Lisa Dwan
Encyclopedia
Lisa Dwan is an Irish
actress, from Coosan
, Athlone, Co. Westmeath
, Ireland
.
dancer. She was chosen to dance with Rudolf Nureyev
in the Ballet San Jose
's production of "Coppélia
" in Dublin when she was 12. She left school at 14, after winning a scholarship to attend a ballet school in Leeds
.
, co-starring Elijah Wood
and Richard Dreyfuss
.
Dwan's first regular series role was as Princess Deirdre, the Mystic Knight of Wind, on Saban's 'The Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog
. She played the role of Orla in eight episodes of RTÉ
's "The Big Bow Wow" in 2004, the role of Zoe Burke in 21 episodes of the Irish soap opera Fair City
from 2006 to 2007, and the role of Angel Islington on Rock Rivals
.
In January 2009 she starred opposite Martin Sheen
as "Marika" in Bhopal: Prayer for Rain
.
She performed in Samuel Beckett's Not I
in London's Battersea Arts Centre
in 2005, and was interviewed with Billie Whitelaw
as part of the Beckett celebrations on BBC Radio 3
.
Dwan performed the piece again in July 2009 in the Southbank Centre in London in a time of nine minutes and fifty seconds; it usually plays for anything between twelve and fifteen minutes.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
actress, from Coosan
Coosan
Coosan is a suburb just north of Athlone, County Westmeath. Surrounded on three sides by Lough Ree and one side by Athlone town itself, its population has grown since the Celtic Tiger from around 400 in the 1990s to roughly 5000 in the early 21st century. Due to its location on the edge of Lough...
, Athlone, Co. Westmeath
County Westmeath
-Economy:Westmeath has a strong agricultural economy. Initially, development occurred around the major market centres of Mullingar, Moate, and Kinnegad. Athlone developed due to its military significance, and its strategic location on the main Dublin–Galway route across the River Shannon. Mullingar...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
.
Early life
Dwan originally wanted to be a balletBallet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
dancer. She was chosen to dance with Rudolf Nureyev
Rudolf Nureyev
Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev was a Russian dancer, considered one of the most celebrated ballet dancers of the 20th century. Nureyev's artistic skills explored expressive areas of the dance, providing a new role to the male ballet dancer who once served only as support to the women.In 1961 he...
in the Ballet San Jose
Ballet San Jose
Ballet San Jose in San Jose, California, USA, was founded in 1986 as the "San Jose Cleveland Ballet," a co-venture with the ten-year old Cleveland Ballet which offered to the dancers added performing exposure, and each city a ballet company for a moderate, shared investment...
's production of "Coppélia
Coppélia
Coppélia is a sentimental comic ballet with original choreography by Arthur Saint-Léon to a ballet libretto by Saint-Léon and Charles Nuitter and music by Léo Delibes. It was based upon two macabre stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, Der Sandmann , and Die Puppe...
" in Dublin when she was 12. She left school at 14, after winning a scholarship to attend a ballet school in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
.
Career
Dwan's first movie was playing the role of Agnes in an adaptation of Oliver TwistOliver Twist (1997 film)
Oliver Twist is a 1997 television movie produced by Walt Disney Television, based on the popular novel of the same name by Charles Dickens. It aired during The Wonderful World of Disney...
, co-starring Elijah Wood
Elijah Wood
Elijah Jordan Wood is an American actor. He made his film debut with a minor part in Back to the Future Part II , then landed a succession of larger roles that made him a critically acclaimed child actor by age 9. He is best known for his high-profile role as Frodo Baggins in Peter Jackson's...
and Richard Dreyfuss
Richard Dreyfuss
Richard Stephen Dreyfuss is an American actor best known for starring in a number of film, television, and theater roles since the late 1960s, including the films American Graffiti, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Goodbye Girl, Whose Life Is It Anyway?, Stakeout, Always, What About...
.
Dwan's first regular series role was as Princess Deirdre, the Mystic Knight of Wind, on Saban's 'The Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog
The Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog
The Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nóg is an American television series set in a fantasy version of ancient Ireland, created by Saban Entertainment. It was loosely based on actual Irish mythology. The name derives from Tír na nÓg, one of the Otherworlds of Irish mythology. It was Saban's first fantasy...
. She played the role of Orla in eight episodes of RTÉ
RTE
RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...
's "The Big Bow Wow" in 2004, the role of Zoe Burke in 21 episodes of the Irish soap opera Fair City
Fair City
Fair City is an award-winning Irish television soap opera on RTÉ One. Produced by Radio Telefís Éireann, it was first broadcast on Monday, September 18, 1989...
from 2006 to 2007, and the role of Angel Islington on Rock Rivals
Rock Rivals
Rock Rivals is a British television drama series following the lives of two celebrity judges on an X Factor style show as their marriage falls apart. It was produced by Shed Productions, the company behind Footballers' Wives, Bad Girls and Waterloo Road...
.
In January 2009 she starred opposite Martin Sheen
Martin Sheen
Ramón Gerardo Antonio Estévez , better known by his stage name Martin Sheen, is an American film actor best known for his performances in the films Badlands and Apocalypse Now , and in the television series The West Wing from 1999 to 2006.He is considered one of the best actors never to be...
as "Marika" in Bhopal: Prayer for Rain
Bhopal: Prayer for Rain
Bhopal: Prayer for Rain is an upcoming historical-drama film set amidst the real-life Bhopal disaster that had occurred in India on December 2-3, 1984. Martin Sheen, Mischa Barton, Kal Penn, Tannishtha Chatterjee and Rajpal Yadav have been cast in the lead roles. The director, Ravi Kumar described...
.
She performed in Samuel Beckett's Not I
Not I
Not I is a twenty-minute dramatic monologue written in 1972 by Samuel Beckett, translated as Pas Moi; premiere at the “Samuel Beckett Festival” by the Repertory Theater of Lincoln Center, New York , directed by Alan Schneider, with Jessica Tandy and Henderson Forsythe .-Synopsis:Not I takes place...
in London's Battersea Arts Centre
Battersea Arts Centre
The Battersea Arts Centre is a performance space near Clapham Junction in Battersea, in the London Borough of Wandsworth that specialises in music and theatre productions.-History:...
in 2005, and was interviewed with Billie Whitelaw
Billie Whitelaw
Billie Honor Whitelaw, CBE is an English actress. She worked in close collaboration with Irish playwright Samuel Beckett for 25 years and is regarded as one of the foremost interpreters of his works...
as part of the Beckett celebrations on BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation...
.
Dwan performed the piece again in July 2009 in the Southbank Centre in London in a time of nine minutes and fifty seconds; it usually plays for anything between twelve and fifteen minutes.