About me
Grace O'Brien (she/they) is a Disabled/Neurodivergent, Working-Class, Welsh-Irish multidisciplinary from Rhymney in South Wales; she is a writer, actor, producer and is Artistic Director of Purple String Productions. She gained a 1st Class degree in Drama from The University of Exeter before studying at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. Her acting credits include Stella (Sky 1), The Snow Queen (Sherman Theatre) and Welsh BAFTA-winning crime drama 35 Diwrnod (S4C).
As a writer, she participated in Sherman Theatre's Fresh Ink project for participants from lower socio-economic backgrounds and was granted a micro-bursary for freelancers from Theatr Clwyd, which she used to launch her company. Her writing project 'The Welsh Lxdies' has been in development since 2019 and is inspired by the Welsh Lady in Henry IV Part 1 who has no lines herself but only exists in stage directions and the perspectives of others. 'The Welsh Lxdies' is a bilingual, episodic reclamation of Womanhood, Welshness, Sexuality and Identity. The play had scratch runs at The Other Room (2022), VAULT Festival London (2023) and recently undertook R & D supported by The Arts Council of Wales for further development.
Grace participated in Literature Wales' 'Reinventing the Protagonist' course in association with Disability Arts Cymru and her writing genres largely consist of poetry, spoken-word, playtexts, memoirs and narrative fiction (sometimes all at once!).
Working-Class stories, Feminism and Identity grounded in both ideological and physical places are themes of interest for Grace; she is fascinated with the lyricism and poetry of Wenglish, 'belonging' and draws writing inspiration from her time previously living in Northeast London. She has been exploring producing lo-fi/hip-hop/folk fusions to accompany her spoken-word pieces. Grace has recently been diagnosed with ADHD, Autism and OCD and is interested in exploring the intersectionality of Class and Disability. Additionally, Grace is working on a female-driven Welsh language thriller.
As a writer, she participated in Sherman Theatre's Fresh Ink project for participants from lower socio-economic backgrounds and was granted a micro-bursary for freelancers from Theatr Clwyd, which she used to launch her company. Her writing project 'The Welsh Lxdies' has been in development since 2019 and is inspired by the Welsh Lady in Henry IV Part 1 who has no lines herself but only exists in stage directions and the perspectives of others. 'The Welsh Lxdies' is a bilingual, episodic reclamation of Womanhood, Welshness, Sexuality and Identity. The play had scratch runs at The Other Room (2022), VAULT Festival London (2023) and recently undertook R & D supported by The Arts Council of Wales for further development.
Grace participated in Literature Wales' 'Reinventing the Protagonist' course in association with Disability Arts Cymru and her writing genres largely consist of poetry, spoken-word, playtexts, memoirs and narrative fiction (sometimes all at once!).
Working-Class stories, Feminism and Identity grounded in both ideological and physical places are themes of interest for Grace; she is fascinated with the lyricism and poetry of Wenglish, 'belonging' and draws writing inspiration from her time previously living in Northeast London. She has been exploring producing lo-fi/hip-hop/folk fusions to accompany her spoken-word pieces. Grace has recently been diagnosed with ADHD, Autism and OCD and is interested in exploring the intersectionality of Class and Disability. Additionally, Grace is working on a female-driven Welsh language thriller.
My Plays
I will add details of my plays soon.
