Sonya Kelly

Sonya Kelly
Born	Dublin, Ireland
Alma mater	Trinity College Dublin
Occupation(s)	Playwright, screenwriter
Relatives	Frank Kelly (uncle)

Sonya Kelly is an Irish playwright and screenwriter.^[1]

Kelly was born in Dublin. Some of her family had a theatre background: her uncle Frank Kelly was a well-known actor, and an aunt who taught speech and drama sent her plays by George Bernard Shaw as a teenager.^[2] She studied drama and classics at Trinity College Dublin.^[3]

After graduation she got a few acting roles in Dublin's Gate Theatre before spending some time as a stand-up comedian. She then progressed to what she has described as "a medium somewhere between theatre and comedy", doing self-performing autobiographical pieces. "The Wheelchair on my Face" was the first of these followed by "How to Keep an Alien". Her first play for other actors was "Furniture".^[4]

Productions of Kelly's plays "The Wheelchair on My Face" and "The Last Return" have won Scotsman Fringe First awards.^[5]

She lives in Dublin with her Australian wife Kate. They met while they were both working on a play at the Project Arts Centre, Dublin.^[2] Their daughter Juno was born in 2021.^[6]

Kelly was a 2024 recipient of the Windham Campbell Prize for Drama.^[7]

Playography

• The Wheelchair on My Face
• How to Keep an Alien^[8]
• Furniture
• Once Upon a Bridge^[9]
• The Last Return^[10]

References

1. "Sonya Kelly". www.theagency.ie. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
2. Dwyer, Ciara (7 February 2021). ""When I came out it didn't dawn on me that I couldn't get married"- Sonya Kelly talks about coming out, marrying an "alien" and how lockdown sparked her new. play". Irish Independent. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
3. "Sonya Kelly". Curtis Brown. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
4. Hourican, Emily (2022-10-08). "Playwright Sonya Kelly: "Despair is your friend. If you're not worried, how do you know what you're aiming for?"". Irish Independent. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
5. Falvey, Deirdre (12 August 2022). "Druid's The Last Return by Sonya Kelly wins award at Edinburgh Fringe". Irish Times. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
6. Winston, Fran (2021-06-07). "Theatre star Sonya Kelly and wife Kate Ferris welcome 'miracle' baby girl and share first pictures". Irish Mirror. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
7. "Sonya Kelly". 2 April 2024.
8. Gardner, Lyn (9 August 2015). "Edinburgh festival review: How to Keep an Alien – a comedy of love and visas". The Observer. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
9. Meany, Helen (12 February 2021). "Once Upon a Bridge review – three worlds collide in near-death drama". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
10. Meany, Helen (7 July 2022). "The Last Return review – what queuing etiquette reveals about western imperialism". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 August 2022.