The Animals, by Seán Buckley, directed by Sinéad Hourigan for National Theatre Connections 2026
A bruising, moving and surprising drama about education and learning within the Youth Custody System and the power of creative thought.
About the Writer
Seán Buckley is a playwright and screenwriter from south London. Plays include Matches for Monkeys; Between Dog and Wolf and Smithereens. Writing for screen includes Skins (E4); Polar Bear (Inflammable films/Film 4) and the BAFTA nominated (Best Drama) and international Emmy Award (Best TV movie and mini series) Responsible Child (Kudos/BBC2). Sean Buckley is former Writer in Residence (Pearson Award) with Royal Shakespeare Company.
About the Director
Sinéad first worked on NT Connections as assistant director with Deirdre Dwyer in 2022 & with Nick Kavanagh in 2023. Last year she directed her first connections show ‘Saba’s Swim’. She is a theatre maker from South Kilkenny and first got her passion for theatre as a member of Waterford Youth Arts. That spark from drama workshops gave her the push to study Theatre & Drama Studies in MTUs Cork School of Music. There she became interested in costume & makeup, prop & set design, directing, sound design and stage management. Now she is a drama tutor for Waterford Youth Arts and works to bring their shows to life each year.
Recent work includes: Directed ‘Three Doors Deep’, written by Mary O’Donoghue. Stage manager for ‘Stories Sketched in Glass’, directed by Veronica Coburn. Directed ‘Grasp’, written by Hannah Carberry. Directed ‘Tomorrows Wake’, written by Martina Collender. Directed ‘Saba’s Swim’, written by Danusia Samar. Directed ‘A Silent Message’, written by Martina Collender. Stage manager for ‘Under Milkwood’, directed by Jim Nolan. Directed ‘Fowl Play’ written by Mary O’Donoghue. Stage Manager, costume designer & sound designer for ‘The Blame & How to Avoid It’, directed by Liam Meagher. Assistant director for ‘Is This Good Enough?’, directed by Nick Kavanagh. stage manager and assistant director for ‘Remote’ by Stef Smith, directed by Deirdre Dwyer.
I’m really excited to be back working on NT Connections. The cast have jumped head first into rehearsals, exploring movement and how to give attitude on stage. It’s great to see the energy everyone is bringing to the rehearsal room in these first weeks. There is never an idea too big for WYA members which is why it’s so important to work with them. The cast and youth crew remind me why I love theatre so much when I see how genuinely excited they are to breathe life into this new script. There is hard work ahead but at least rehearsals will be filled with fun and laughter.
Assistant Director
Neeva
Stage Manager
Emma
The Cast
Gee – Eóghann
Jay – Ronan
Sam – Willow
Ede – Emily
Kelli – Polly
Zane – Leon
Don – Oisín
Asha – Isla
Nia – Annie
