Matthew McElhinney
Director
Matthew McElhinney is an actor and director from Northern Ireland. His directorial career began when he assisted on the award-winning Crimea Square which picked up the Audience Choice Award at the Belfast Festival. From there he has gone from strength to strength securing a top five spot in 2017 Edinburgh Fringe and a five-star review in The British Theatre Guide with his work on Frank Carson; Rebel without a Pause. He has directed large scale outdoor family events, Footsteps in the Forest, and Waking the Giant for Newry, Mourne and Down District Council. And the commemorative events of Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching towards the Somme for Orangefest and Letters from the front, for Remembrance Day. All met with much acclaim. He took the helm as community director on We’ll Walk Hand in Hand, a large community outreach project and stage play exploring Civil Rights in Northern Ireland. His recent production of Betrothed, appeared at Belfast’s Grand Opera House to a completely sold-out run. He is also working on bringing to stage the story of the world-famous Dead Rabbit bar in New York. Matthew recently directed the 25th anniversary production of A Night in November, before the pandemic, where it was received glowingly from audiences and critics alike before setting out on an Irish tour. It was set to transfer to New York. Unfortunately, Covid 19 struck and so he put together a digital online performance for the IAC in New York pioneering the new medium of immersive live performance in a digital post Covid world. It is due to return for an English tour this year to the Chiswick Theatre, London and the MINACK, Cornwall. Matthew is excited by the prospect of reclaiming and reimagining this production of his mother’s play, Stones in His Pockets, with the exciting and dynamic creative team at The Barn Theatre.