Esosa Ighodaro

Esosa Ighodaro is a screenwriter, director, vocalist, and actor based in Dublin.

She is currently developing projects for TV – Homeshare, Disconnected and Delaney. As well as developing two stage plays, Down with Jazz, a farce and Let Me In.

Her Screen Ireland funded short film, Round Boxes, recently won the audience choice award at Baltimore Black Film Festival. She won the pitching competition for the X-Pollinator ELEVATOR programme with her feature Just Enough Chilli.  She subsequently wrote and directed a proof of concept short, A Little Chilli.

Her work aims to highlight black talent and tell more varied stories of the black experiences in Ireland, using humour to explore more serious themes.

Residency Description

During my one-year residency at axis I developed a new play, SHOLA & OLU, as well as shorter pieces exploring black identity in Ireland informed by conversations with other Black Artists. The discussions were framed around the question of what it means to be a Black Irish creative.

Over the first year of my 3-year residency, I have been building on these ideas and further developing Shola & Olu to present a rehearsed reading as part of Dublin Theatre Festival. I will also be bringing together a group of Black Creatives for another peer to peer sharing and feedback session where we not only share our work, but also ask questions, discuss challenges, and seek inspiration. Considering our place, prospects and sustainability within the Irish Arts industry.