Desmond O'Connor
Born1972
Northampton, England, UK
Other namesDes O'Connor
Occupation(s)Cabaret performer, composer, lyricist, educational psychologist
SpouseZoie Kennedy
Websitehttp://www.desmondoconnor.com
http://www.twiceshytheatre.com

Desmond O'Connor (also known as Des O'Connor) is an English ukulele-playing cabaret host and musical comedy performer. He is a composer and lyricist and musical director/co-creator for the Twice Shy Theatre.[1]

Career

Des O'Connor was a member of the Cambridge Footlights at the same time as Mitchell and Webb, Richard Ayoade and Matthew Holness.[1] After a year away from Cambridge, he became musical director of the Footlights at the invitation of David Mitchell.[1] At one point, O'Connor was a Latin teacher.[1] In 2010 he was a presenter for MTV UK at Bestival and The Big Chill.[2] In 2009 he was composer, lyricist and musical director of Scott Mills The Musical for BBC Radio 1, working alongside co-writer Emlyn Dodd and director Patrick Wilde. Patrick Wilde directed the musical Failed States, written by Desmond O'Connor and Andrew Taylor, which won Best Book and Best Lyrics in the MTM UK musical theatre awards in Edinburgh in 2006. Failed States was revived this year for a run at St James' Theatre, London and at Latitude Festival, 2015, to mark the 10-year anniversary of the London bombings. He and Taylor also wrote the musical Toxic Bankers, which enjoyed an extended run at the Leicester Square Theatre in 2011.

Shows

O'Connor produced and starred in And the Devil May Drag You Under and Desmorphia which showed at the Brighton Festival Fringe in 2009 and 2010 respectively.[3][4] And the Devil May Drag You Under has also played in Berlin and at Latitude Festival. O'Connor has made regular club and festival performances in London, Dublin, Amsterdam, Berlin and New York, and at the New York Burlesque Festival 2008.[5] He has a growing and loyal fan base.[5]

In 2008 he was co-producer of the Ministry of Burlesque's High Tease during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and at Glasgow's Old Fruitmarket in December. In September of that year he produced Fallen Angels with Julie-Ann Laidlaw, a show that has been subsequently produced in Berlin. With Laidlaw, O'Connor created and produced Vive le Cabaret at the Pleasance during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2010, which won Best Cabaret in the "Edinburgh Spotlight" awards.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Des O'Connor: The cabaret king of UK burlesque speaks exclusively to Bizarre". Bizarre. Archived from the original on 11 March 2012. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  2. ↑ "Desmond O'Connor". The Martini Lounge, Liverpool. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  3. ↑ "Fletch at St Andrews – Cabaret". Fletch Productions, Brighton. Archived from the original on 6 March 2009. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  4. ↑ Cooper, Sascha (11 May 2010). "Fringe Review, Brighton Fringe 2010 – Desmorphia". Archived from the original on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  5. 1 2 "Beyond the Cabaret – Des O'Connor". Archived from the original on 11 May 2011. Retrieved 29 March 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)


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