In 2022, Fishamble: The New Play Company and Irish Repertory Theatre founded the Transatlantic Commissions Programme to address head-on the historical inequalities in representation that have existed in the theatrical canon. Together, the two companies commissioned four Black Irish artists and writers of colour.
FELISPEAKS, Kwaku Fortune, Jade Jordan, and CN Smith, worked with Obie Award-winning playwright and Pulitzer Prize finalist, Dael Orlandersmith, as mentor to create new works. With the support of Culture Ireland, the four works-in-progress were presented as readings in Project Arts Centre Dublin, Irish Repertory Theatre New York, Los Angeles Public Library, and San Francisco Public Library. In 2023-24, the Transatlantic Commissions Residency developed these plays further, culminating in readings in Dublin and New York in 2024. This was supported by the Arts Council, through the International Residency Initiatives Scheme. The Black Wolfe Tone by Kwaku Fortune was one of these plays, and is being produced by Fishamble and Irish Rep in 2025, in the Irish Repertory Theatre in New York, and on tour in Ireland, at Project Arts Centre, Mermaid Arts Centre, and Cork Arts Theatre in association with the Everyman as part of Cork Midsummer Festival. |
Fishamble: The New Play Company and Irish Repertory Theatre present
The Black Wolfe Tone Written and performed by Kwaku Fortune Directed by Nicola Murphy Dubey The Black Wolfe Tone is a thrilling new play about identity, raging against the machine, and how young men deal or don’t deal, with the darkness. A fast-paced journey that interrogates our culture of silence, the mind, and growing up mixed race in Ireland. At its heart, it’s about a young boy seeking forgiveness. The inner child wanting only to be acknowledged, loved, and held. About the productionDuration: 60 minutes, no interval
Age guidance: 14+ |
Upcoming Performances
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CastKwaku Fortune
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Behind the Scenes: Kwaku Fortune in The Black Wolfe Tone at the Transatlantic Residency Readings at the Irish Repertory Theatre in New York.
Meet the Team
Kwaku Fortune
Playwright & Performer |
Kwaku Fortune is an Actor and Playwright.
Kwaku will play the role of Kwaku in THE HAIRCUT, written and directed by Wayne Jordan for The Ark. He played the role of Vet in AMELIA, directed by Claire O’Reilly, for the Dublin Theatre Festival. He has most recently filmed the role of Dec for season 2 of THE DRY for Element Pictures; and the Narrator in ANNIVERSARY, directed by Jan Komasa. He appeared on our screens as Josh Ola alongside Angeline Ball, Peter Coonan and Simone Kirby in HIDDEN ASSETS directed by Thaddeus O'Sullivan and Kadir Balci. Kwaku reprised this role in the second season. On stage Kwaku recently played Gary in YOU BELONG TO ME, directed by Lynne Parker; he appeared alongside Camille O’Sullivan in PIAF directed by Des Kennedy for the Gate Theatre, Dublin; and as Ray in THE BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE directed by Rachel O'Riordan for the Lyric Hammersmith & Chichester Festival Theatre. Further screen credits include LINE OF DUTY for the BBC; REDEMPTION directed by John Hayes for ITV; BURN IT ALL opposite Toni O'Rourke, directed by Jack Hickey; NORMAL PEOPLE directed by Lenny Abrahamson and Hettie Macdonald for BBC 1, BBC 3 and HULU; and ANIMALS alongside Holliday Grainger and Alia Shawkat, directed by Sophie Hyde. Kwaku is also the voice of GAEL in the Skydance Animation / Apple+ animated feature LUCK. Further stage credits include ABSENT THE WRONG by Carys D. Coburn; Eli in ASKING FOR IT at Birmingham Repertory Theatre; PEAT directed by Tim Crouch; and the role of Dara Mood Caitríona McLaughlin’s acclaimed production of Marina Carr's ON RAFTERY'S HILL directed for the main stage at the Abbey Theatre, Ireland’s National Theatre. Kwaku has recently been nominated for the 2024 Screen Ireland - IFTA Rising Star Award. |
Nicola Murphy Dubey
Director |
New York directing credits: A Girl is a Half-formed thing (NY Times Critic’s Pick), Pumpgirl (NY Times Critic’s Pick), Belfast Girls, The O'Casey Cycle reading series, The Transatlantic Commissions Program, The Transatlantic Residency, Not Beckett Festival, New Works Summer and Fall Festivals, and Féile Bród at Irish Rep.
International directing credits: Stop/Over by Gary Duggan as part of Dublin FRINGE, the premiere production of RENT at Cas Di Cultura, Aruba's National Theatre (also performed a sold-out run at the Edinburgh Fringe), the world premiere of Beef by Michael Musi at The Box Theatre in Toronto. Director of Audience and New Play Development at Irish Repertory Theatre. Co-Founder and Artistic Director of On The Quays Productions. Selected participant in the Origin Theatre Company's inaugural Scéal Nua Program (2024-2025) at the Irish Arts Center. Graduate of The American Academy of Dramatic Arts conservatory acting program, and MFA in Directing from The Lir, National Academy of Dramatic Art, Trinity College Dublin. Www.nicolacmurphy.com |
Maree Kearns
Set & Costume Designer |
Maree’s career in set and costume design has led to her being a regular creative collaborator with many of Ireland's leading companies and directors in theatre, dance, opera, and musicals. She has created worlds for performance on stages big and small across Ireland and internationally, in site-specific locations, immersive experiences and outdoor productions.
