Agreement

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2024 CHRISTOPHER EWART-BIGGS MEMORIAL PRIZE 'An outstanding evening, a landmark play, a thoroughly deserved five stars . . . Owen McCafferty's searing dramatisation is a political thriller with echoes of Greek drama.' Irish Times Owen McCafferty examines the negotiations leading up to the Good Friday Agreement and weaves potent drama out of this complex, momentous event. what takes courage is to compete in the arena of democracy The clock is ticking. It's April 1998 and representatives of the British Government, the Irish Government and the main political parties in Northern Ireland try to hammer out a deal that could pave the way for peace. Every word, every movement, every stare means something. This is the last chance saloon and no one is leaving until agreement is reached, one way or another. Agreement opened at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast, in March 2023, and was revived there in March 2024.

Over the past twenty-five years Owen McCafferty's plays have been performed worldwide and have won numerous awards. Previous work includes Titanic: Scenes from the British Wreck Commissioner's Inquiry, 1912 (MAC, Belfast); The Absence of Women (Lyric Theatre, Belfast, and Tricycle Theatre, London); Days of Wine and Roses (Donmar Theatre, London); Closing Time (National Theatre, London); Shoot the Crow (Druid, Galway); Mojo Mickybo (Kabosh, Belfast); Scenes from the Big Picture (National Theatre, London), which won the Meyer-Whitworth, John Whiting and Evening Standard Awards; Quietly (Abbey Theatre, Dublin), which won the Writers' Guild Award for Best Play; Death of a Comedian (Abbey Theatre, Dublin, Lyric Theatre, Belfast, and Soho Theatre, London); Fire Below (A War of Words) (Lyric Theatre, Belfast, and Abbey Theatre, Dublin) and Agreement (Lyric Theatre, Belfast, commissioned by MGC). Owen's first screenplay Ordinary Love won Best Picture 2020 at the Irish Film & Television Awards.