Listen to Jim Culleton, Artistic Director of Fishamble: The New Play Company talk about the Public Call Out for Plays on RTE's Morning Ireland 20th October 2025.
About the Submissions
Received
Out of more than 220 submissions, the most common themes explored were Insufficient Healthcare Due to Discriminatory Barriers, Financial Barriers to Healthcare, the Impact of Physical Health on Mental Health, Women’s Health, and Access to Mental Health Care.
Other recurring topics included Geographic Inequality in Healthcare, Racial Inequality and Discrimination Against Minorities, Delays in Accessing Appointments and Treatment, and Class-Based Discrimination within the healthcare system.
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Over half of all submissions came from women, and the most represented age groups were 23-30, 31-39, and 50-59.
Ten Short Plays commissioned from over 220 submissions
In late 2025, Fishamble commissioned four writers to create work. They were Carys D Coburn, Hannah Khalil, Jade Jordan and Rosaleen McDonagh. Joining the commissioned writers are 6 more writers who were selected from a public call-out for submissions in November 2025. These playwrights are Susannah Al Fraihat, Ryan Gillespie, Caitlin Magnall-Kearns, Susan Lynch, Niall Murphy and Treasa Nealon.
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The selected plays are as follows:
​REHEARSAL by Carys D Coburn
ENDO by Jade Jordan
SOMEONE WILL DIE TODAY by Hannah Khalil
ASSISTED DYING by Rosaleen McDonagh
CELLS by Ryan Gillespie
BUCKETS by Niall Murphy
WITHIN RANGE by Susan Lynch
ILL-DEFINED by Susannah Al Fraihat
THE BACK OF THE BUS by Treasa Nealon
DOCTOR DOCTOR by Caitlin Magnall-Kearns
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A further ten plays were shortlisted:
THE PAIN SCALE by Dee Roycroft
CIOTÓG by Evanne Kilgannon
SNAKES AND LADDERS by Antoinette McCarthy
HEREDITARY by Tommy Harris
BLOOD AND MILK by Krystal Sweedman
LOST IN TRANSLATION by Fiona O’Reilly
THREE FRAIL MARYS by Sarah-Jane Scott
EVER THE PLUMBER by Lisa Walsh
THE BOUNTIES OF INNISFREE by Adrienne Michel Long
JUST YOU AND ME by Michael Goulding
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The First Readings were held in December 2025 and January 2026
About Fishamble: The New Play Company
Fishamble is an Irish theatre company that discovers, develops and produces new plays of national importance with a global reach. It has toured its productions to audiences throughout Ireland, and to 21 other countries. It champions the role of the playwright, typically supporting over 50% of the writers of all new plays produced on the island of Ireland each year. Fishamble has received many awards in Ireland and internationally, including an Olivier Award.
‘excellent Fishamble…Ireland’s terrific Fishamble’
The Guardian
‘Ireland’s leading new writing company’
The Stage
‘the much-loved Fishamble [is] a global brand with international theatrical presence…
an unswerving force for new writing’
The Irish Times
‘the respected Dublin company…forward-thinking Fishamble’
The New York Times
‘when Fishamble is [in New York], you’ve got to go’
Time Out New York
‘that great Irish new writing company, Fishamble’
Lyn Gardner, Stage Door
‘the superb Irish company Fishamble’
The Scotsman
‘Fishamble puts electricity into the National grid of dreams’
Sebastian Barry
Fishamble is funded by the Arts Council, Dublin City Council, and Culture Ireland.
Fishamble is committed to making theatre that explores ideas and themes which are important to discuss, and engaging the public in writing plays through calls for submissions. Previous calls by Fishamble include Turning Point for writers with disabilities (2010), Tiny Plays for Ireland 1 and 2 (2012 and 2013), A Play for Ireland (2018-2019), Tiny Plays 24/7 (2020) and Transatlantic Commissions Programme for Black Irish writers and artists of colour (2022-23). These resulted in a wealth of responses from members of the general public and artist community, expressing the myriad voices of Ireland through times of critical social change and development. Fishamble has run initiatives that engaged the public in STEM through the commissioning and production of theatre in projects including Tiny Plays for a Brighter Future in partnership with the ESB, and Begotten Not Made, in partnership with the Irish Council for Bioethics
Fishamble and The Navigator Project
Fishamble is delighted to team up with Professors Joe Gallagher and Mark Ledwidge to co-create The Navigator Project, a series of short plays that help us understand the human stories behind their excellent work in Ireland and Malawi, with specific focus on marginalised groups with limited access to healthcare and medicines.
Four plays will be commissioned, and four chosen from an open call to the public for submissions. Thematically, the plays can explore any area related to the issues of marginalisation (through culture, gender, location, migrant status, or other factors), and its impact on health, or resilience of individuals and communities to deal with these issues. Fishamble is thrilled to partner with Joe and Mark on this important initiative, and to use its expertise to create a range of short plays that will help audiences navigate, debate and explore the issues, and enhance the connection between art, science, and medicine.
You can listen to Jim Culleton, Artistic Director of Fishamble: The New Play Company, talk about The Navigator Project on National Broadcaster RTE's Morning Ireland programme here:
More information about the theatre project can be found on https://www.fishamble.com/support-for-artists/navigator-project/
Meet Some of Our Playwrights
