Dan Horrigan

Published Monday 5 September 2005 at 13:20 by Nuala Calvi

Dan Horrigan is a face to watch on the fringe theatre scene.

At just 26 he has assisted William Galinsky on the acclaimed production of Venice Preserved at the Arcola and been shortlisted for both Channel 4’s directors scheme and the position of Sheffield Theatre’s resident director.

His own first play, Once Was Home, was performed at the Landor in 2001 and won the venue’s Travelling Through Life playwriting competition.

Now, with his theatre company Secret Centre Theatre, he is staging a self-penned modern reworking of Orestes at The Lion and Unicorn in Kentish Town.

“We’re a company of recent drama school graduates,” explains Dan. “It’s a collective of writers, directors and actors and we’re trying to produce new work of contemporary relevance.

“The themes we’re exploring are conflict and violence and how people can go from being civilised, decent human beings to carrying out acts of cruelty and war.”

Having done an MA in directing at Royal Holloway University, Dan went on to train as an actor with the Actors’ Company.

He has script read for the Arcola’s new writing festival, for which he also directed Up on the Roof by Richard Hardwick and has directed numerous plays at the Windsor Arts Centre, where he was youth drama director and house manager.