Maree’s design work counts set and costume designs for The Abbey & Peacock Theatres, Anu Productions, The Ark, CoisCeim Dance Theatre Company, Bord Gais Energy Theatre, Everyman Theatre, Fishamble Theatre Company, Cork Opera House, An Grianann Theatre, The Corn Exchange, Landmark Productions, The Lyric Theatre, and many more. Maree has also worked extensively in television and film and is the course director for the Masters of Fine Art in Stage Design at the Lir Academy, Trinity College in Dublin. She is the recipient of the Tanya Moiseiwitsch design award at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre in 2024, and a winner of the Irish Times theatre award for set design. For more information see www.mareekearns.com |
Adam Honoré
Lighting Designer |
Adam Honoré is a Harlem based designer for the stage. Recent designs include Purlie Victorious (Broadway), Ain’t No Mo’ (Broadway), Ragtime (City Center), Cats: The Jellicle Ball (PAC NYC), The Lonely Few (MCC), Jelly’s Last Jam (Encores!), I Can Get It For You Wholesale (Classic Stage Co), Empire Records (McCarter), Gun & Powder (Papermill), and Trading Places (Alliance). Adam is a Drama Desk Nominee and recent recipient of the Obie Award for Sustained Excellence.
@itsadamhonore |
Denis Clohessy
Music & Sound Designer |
Denis has previously worked with The Abbey Theatre, The Gate Theatre, Fishamble, Rough Magic, CoisCéim, Junk Ensemble, Corn Exchange, Northlight Theatre, Chicago and Beijing Children’s Art Theatre. He won the Irish Times theatre award for Best Soundscape in 2011 and 2019. He was also a nominee in 2015 for Junk Ensemble and Brokentalker’s ‘It Folds’. Denis was an associate artist with the Abbey in 2008 and was a participant on Rough Magic’s ADVANCE programme in 2012.
Composition for Film and Television includes the feature films One Night In Millstreet (Fastnet Films) Older than Ireland (Snack box Films), His and Hers (Venom Film), The Irish Pub (Atom Films) and the animation series Will Sliney’s Storytellers (Fastnet Films). |
Eva Scanlan
Executive Director |
Eva Scanlan is the Executive Director at Fishamble: The New Play Company. Current and recent producing work includes Taigh/Tŷ/Teach, a trilingual co-production with partners in Scotland and Wales, In Two Minds by Joanne Ryan, Heaven by Eugene O’Brien, Outrage by Deirdre Kinahan, The Treaty by Colin Murphy, Embargo by Deirdre Kinahan, The Alternative by Michael Patrick and Oisín Kearney, On Blueberry Hill by Sebastian Barry, Fishamble’s award-winning plays by Pat Kinevane King, Before, Silent, Underneath and Forgotten, and many other productions on tour in Ireland and around the world.
Eva produces The 24 Hour Plays: Dublin at the Abbey Theatre in Ireland (2012-present), in association with the 24 Hour Play Company, New York as a fundraiser for Dublin Youth Theatre. She has worked on The 24 Hour Plays on Broadway and The 24 Hour Musicals at the Gramercy Theatre in New York. Previously, she was Producer at terraNOVA Collective in New York (2012-2015) and has worked on events and conferences at the New School, the Park Avenue Armory, and Madison Square Garden. |
Laura MacNaughton
Producer |
Laura MacNaughton has worked in the professional arts sector for over twenty years in Theatre, Film and Dance. She has worked primarily as a General Manager, Producer and Programmer. Laura has worked at a Senior Level in multiple arts organisations in Dublin, these include The Gate Theatre, The Dublin Dance Festival and The O'Reilly Theatre. Most recently she was Chief Operating Officer for First Fortnight, the mental health arts festival. She is Co-founder and Creative Producer for Exit Pursued by a Bear, a theatre company for Young Audiences. Their first work Our Little World by Owen Roe and Michele Forbes directed by Louise Lowe (2022) was commissioned in response to the impact of Covid on primary school children. Laura is a classically trained musician and also works with the Drama Department of Belvedere College. Current producing work for Fishamble includes In Two Minds by Joanne Ryan directed by Sarah Jane Scaife, Breaking by Amy Kidd, and the work of Pat Kinevane on tour in Ireland and internationally.
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Jim Culleton
Artistic Director - Fishamble |
Jim Culleton is the artistic director of Fishamble: The New Play Company, for which he has directed productions on tour throughout Ireland, UK, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the US, including 11 transfers Off-Broadway. His productions for Fishamble have won Olivier, The Stage, Scotsman Fringe First, and Irish Times Best Director awards. Jim has directed for many other companies, including the Abbey, the Gaiety, the Belgrade, Staatstheater Mainz, 7:84 Scotland, the Ark, Dundee Rep, Draíocht, Project, Amharclann de hÍde, Tinderbox, Passion Machine, Second Age, CoisCéim/Crash Ensemble/GIAF, and Trafalgar Theatre Productions on the West End. He has directed audio plays for Audible, BBC, and RTÉ. He has directed in the US for Solas Nua, Mosaic, Kennedy Center, Odyssey, Origin, Irish Arts Center, New Dramatists, Irish Rep, 59E59, and IAC/Symphony Space on Broadway.
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