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The young writer tipped as the future of comedy

14/10/2003

"In our present day volatile and vulnerable world, I want to offer a reminder of our indelible common bonds and humanity."

Irish-born James O'Neill only recently discovered his Jewish ancestry and is using his experiences to help build bridges between nations. He says: "Since September 11 2001, there's a sense of fragmentation around the world. This is my opportunity to challenge the notion we can live happily in the ivory towers of our own making. In our present day volatile and vulnerable world, I want to offer a reminder of our indelible common bonds and humanity."

During the Fellowship, James plans to write a novel or substantial body of prose as well as collaborating with others on a live performance or art installation piece.

James is focusing on the similarities between the traditions of Jewish and Irish story-telling. The project is all the more poignant as James' wife Diana is Israeli.

He already has an international reputation for experimental comedy. His work for Lenny Henry In Pieces helped to win a prestigious Golden Rose of Montreaux award. Other credits include the BAFTA-winning BBC cult show, Big Train. Together with brother Eamonn and friend Martin Shea, he is also part of the acclaimed absurdist act, Universal Grinding Wheel, hailed by Time Out as the 'shining future of comedy'.

But James was inspired to take his writing into new territory when, five years ago, he discovered that his great grandmother had been a Polish Jew, who fled Eastern Europe to escape Hitler's atrocities.

As he learned more about his 'lost relatives', he became fascinated with the similarities between the Irish and Jewish people. "Both traditions, despite appalling tragedies such as the Famine and the Holocaust, have managed to maintain and foster rich, vibrant and human cultures," he says.

Focusing on the strong storytelling traditions of each culture, James says: "In a world where identities are becoming increasingly monolithic and polarized, I am seeking to build bridges between two unlikely but fascinating bedfellows.

"One of my favourite memories of childhood is when the storytellers - the seannachai - would call at our home and entertain us all for an hour or more. They are nowhere near as prevalent in today's more prosperous rural Ireland."

Already he is known for his television and radio work, with credits including Seven Floors for Radio 4, Bride to Be, and a pilot show for BBC2 with Tiger Aspect productions, Sleeper.

NESTA's Fellowship Director Venu Dhupa said: "We are delighted to take this opportunity to invest in a writer whose work has been thought to be too experimental for mainstream broadcast. Our investment in his creativity at this early stage means there are many possibilities for James - he could go on to write a novel or even the successor to television's The Office."