About Barbara
Barbara Bergin is a writer and actor from Dublin, Ireland. She trained as an actor at the Samuel Beckett Centre, Trinity College Dublin.
She has performed and written for Screen, Audio and Theatre. Writing credits include Love is the Drug and The Clinic (RTÉ Television), and she created On the Couch (TV3) a 6 part tragi-comedy, co-written with Gary Cooke, which she also directed. Plays include The Bulletin for The National Archives UK, Dublin Gothic and 14 Voices from the Bloodied Field for The Abbey Theatre, Ireland’s national theatre. She is the recipient of an Irish Times Irish Theatre award, an Irish Film and Television award, a Markievicz award from The Arts Council of Ireland and a Commemoration Bursary from the Abbey Theatre.
News
Dublin Gothic by Barbara Bergin has been nominated for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize.
Commenting on the news, playwright Barbara Bergin said: “I am so humbled to be nominated for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize and to receive this news as the play comes alive on Ireland’s national stage is a moment I couldn’t have imagined. Dublin Gothic is set in the heart of Dublin City – where I am from, and to find myself nominated among such exalted international artists is a thrill and an honour. Proof, I hope, that all our stories speak to each other.”
Literary and New Work Director at the Abbey Theatre, Ruth McGowan said: “A play like Dublin Gothic doesn’t cross your desk very often. Intricate and bold, it’s an epic story told across a century of action on the streets surrounding us here at the Abbey Theatre. Teeming with life and wit, the scores of indelible characters spring directly off its pages and into your heart. We’re so proud have commissioned this play, and I am thrilled that this recognition from the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize will introduce further readers to Barabara Bergin’s exuberant imagination and meticulous craft.”
Founded in 1978, the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize is one of the world’s most prestigious awards in playwrighting. It honours women+ writers across the world who have written English-language plays. The last Abbey nominee who went on to the win the prize was Marina Carr in 1997 for her play, Portia Coughlan. Barbara Bergin’s nomination this year follows that of Carys D. Coburn who was nominated for the 2025 award with BÁN, which had its world premiere on the Peacock Stage of the Abbey Theatre in October as part of Dublin Theatre Festival.
The winner will be announced at a ceremony at the Royal Court on 26th February.
Current Projects
Dublin Gothic is currently running at the Abbey Theatre until 31 January 2026.