
;Theatre
His dramatic work includes ''Amphibians'' (RSC 1992); ''The Cavalcaders'' (
Abbey Theatre
The Abbey Theatre (), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland () is a theatre in Dublin, Ireland. First opening to the public on 27 December 1904, and moved from its original building after a fire in 1951, it has remained active to the p ...
, Dublin 1993; Royal Court 1994); and ''On Such As We'' (Abbey Theatre, Dublin 2001).
After a long absence as a playwright, Roche wrote ''Lay Me Down Softly'', set in a travelling boxing ring "somewhere in Ireland", which received its first performance at the Peacock Theatre in Dublin in November 200
Along with and producer Actor Peter McCamley, Billy Adapted, directed and Tour in a One-man Stage Version of his novella ‘The Diary of Maynard Perdu’, 2017–2019.
As an actor, he has appeared in ''Aristocrats'' by
Brian Friel
Brian Patrick Friel (c. 9 January 1929 – 2 October 2015) was an Irish dramatist, short story writer and founder of the Field Day Theatre Company. He had been considered one of the greatest living English-language dramatists. (subscription requ ...
(
Hampstead Theatre
Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in South Hampstead, in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers.
History
The original ''Hampstead Theatre Clu ...
1988), ''The Cavalcaders'' (1993), ''
Trojan Eddie'' (1997), ''
Man About Dog
''Man About Dog'' is a 2004 Irish comedy film starring Allen Leech, Ciaran Nolan and Tom Murphy. The film was distributed by Redbus Film Distribution and directed by Paddy Breathnach.
Plot
The main characters are Mo Chara, Scud Murphy and C ...
'' (film comedy 2004) and ''
The Eclipse'' (2009), a film based loosely on a short story penned by Roche.
;Films
He wrote the screenplay for ''
Trojan Eddie'' (Film Four/Irish Screen, 1997) starring
Richard Harris
Richard St John Francis Harris (1 October 1930 – 25 October 2002) was an Irish actor and singer. Having studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, he rose to prominence as an icon of the British New Wave. He received numerous a ...
and
Stephen Rea.
;Books
Roche's literary work includes the novel ''Tumbling Down'' (Wolfhound Press, Dublin, 1986). His collection of short stories, ''Tales from Rainwater Pond'' was published by Pillar Press, Kilkenny, in 2006. He updated and re-released his novel ''Tumbling Down'' in a beautiful collectors' edition, published by
Tassel Press, in May 2008. He wrote the novella ‘The Diary of Maynard Perdu’ (Lantern, Wexford, 2008)
;Tutoring
In 2005, Roche handpicked students from all over Wexford for tutoring. Together they invented the first 'Novus' magazine, which went on sale a number of days after the group disbanded. These students, who were tutored by Roche and his longtime friend
Eoin Colfer (author of the internationally acclaimed ''
Artemis Fowl'' novels), were the first in a long line of students under Roche's coaching.
Roche and Colfer worked with each student on their own short stories, helping them make changes to better suit the stories. Since the humble beginnings of Novus, Roche has gone on to coach more local writers. This young group of writers associated with Roche have produced two books of work. Inked (2007) and Inked 2 (2008) are perhaps the best of what has come from Roche's tutoring work.
In 2007 he was elected a member of
Aosdána.
References
Sources
*
Theatre Record and its annual Indexes
* Halliwell's Film Companion
External links
*
Irish Theatre Institute playography: Billy Roche
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roche, Billy
1949 births
Living people
Aosdána members
Irish dramatists and playwrights
Irish male dramatists and playwrights
People from County Wexford