URSULA DE BRUN

Ursula de Brun was born in Dublin and spent her childhood in Brooklyn.
A writer for the past twenty years she has written for TV, stage, radio and print and was  a scriptwriter on Series 6 of the popular BBC series Ballykissangel.

Her work includes six plays written for the stage, four of which have been produced in theatres such as Andrews Lane (Dublin), Town Hall (Galway) and the Dunamaise (Portlaoise).

Three radio plays have been produced by RTE (Radio Telefis Eireann). In 1994, she won the P.J. O’Connor Playwright award.

Her short stories have appeared in a number of anthologies: The Brandon Book of Short Stories, Phoenix Irish Short Stories and Mercier Press Francis McManus collection. She is a winner of a Francis McManus radio short story award.

Ursula lives in Dublin where she facilitates workshops in creative writing and gives drama writing courses for Univercity College of Dublin Adult Education Dept

BABY YOU CAN DRIVE MY CAR

 The de Laceys are a family still getting over the sudden death of William. His wife, Christine is trying to come out from behind the fiction of a happy marriage. His younger daughter Sassy ‘a dishevelled mess and foolish in love’ fights with her sister Lisa over his classic car - but much more besides. And his mother Elizabeth holds secrets and memories she can't share not even with her husband.
 
Into the lives of this staid, fractured, middleclass Dublin family comes the showbiz Siskinds from New York. Joe Siskind (Joey Sisk to his fans) is a singer on the slide with a long term commitment phobia. Harold, his younger brother, is a Broadway musical director in search of a gig and his Irish ancestry. Their mother Ruth who once was a dancer at Radio City calls Ireland ‘that godforsaken place’ though only she knows why. And there’s Rebecca, Joe’s seventeen year old daughter, hovering on the fringes – both of the family and showbiz  - wondering why she has never met her Grandma Ruth. 

Fate brings the two families together when Harold gets an offer to direct a production of La Cage aux Folles in Dublin and Christine, by virtue of the conflict over William’s car, is manipulated into becoming his driver. When Sassy’s life spirals out of control and she drags Rebecca down with her both the de Laceys and the Siskinds are forced to discover things not just about themselves but about the part each of us plays in the making or breaking of a family. 

Rights available: World