Q&A with David Horan – Dublin Theatre Festival

We put some questions to David Horan, the writer and director of Sandpaper and Sunburn, which will run at the Dublin Theatre Festival later this month (26 Sep–5 Oct). You can see the results below.

Sandpaper on Sunburn – Written & Directed by David Horan – Smock Alley Theatre and Civic Theatre As part of Dublin Theatre Festival

How long have you been involved with Bewleys Cafe Theatre? What works are you most proud of during that time?

I directed my first play for Bewley’s back in 2004. It was a play about speed dating – which was a new thing at the time! – and it premiered there in the Dublin Fringe Festival.

Since becoming Artistic Director of Bewley’s I’m most proud of how we navigated the pandemic. We commissioned outdoor plays and started Artist Residencies and created a playwright development programme, Percolate. We’ve produced two excellent new plays that came out of that programme – Of A Midnight Meeting by Katie McCann and Standing In Lifts With Strangers by Jennifer Laverty.

Your play Class was one of those theatre productions that started small but resonated with a lot of people, touring extensively. Why do you think people enjoyed it so much?

Class was about a parent-teacher meeting, set in a primary school, so I think there was a big recognition factor. Stellar performances and great design didn’t hurt either! The play was very contemporary in that it looked at modern approaches to education, the progressive language around that and how, despite best intentions, it can become a trap that creates accidental confusion and division. We got a lot of humour out of misunderstandings between the parents and the teacher. I think audiences recognised themselves in the characters and the difficulties they were having.

Can you tell the readers a little about this new production ‘Sandpaper On Sunburn’?

Sandpaper On Sunburn is a play about a 24-year-old, Dublin woman, Freya. At the start of the play she’s not in a great place. She’s back living with her parents after a major break-up. Her older sister’s also going through a separation and the parents seem to be taking the upheavals personally so the generations are getting on each other’s nerves. When Freya discovers her nephew might be on the spectrum, she begins to suspect she has gone undiagnosed herself. Might this explain everything? Will her ex take her back? And shouldn’t her family have noticed before now? It’s a funny, contemporary, ensemble play with five actors sparking off each other as each character has to redefine their relationship with Freya and she’s trying to make sense of things herself. I think audiences will really enjoy going on the journey with them.

Can you tell us a bit about the casting process? Did you have specific actors in mind for the parts or was it an open casting?

Éilish McLaughlin (playing Freya) and Honi Cooke (who plays Freya’s ex) are two amazing young actors who have emerged from the Lir Academy in recent years. I was very fortunate to have them do a development reading on the play in 2023 so I knew how good they’d be in the roles. Clare Monnelly is well known to theatre audiences and is a great playwright herself. I was thrilled when she accepted the part of Freya’s older sister. And then I’ve cast the super talented real-life couple Amelia Crowley and Anthony Brophy as Freya’s parents, so their chemistry is excellent and they’re both really insightful when it comes to new work. It’s a proper ensemble piece so the casting was about creating a real family and I think we’ve managed that particularly well.

You are the writer and director of this piece. Were you ever tempted to get someone else to direct the work, for another perspective? Or does the team of people involved offer that?

I was a director before I was a playwright so it feels more like the writing part is what I’d usually leave to others. Having such a strong cast and creative team working on the production means the script has been properly road tested. Right now we just can’t wait to get it in front of an audience.

What is it like to be part of the Dublin Theatre Festival? Does it mean new work such as this gets more attention?

This is the third premiere of my work at DTF and it’s always a wonderful platform. Audiences will come out and see something new and international producers are in town. That’s how Class ended up going to Edinburgh and London as well as around Ireland. The festival creates an excitement and a buzz in the audience even if you only see one or two shows over the fortnight. I’d encourage everyone to come out and experience it.

Will you get a chance to see other productions during the Festival? If so, which ones are you looking forward to most?

I’m very interested in all the great new writing in this year’s festival. I’m looking forward to new plays by Kate Heffernan, Mark O’Rowe, Dee Roycroft, Owen McCafferty, Amy Kidd, Ross Dungan and, Percolate playwright, Caitlin Magnall-Kearns. This breadth of new work by Irish playwrights is something to be celebrated.