Dan Gordon (actor)

Dan Gordon (born 1961) is an actor, director and playwright from Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Dan Gordon
Born
Daniel Gordon

1961[1]
Belfast, Northern Ireland
Occupations
  • Actor
  • director
  • playwright
Years active1981–present
Spouse
  • Cathy Gordon
    ​
    (m. 1985)​
Children3 daughters

Early life

Gordon was born in Belfast in 1961, the son of David, a shipyard worker, and Irene.[2] He was educated at Sydenham Infants and Strand Primary (later renamed Victoria Primary) and Sullivan Upper School in Holywood where he developed his interest in acting.[3] He trained as a teacher at Stranmillis University College where he read English and Drama.[4]

Gordon left teaching and worked part-time at the Lyric Theatre in Belfast.[5]

Career

He is best known in Northern Ireland for his portrayal of Red Hand Luke in the BBC Northern Ireland sitcom Give My Head Peace. He starred in the Marie Jones monodrama A Night in November in the Tricycle theatre in London and again in the Lyric Theatre in Belfast.[6] The production played off-Broadway in 1998 and Gordon was nominated for a Broadway Outer Critics Circle Award for outstanding solo performance.[7]

He has also worked in dramas on BBC Radio 3 and 4, and is a columnist for the Belfast newspaper Sunday Life. In 2004 he won BBC Northern Ireland Drama's first ever radio drama competition.[8]

In 2009, he staged a self-written piece about Harland and Wolff Shipyards in Belfast. The play, provisionally titled All the Queen's Men, received its premier in an East Belfast church, known locally as the Shipyard Church. Now known as The Boat Factory,[9] it toured unusual venues during October 2010.[10] The production played the Edinburgh Festival 2012 and the following year played in New York at the 59E59 Theatre as part of the BRITS OFF BROADWAY JUN 4 - JUN 30,[11] 2013. The production also played at the King's Head Theatre Islington,[12] Theatre Clwyd Mold[13] and Gordon was nominated in the Best Actor category for an Off-West End 'OFFIE' award.

In 2015 Gordon appeared in The God of Carnage (Prime Cut Productions ) at Belfast MAC https://themaclive.com - The Shadow of a Gunman at The Abbey Theatre Dublin and Christmas Eve Can Kill You by Marie Jones at The Lyric Theatre Belfast. Christmas Eve Can Kill You is the most successful play produced by the Lyric Theatre to date breaking all box office records.[14]

Personal life

He married his wife, Cathy, in November 1984. The couple have three daughters: Sarah, Hannah and Martha.

References
  1. "The big interview: Dan Gordon".
  2. "Dan Gordon: 'While most men were building ships, others were at work with their pens'". Belfasttelegraph.
  3. "The big interview: Dan Gordon".
  4. "The big interview: Dan Gordon".
  5. "The big interview: Dan Gordon".
  6. "Postcolonial Text Vol 3 No 3 (2007)" (PDF). p. 6 (footnote). Retrieved July 22, 2012.
  7. "AWARDS FOR 1998-1999". outercritics.org. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  8. BBC Northern Ireland (2004). "Writing competition". BBC. Archived from the original on March 30, 2005. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
  9. "The Boat Factory". Archived from the original on March 13, 2012. Retrieved October 7, 2010.
  10. "The Boat Factory – launched in East Belfast last night". Slugger O'Toole Ltd. October 6, 2010. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
  11. "Boat Factory at 59E59 Theaters". 59E59 Theaters. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  12. "The Boat Factory, by Dan Gordon at King's Head Theatre - 115 Upper Street Islington London N1 1QN - London UK - more on OffWestEnd.com - Listings and showtimes for over 80 Off West End theatres in London UK". www.offwestend.com. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  13. "Clwyd Theatr Cymru offers a taste of the Celtic festival 2013 - gwanwyn.org.uk". gwanwyn.org.uk. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  14. Christmas Eve Can Kill You - Lyric Theatre Belfast, November 3, 2015, retrieved January 15, 2016
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