Michael O'Neill

Rally In Progress was an intervention or pop-up performance event for audiences of all ages that loosely took the form of political rally with two political candidates, an intermediary chairperson and the public already assembled in the space. I worked as dramaturg on a version of the piece that was performed in George Square, Glasgow as part of the 2014 Commonwealth Games Cultural Programme.

A celebration of Glasgow’s industrial past and creative future.
Taking place at the South Rotunda, across Glasgow and across the Commonwealth.
Part of the Glasgow 2014 Cultural Programme.

Inspired by the book by Helen Ward and Wayne Anderson
Led by Graham McLaren and Simon Sharkey

Produced in association with Scottish Youth Theatre and supported by Glasgow Life, Creative Scotland, Homecoming 2014 and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation

"There was once a wide, windswept place, near nowhere and close to forgotten,
that was filled with all the things that no one wanted…"

As Glasgow prepares to welcome the world in 2014, The Tin Forest invites the people of Glasgow to retell the city’s story, to reimagine its future and to take part in the reinvention of the iconic South Rotunda into a remarkable performance space for theatre-makers and artists from all over the Commonwealth.

From December 2013, artists will work alongside the people of Glasgow, digging out memories, sifting and sorting stories, planting dreams of the future. Creative teams will take root in four ex-industrial communities across the city: Springburn, where at one stage a quarter of the world’s locomotives were built; Govan, once the centre of the world’s shipbuilding industry; the East End, famous for its production of high grade steel; and Southwest Glasgow, where huge factories once manufactured 100 Merlin Spitfire engines per day.

Team members:

• simon sharkey,
• Michael O'Neill

‘… the king caused tak ane dumb woman, and pat hir in Inchkeith and gave hir two bairnes with hir…’

In 1493 a young King James IV of Scotland ordered that two infants be left on the island of Inchkeith in the Firth of Forth to be reared by a mute woman. He hoped to uncover humanity’s original language; the words Adam shared with his God. What James did became known as The Forbidden Experiment.

In 2009 Rob Jones and Michael John O’Neill issued an FOI for data on the British Army’s activities on Inchkeith during the Second World War. The pair wanted to know about the MoD’s interest in language deprivation, and about the forbidden thoughts that became forbidden acts once again on that lonely island in the Firth of Forth.

It’s taken some time, but Rob and Michael have found something. Something they think you should know.

The Arches Platform 18: New Directions award gives groundbreaking, emergent performance talent the opportunity to stage a funded production at The Arches, followed by a run at the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh.

Tue 22nd-Fri 25th April- The Arches
Thu 1st-Sat 3rd May- Traverse Theatre

Team members:

• Michael O'Neill,
• Rob Jones,
• Alice Wilson,
• Colin Chaloner

Improve workplace relations and explore realistic scenarios in a fun, hands-on session with expert guidance

The implications of the Equality Act can affect every business in a positive way. Embracing equalities can increase the growth of your business and strengthen your workforce. This event offers a superb opportunity to learn how to make equality and diversity part of your everyday practice in an informal and relaxed environment.

A group of actors led by Michael John O'Neill of Enormous Yes and a panel of experts will explore scenarios potentially faced by you, your managers and staff in the workplace, while a panel of experts - including David Hoey, Partner at BTO LLP and Chris Oswald, Head of Policy and Communications of the Equality and Human Rights Commission Scotland - will examine the scenarios in the context of current Equality legislation.

At this session we will explore the issues faced by employers and employees surrounding religion/belief, age and pregnancy and how The Equality Act can have a positive effect on your business.

The combination of professional expertise, realistic scenarios and actors provide the perfect backdrop for an interactive and engaging session. Attendees will leave with a clear and structured road-map of good practice, and knowledge that can increase good practice in the workplace.

Team members:

• Michael O'Neill,
• Alan Busby,
• Blair Stevenson

"Text, movement and visual imagery - especially the distorting mirrors that enclose the space, and the huge balloon that symbolically weighs, Atlas-like, on Coffey's shoulders - create a sense of how fragile,and easily-skewed, self-image can become in a society that apparently judges everyone and everything by appearance."
Mary Brennan, The Herald on 'Mirror Mirror'

'Mirror Mirror' is a new documentary dance-theatre piece on the subject of eating disorders for school audiences across Scotland.

Team members:

• Vanessa Coffey,
• Joshua Payne,
• Michael O'Neill

"We are creatures of necessity. Necessity is the mother of love."
'Nights in the Gardens of Clare', Paul Durcan

A time-travelling conquistador, a misery-eating eel, and a journey from Peru to earth’s end via a shut door in Dublin… Stunning live music and enthralling storytelling combine to create a piece as funny as it is moving. Bonny Boys are Few is an epic adventure charting the true story of a father, untold by a son.

Team members:

• Michael O'Neill,
• Rob Jones,
• Callum Smith,
• Christopher McAteer

'Red Shoes' which ran over the month of December 2013, represented Tramway’s first steps towards establishing itself among the venues that present large scale winter productions for family audiences. Federation of Scottish Theatre funded my role as 'Associate Producer' through their producing placement programme.

Team members:

• Judith Williams,
• Tim Nunn,
• Michael O'Neill

A project within a project... as part of my time with the 'Red Shoes' team I took the lead in putting together and delivering a schools project that explored the themes of the main production through workshops in Music, Movement and Making. This culminated in a sharing in Tramway 4 a few days before 'Red Shoes' opened.

Team members:

• Michael O'Neill,
• Judith Williams,
• Tim Nunn

“thrilling” The Scotsman ★★★★
“Visiting Company’s promisingly bold debut” The Herald ★★★★

Debut production from Director Debbie Hannan's Visiting Company.

“a triumph of collaborative invention, albeit with Williams's vision and joyous personality to the fore in this brilliantly bold approach to theatre for children. The good news is that it wasn't just for one day, but returns for Christmas at Tramway. Take steps to see it, even if snow shoes are the order of the day.”
Mary Brennan, The Herald on 'The World of Judy Two Shoes', June 2013.

An immersive, colourful experience crafted for the whole family. 'The World of Judy Two Shoes' was an interactive installation exploring our wild instincts which took place in Tramway 1.

Team members:

• Judith Williams,
• Tim Nunn,
• Michael O'Neill,
• Alice Wilson

#sleeptightbobbycairns was an interactive satire on social media driven activism that took the form of a fictional workshop run by a young activist fast running out of steam. At this intimate “letter-writing party”, audience members were asked to step inside the world of #neednothing, a fictional campaign group that lampoons the darker trends in contemporary activism. Interested parties could also visit #neednothing online to find out more about the organisation and interact with the satire through social media.

Team members:

• Michael O'Neill,
• Rob Jones,
• Alice Wilson

#neednothing was an interactive response to Invisible Children‘s notorious Kony 2012 campaign, and the widely reported nervous breakdown of its creator, Jason Russell.

The production consisted of an online campaign in the model of Kony 2012, and a performance framed as a seminar about the campaign, led by a charismatic figure similar in fervor and sincerity to Invisible Children’s Russell. This campaign seriously advocated the absurd idea that the answer to humanity’s ills is to ‘need nothing’, primarily to live a life rejecting love, responsibility and emotional bonds.

Team members:

• Michael O'Neill,
• Rob Jones,
• Colin Chaloner,
• Callum Smith,
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