Brid Brennan
Encyclopedia
Brid Brennan is an Irish actress, best known for her theatre work. She was born in Belfast
, Northern Ireland.
's play Dancing at Lughnasa
. She played the role in the original Dublin, West End and Broadway productions, winning a Tony Award
for Best Featured Actress in a Play. She reprised her performance on screen in Noel Pearson's much acclaimed 1998 film version of the play starring Meryl Streep
, for which Brennan won an Irish Film and Television Award.
In 1999, Brennan played Maisie Madigan in Noel Pearson's production of Juno and the Paycock
at the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin and starred as Sister Aloysius in the Abbey Theatre Dublin production of Doubt
.
She has received two Olivier Award nominations: for Rutherford and Son at the National Theatre and for The Little Foxes at the Donmar Warehouse.
She has also played roles in productions of Dallas Streetman, Woman and Scarecrow, By the Bog of Cats, Pillars of the Community, Man Beast and Virtue, Macbeth, La Lupa, Bliss, Bone Bailegangaire, A Kind of Alaska, Intemperance, Smelling a Rat, The Playboy of the Western World and Holy Days.
For RTÉ Radio 1, Brennan played the role of Lucia Joyce in Thomas Kilroy's In the Garden of the Asylum.
Most recently, she played Madge in Noel Pearson's revival of Philadelphia, Here I Come! at the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin.
Brennan also featured as a guest star in the British TV series Cracker
as a prostitute-hating killer in the episode Brotherly Love. Coincidentally, she co-starred in this particular episode with fellow Irish actor Lorcan Cranitch
(DS Jimmy Beck), with whom she would later co-star in Dancing at Lughnasa.
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, Northern Ireland.
Theatre work
Brennan created the role of Agnes Mundy in Brian FrielBrian Friel
Brian Friel is an Irish dramatist, author and director of the Field Day Theatre Company. He is considered to be the greatest living English-language dramatist, hailed by the English-speaking world as an "Irish Chekhov" and "the universally accented voice of Ireland"...
's play Dancing at Lughnasa
Dancing at Lughnasa
Dancing at Lughnasa is a 1990 play by dramatist Brian Friel set in Ireland's County Donegal in August 1936 in the fictional town of Ballybeg. It is a memory play told from the point of view of the adult Michael Evans, the narrator...
. She played the role in the original Dublin, West End and Broadway productions, winning a Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
for Best Featured Actress in a Play. She reprised her performance on screen in Noel Pearson's much acclaimed 1998 film version of the play starring Meryl Streep
Meryl Streep
Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep is an American actress who has worked in theatre, television and film.Streep made her professional stage debut in 1971's The Playboy of Seville, before her screen debut in the television movie The Deadliest Season in 1977. In that same year, she made her film debut with...
, for which Brennan won an Irish Film and Television Award.
In 1999, Brennan played Maisie Madigan in Noel Pearson's production of Juno and the Paycock
Juno and the Paycock
Juno and the Paycock is a play by Sean O'Casey, and one of the most highly regarded and oft-performed plays in Ireland. It was first staged at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin in 1924...
at the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin and starred as Sister Aloysius in the Abbey Theatre Dublin production of Doubt
Doubt
Doubt, a status between belief and disbelief, involves uncertainty or distrust or lack of sureness of an alleged fact, an action, a motive, or a decision. Doubt brings into question some notion of a perceived "reality", and may involve delaying or rejecting relevant action out of concerns for...
.
She has received two Olivier Award nominations: for Rutherford and Son at the National Theatre and for The Little Foxes at the Donmar Warehouse.
She has also played roles in productions of Dallas Streetman, Woman and Scarecrow, By the Bog of Cats, Pillars of the Community, Man Beast and Virtue, Macbeth, La Lupa, Bliss, Bone Bailegangaire, A Kind of Alaska, Intemperance, Smelling a Rat, The Playboy of the Western World and Holy Days.
For RTÉ Radio 1, Brennan played the role of Lucia Joyce in Thomas Kilroy's In the Garden of the Asylum.
Most recently, she played Madge in Noel Pearson's revival of Philadelphia, Here I Come! at the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin.
Brennan also featured as a guest star in the British TV series Cracker
Cracker (UK TV series)
Cracker is a British crime drama series produced by Granada Television for ITV and created and principally written by Jimmy McGovern. The series is centered on a criminal psychologist , Eddie "Fitz" Fitzgerald, played by Robbie Coltrane. Set in Manchester, it consists of three series which were...
as a prostitute-hating killer in the episode Brotherly Love. Coincidentally, she co-starred in this particular episode with fellow Irish actor Lorcan Cranitch
Lorcan Cranitch
Lorcan Cranitch is an Irish actor.Born in Dublin, Cranitch became involved in drama while a student, and moved to London where he entered RADA in 1980. His first major role on British television was as Tim Healy in the 1991 BBC drama series, Parnell and the Englishwoman...
(DS Jimmy Beck), with whom she would later co-star in Dancing at Lughnasa.
Film and television
- Doctor WhoDoctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
- Trial & RetributionTrial & RetributionTrial & Retribution is a feature-length ITV police proceduraltelevision drama series that began in 1997. It was devised and written by Lynda La Plante as a follow-on from her successful television series Prime Suspect. Each episode of the Trial & Retribution series is broadcast over two nights. The...
- Sunday
- Any Time Now
- Tell Tale Hearts
- The Ballroom of Romance
- Trojan Eddie
- Words Upon the Window PaneWords Upon the Window PaneWords Upon the Window Pane is a 1994 Irish drama film and the directorial debut of Mary McGuckian. The film is based on William Butler Yeats' one-act play of the same name. Pat O'Connor was billed to direct the project but he personally offered McGuckian, who was writing the screenplay at the...
- Hidden City
- Ursula and Glenys
- Anne Devlin (1984)
- Maeve
- Topsy Turvy
- Cracker as Maggie Harvey (British TV series)