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Marina Carr is an Irish playwright.
Born in Tullamore, County Offaly, Carr grew up in a household filled with literature. Both of her parents were writers: her father was a novelist and a playwright and her mother was a poet and a teacher. As a child, she read children's versions of Greek myths. These myths turned out to be major influences in many of her later works. One of her favorite myths, Medea, was used as an inspiration for her play By the Bog of Cats. Carr's mother died when she was just 17, influencing her future works such as "By the Bog of Cats," where the main character, Hester, experienced a very similar tragedy.
Carr attended University College Dublin, studying English and philosophy. She graduated in 1987. She recently received a honorary degree of Doctorate of Literature from her alma mater. She has held posts as writer-in-residence at the Abbey Theatre, Trinity College Dublin, and Princeton University. She served as Heimbold Professor of Irish Studies at Villanova University in 2003 and a professor of Irish studies at Villanova University. She has written 16 plays since her career began, and is considered one of Ireland’s most prominent playwrights. Her award-winning plays—largely poetic tragedies of rural Irish domestic life—have been produced around the world. She currently lives in Kerry and is a member of Aosdána. Her works have been translated into French, German, and Norwegian.
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