Rachel O’Regan is a multi-award-winning playwright based in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Born in the Eora Nation of Australia, she has Aotearoa New Zealand, Sāmoan, Scottish and Irish heritage. She began playwriting at Australian Theatre for Young People’s National Studio, where her monologue Red Bull was selected for their 2016 production The Voices Project: All Good Things. She soon moved to the UK and was accepted to Edinburgh Napier University’s MFA Playwriting programme, where she graduated top of her class.
Rachel’s first full-length play Hungerland won the Bread and Roses Playwriting Award in 2019. Her next play, Afterparty, was produced by feminist theatre company F-Bomb Theatre, of which Rachel is also co-director - it sold out its entire run at Edinburgh Fringe 2021.
Rachel’s most recent play, The Beatles Were A Boyband, was produced by F-Bomb Theatre and debuted at Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2022 at Gilded Balloon. Exploring women’s safety, it won a Scotsman Fringe First Award, the Sit-Up Award for social impact, and was longlisted for the Popcorn Writing Award. Rachel has also had development from BBC Writersroom as part of Scottish Voices.
Rachel is an experienced marketing professional in the theatre space. She has recently managed the campaigns for Stories Untold productions Remedy for Memory and Ode to Joy (How Gordon got to go to the nasty pig party), Anne Wood’s When Mountains Meet and Prickly Pear Productions’ Walking Home, as well as her own plays Afterparty and The Beatles Were A Boyband.
PRODUCTIONS
The Beatles Were A Boyband – F-Bomb Theatre, Edinburgh Festival Fringe (Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose)
Winner of The Scotsman Fringe First 2022
Longlisted for the Popcorn Writing Award 2022
Afterparty – F-Bomb Theatre, Edinburgh Festival Fringe (theSpace Triplex)
Shortlisted for Scottish Emerging Theatre Awards Production of the Year
Nominated for the New Writing Award
Hungerland – The Bread and Roses Theatre, London
Winner of the Bread and Roses Playwriting Award
Mens Rea (staged reading)
Edinburgh Napier University
Pepperoni Pizza (monologue)
Words in Progress, Pleasance Theatre Islington
The Infinite Shining Heavens (short play)
An Evening of Performances Inspired by Stevenson's 'Songs of Travel'
Positive (monologue)
Gateways, Redgates Theatre
Smart Girls (staged reading)
The Joy Offensive, Lyric Hammersmith
Red Bull (monologue)
The Voices Project: All Good Things, Australian Theatre for Young People
Radio adaptation for ABC Radio National
The Beatles Were A Boyband
Afterparty
Hungerland
Red Bull
RELEVANT EXPERIENCE
Scottish Voices 2022
BBC Writersroom
Script Reader
Bunbury Banter Theatre
Invited Residency
Varuna Writer's House
HighTide Writer's Group
National Studio, Australian Theatre for Young People
EDUCATION
MFA Playwriting with Distinction
Edinburgh Napier University, winner of the Class Medal
IN DEVELOPMENT
ARCADIA: A World-First Synthwave Musical
With Pensacola Mist
are you paying attention?
Shortlisted for Unlimited Open Awards
Attached to Emma Ruse Productions
Dessie and Em
Feminist Shakespeare adaptation
Devised Youth Theatre Play
Strange Town Theatre Company
God Bless! The Variety Show Spectacular to Save our NHS (Performed by One Woman, Due to Short Staffing)
Shortlisted for National Theatre of Scotland Develop Residency
JANE DOE
Comedy-drama series
SPOONIE
Comedy-drama series
There Are No Islands
PRAISE FOR THE BEATLES WERE A BOYBAND
“O’Regan and the cast use their good-natured charm to make the play’s points palatable and, in doing so, repurpose mainstream comedy as a weapon.”
— The Scotsman, ★★★★
“It is an incredibly refreshing play […] an exceptionally urgent message providing nuance, style and multiplicity to the voices against a culture of violence against women.”
— Binge Fringe, ★★★★★
“Wonderfully crafted, the characters are flawed, angry, and afraid, but also intelligent, strong, and full of wit [..] the script by Rachel O’Regan is painfully honest.
— The Student, ★★★★★
“It’s funny, raw, honest and relatable. This is a beautifully honest and confronting piece of theatre, this is exactly what theatre should do.”
— Lost in Theatreland, ★★★★★
“Whether it relights a fire in your belly or enlightens you about something you did not expect, this is definitely a show that will leave you with lots to think about.”
— All Edinburgh Theatre, ★★★★
“This fine show is often mischievous and funny but it always has its eye on the issue of male violence, never letting the rest of us off the hook.”
— British Theatre Guide, ★★★★
PRAISE FOR AFTERPARTY
“The narrative ascends into an astounding work of character art that flows perfectly between interpersonal conflict and critiquing the myth of social mobility.”
— Voice Magazine, ★★★★★
“Rachel O’Regan has created a loveable play, the use of Scottish slang made this play resonate with me. The comedy in this writing was superb.”
— Theatre Scotland, ★★★★½
“The brash script sizzles with energy, pulls few punches and perfectly showcases a truly talented cast.”
— Fringebiscuit, ★★★★
“Afterparty is a brilliantly executed piece of theatre that examines the expectations for girls who have grown up on council estates in small towns. The script is fantastic as it is wickedly funny throughout without making light of the serious societal issues the girls face.”
— Broadway World, ★★★★
“Rachel O’Regan’s script should be praised for it’s cutting wit. Behind the jokes is a hunger for change. Kickass, unafraid and bags of fun. Afterparty is a pop punk manifesto for our age.”
— Binge Fringe, ★★★★
“Afterparty pulls no punches in its humorous but bitter-sweet story set in small town Scotland. O’Regan’s script digs down into the reality behind the surface cliches of her characters. While the colour and shade of small town existence – which is the real story here – is filled in with enthusiasm and understanding.".”
— All Edinburgh Theatre, ★★★★
Contact: rachel@fbombtheatre.co.uk