Damian Gorman is a playwright, poet, and committed peacebuilder who has used his art to build bridges in theatres, playhouses and peace centres all over Ireland and the world. He has addressed large audiences and he has worked with small groups facilitating challenging conversations in places of conflict. Born in Newcastle, County Down, Damian has devoted much of his career to exploring the human stories that emerged from the Troubles, fostering dialogue and understanding through theatre, poetry, and community engagement. He has recently taken up the role of Head of Peacebuilding at the brilliant charity Children In Crossfire.
Recently, he served as International Resident Artist at the Playhouse’s Theatre and Peacebuilding Academy, developing the stage production Anything Can Happen…, which reflects the voices of those affected by conflict, particularly in 1972, the most bloody year of the Troubles. He is a fellow of the Oxford Initiative for Global Ethics and Human Rights, underscoring his commitment to ethical storytelling as a vehicle for reconciliation.
In this conversation with Jonny Clark we speak generally with Damian about his life and his work. Towards the end of the interview we spoke about a recent work of his called “BOY” which was written about the life of his older brother Gerard, a victim of clerical sexual abuse. For support if this conversation was triggering contact Nexus NI
Among so many works written by Damian, in the last year he has written a musical drama honouring the life of John and Pat Hume, called Beyond Belief and he has also written a play called “Witness” about the inspirational life of peacebuilder and community activist, Richard Moore.
His most recent publication is B O Y S which is a limited edition made up of scripts from WITNESS and from BOY about his brother’s abuse. His selected poems and memoir “As If I Cared” is available from Blackstaff Press or good bookshops.
