DaDaAwards Nominations 10
Julie McNamara
In 2006, the DaDaFest Lifetime Achievement is awarded to Julie McNamara. We are delighted that Julie is receiving this honour in recognition of her many years of hard work, dedication to Disability Arts and her unfailing inspiration to lead others to believe in themselves, their culture and ultimately to become artists. She truly deserves this accolade.
"Julie McNamara wrote her first play at school aged 14: 'Freedom' was produced for Wirral Grammar. She went on to gain actress of the Year award 1977 and studied Creative Arts and Theatre at Trent Polytechnic. She worked alongside John Godber and Stephen Jeffries in National Student Theatre Company and continued to write her own shows. During her 'bleaker years' she fought the mental health system from the inside out and went on to work in Drama with groups of women in Long stay residential hospitals. She ran a women's group under the guise of a 'knitting circle', where women were encouraged to tell their stories, to speak out and to role rehearse their case conferences in advance.
Her show 'Rebel Without A Clue' with Judy Coutinho, toured the six counties in Ireland and peaked in Belfast. 'Life's A Drag' earned her a plethora of fans at Pride Arts Festivals. She has continually worked to build bridges in areas of conflict, to create opportunities for people often on the periphery of our communities. She worked in Bosnia in Voicework, Storytelling and Theatre in reconciliation projects designed to build new relationships amongst young people across the ethnic divides.
In 1998 She earned a 'Movers and Shapers Award' for Equality of Access for Disabled People in the Arts. Since 1998 she has worked as Director of London Disability Arts Forum and teamed up with Caglar Kimyoncu to create the now internationally successful Disability Film Festival. The festival is now in its 8th year of development and attracts over 3,500 visitors annually.
Her recent work, Pig Tales and Pig's Sister has had international success and attracted 'Critics Choice' in both the Times and Sunday Telegraph. She is aiming to tour in the UK next year.
Julie says: "I can move through many worlds, I am a disabled woman and an out and proud mad woman made good. I can articulate when something is wrong and fight for justice. That is my mission and my responsibility to do so. So I quite enjoyed impersonating a solicitor on a ward conference last year to ensure that a friend's sister was getting the right care and support. We got her off section! I'm not sure what they made of my insisting they all sang her Happy Birthday though!"
I haven't peaked yet! The world will hear from me again...
