Bosco was appointed to the Board on a recommendation from the Selection Committee [Dr. Frances Ruane (Chair of the Abbey Theatre), Sheila Pratschke (Chair of the Arts Council) and Prof. Chris Morash (Vice-Provost of Trinity College Dublin)] and he will take up his appointment later this month.
Bosco has longstanding links with the Abbey Theatre. He joined the Abbey Company in 1970 as an actor, aged twenty-one. He remained with the Company for four years, after which time he left Ireland for the UK. He has since had a national and international career in theatre, radio, film and television. Over his career he has retained close ties with the Abbey Theatre and has worked with almost every Abbey Artistic Director including Hugh Hunt on (Purgatory), Tomás MacAnna (Borstal Boy, Ulysses In Nighttown, Philadelphia Here I Come, Patrick Mason (Observe The Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme, The Cherry Orchard), Garry Hynes (Famine) and Graham McLaren (Jimmy’s Hall). In addition, he has played in the first productions of plays by Brian Friel, Hugh Leonard, Frank McGuinness, Tom Murphy, amongst others.
Commenting on the appointment, Chair of the Abbey Theatre, Dr. Frances Ruane said ‘I am delighted to announce Bosco Hogan’s appointment to the Board of the Abbey Theatre. As well as being a distinguished actor on the national and international stage, Bosco has longstanding connections to the Abbey Theatre, dating back to his early career in the Abbey Theatre Company from 1967. His appointment reflects the Board’s stated wish to have its membership include a theatre practitioner.’
Bosco Hogan commented: Being appointed to serve on the Abbey Theatre Board is a very great honour. I am joining the Board at an especially exciting time, particularly as the building of a new home for The Abbey is in prospect. I hope I may be a conduit through which my fellow practitioners can have a meaningful input into its design. I consider the Abbey to be my theatrical alma mater, having been associated with it as an actor since 1967. I look forward to working with the Chair and my fellow Board members.’
The vacancy on the Abbey Board was as a result of the departure of Mark Ryan, who completed his two term tenure earlier this year. Bosco will join the current Abbey Board members: Dr. Frances Ruane (Chair), Dónall Curtin, Pádraig Cusack, Jane Daly, Loretta Dignam, Sarah Durcan, Kevin McFadden, James McNally, Sheelagh O’Neill and Michael Wall.
Dr. Frances Ruane added:
‘This is the first time that the Abbey Theatre Board Selection Committee has advertised a Board vacancy publicly, and we were delighted to have received excellent applications from an outstanding list of candidates. It is planned that all future vacancies will be similarly advertised.’
Bosco Hogan is one of Ireland’s best-known and most respected actors. Bosco was most recently cast in the role of Mendel in the feature film Mirage directed by Sil can der Woerd. Prior to that he filmed the role of James Lane in Citizen Lane directed by Thaddeus O’Sullivan for RTÉ. Recent credits include the role of Charlie Tobin in Eugene McCabe’s King of the Castle, directed by Garry Hynes for Druid, the role of Father Sheridan in Jimmy’s Hall directed by Graham McLaren for the Abbey Theatre and Stacie Passon’s feature film We Have Always Lived in the Castle, in which he played the role of Ol’ Ned alongside Sebastian Stan, Taissa Farmiga and Alexandra Daddario. Other recent screen appearances include season five of the History Channel’s Vikings, the role of Flint in The Flag, a feature directed by Declan Recks, the role of Dr. Louie Byrne in TV3’s Trial of the Century directed by Maurice Sweeney and Esras Film’s The Inquiry, in which he played the role of William Martin Murphy. He would also be familiar to many from his role a Bishop Piccolomini in Neil Jordan’s The Borgias. Theatre credits include the role of Old Pyper in Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme by Frank McGuinness, directed by Jeremy Herrin at the Abbey Theatre, the role of Alfieri in A View from the Bridge directed by Joe Dowling for the Gate Theatre, the role of Lane in The Importance of Being Ernest directed by Patrick Mason, also with the Gate Theatre (with performances at the Spoleto Festival, USA) the lead role of Séamus in Druid Theatre Company’s production of Tom Murphy’s play, Brigit and the acclaimed DruidShakespeare project. Bosco is based in Dublin.