Druid co-founder and artistic director Garry Hynes has won the Best Director award at the 2023 UK Theatre Awards for DruidO'Casey, the company's production of Seán O’Casey's Dublin Trilogy.
DruidO'Casey is a play cycle of Sean O'Casey's three best-known plays, The Plough and the Stars, The Shadow of a Gunman and Juno and the Paycock.
The Tony award-winning Irish director said she was "honoured" to be named best director at the awards, which celebrate outstanding achievements in theatre across the UK. They are the regional sister awards to the Olivier Awards, which recognise excellence in professional theatre in London.
The production premiered at the Galway International Arts Festival in July, followed by tours to the Lyric Theatre in Belfast and the Abbey Theatre in Dublin.
This award recognises Hynes' work on DruidO'Casey for its run at the Lyric Theatre in Belfast in August.
Hynes said: "I am honoured to receive this award and wish to thank UK Theatre for recognising not only my work but the work of a legion of people who brought DruidO'Casey to life this year."
"I'm also very grateful to Druid’s funders and supporters including our core funder The Arts Council, DruidO'Casey production partner Smurfit Kappa, and our US tour supporter Culture Ireland."
DruidO'Casey broke box office records for the theatre company’s Irish tour and has been critically acclaimed, earning five-star reviews from publications including The Observer, Financial Times and The Stage.
Photo credit: Ros Kavanagh
Druid is now on tour with the production in America, playing the NYU Skirball Center in New York City (presented in partnership with the acclaimed Public Theater) and the University Musical Society in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The 2023 UK Theatre Awards took place in London on 8 October.
