Tómas Mac Anna facts for kids

Tomás Mac Anna (born Thomas Francis McCann) was a very important Irish theatre director and playwright. He was born on March 5, 1924, and passed away on May 17, 2011. He was even nominated for a special award called the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play in 1970 for a play he directed called Borstal Boy.

Early Life and Education

Tomás Mac Anna was born in a town called Dundalk in Ireland. He went to school at the College of Art in Dublin. This is where he learned about art and design.

For a short time, from 1945 to 1947, he worked as a customs officer. This means he helped control what goods came into and left the country.

Working at the Abbey Theatre

After working as a customs officer, Tomás Mac Anna started his career in theatre. He worked at the Damer Theatre and then at the famous Abbey Theatre in Dublin. At first, he produced plays that were in the Irish language.

He became a very important person at the Abbey Theatre. In 1966, he became an Artistic Adviser. This meant he gave advice on the theatre's artistic choices. Later, he became the Artistic Director twice, from 1972 to 1979 and again from 1984 to 1985. An Artistic Director is in charge of all the plays and performances at a theatre.

Tomás Mac Anna was known for his new and fresh ideas as a director. He helped to make the Abbey Theatre's plays more modern and exciting after it reopened in 1966.

Directing Borstal Boy

One of his most famous works was directing the play Borstal Boy. This play was very successful. It even moved to New York City, where it won the Tony Award for Best Play. This is a huge award for plays! Tomás Mac Anna himself was nominated for Best Direction of a Play at the 24th Tony Awards in 1970 because of his amazing work on this show.

His Own Plays and Pantomimes

Besides directing, Tomás Mac Anna also wrote plays. He helped write Irish pantomimes for many years. Pantomimes are fun, musical plays, often based on fairy tales, that are popular around Christmas.

He also wrote his own original plays. Some of these include Winter Wedding (from 1956), Dear Edward (from 1973), and Scéal Scéalaí (from 1977). He also wrote a special play called Glittering Spears (from 1983). This play was like a drama and a documentary about another play called The Silver Tassie.

Later Years

Tomás Mac Anna passed away in Bray, County Wicklow, when he was 84 years old. He left behind a great legacy in Irish theatre.