Clare McMahon

Clare McMahon is a playwright and actor based in Belfast and is Co-Creative of Commedia of Errors. A graduate of the Lir Academy’s MFA Playwriting she is currently under commission with Lyric Theatre, Kabosh Theatre, Commedia of Errors and is one of the Abbey Theatre’s Centenary development awardees. The Gap Year is her Lyric Theatre mainstage debut. It was first developed through Fishamble’s Play for Ireland 2018, the Lyric Theatre’s New Playwrights Programme 2019, selected for New York’s 1st Irish Origin Festival as part of their Vital Voices programme and produced for the Lyric’s ‘Listen at the Lyric’ audio series 2020. She was a shortlisted writer for the Zodiak Kids Award with CBBC.

Previous plays include: Shakespeare’s Women, Women Troubles (cowriter), and I Am Maura.

As an actor Clare trained at Royal Central School of Speech & Drama and has worked in theatres across the UK & Ireland including the West End’s The Cripple of Inishmaan, A Midsummer Nights Dream (The Almeida) and Philip Pullman’s Twist of Gold (Polka Theatre).

She has worked with most companies in Northern Ireland including The Lyric, The Mac, Tinderbox, Bruiser and Cahoots.

Television credits include playing Fanny in The Woman in White (BBC1) and Carlo in Agatha - The Truth of Murder (Netflix).