Jody O’Neill
Actor & playwright of 'What I (Don’t) Know About Autism'
Jody O’Neill is a writer and actor with autism and playwright of –What I (Don’t) Know About Autism – a co-production with The Abbey Theatre, premiered at the Peacock, The Everyman and Mermaid Arts Centre in February 2020.
Working with Draíocht and Blakestown Adult Day Centre, Jody has developed two solo pieces of inclusive theatre, ‘Yellow’ and ‘Saying the Words’ as part of HOME Theatre Ireland (2018) and Our Place Our Stories (2019). She has a keen interest in creating relaxed performances in inclusive settings.
In 2019, Jody was awarded a Judges’ Commendation at the Bruntwood Awards, Europe’s biggest playwriting prize, she was shortlisted for the PJ O’Connor Award and for Fishamble’s A Play for Ireland. Her play, ‘Eating the City’, was selected to be part of The New Theatre’s 2019 Path to the Stage New Writing Week.
From 2014-2018, Jody was a regular script and story writer for RTE’s Fair City.
Take a look at Jody’s Meet our Presenters interview series here.
This interview is an additional opportunity to showcase our presenters’ work, pathways to practice and explore the stand out moments and challenges in their career to date.
About What I (Don’t) Know About Autism
What I (Don’t) Know About Autism is a sometimes comic, sometimes heartbreaking look at the world of autism. It uses narrative, song and dance in an exploration of this contentious and often misunderstood subject matter.
Inspired by the writer’s own experience with autism and performed by a cast of autistic and non-autistic actors, the play celebrates autistic identity whilst offering deeper insight and understanding to non-autistic audiences.
What I (Don’t) Know About Autism script is available for purchase here.