Niall McNeil

Playwright / Screenwriter

Niall McNeil has been involved with theatre from an early age through his long association with the Caravan Farm Theatre in Armstrong BC.

Niall was an ensemble member of Vancouver’s Leaky Heaven Performance Society from 1999-2006 under Director Steven Hill.

In 2010 Niall performed in A Christmas Carol as a member of the English Acting Company of the National Arts Centre, Director Peter Hinton.

Niall and Marcus Youssef have co-written two Jessie Richardson award winning plays, Peter Panties Leaky Heaven (Neworld Theatre, 2011) and King Arthur’s Night (Neworld Theatre, 2017).

Niall acted in Marie Clements short film Pilgrims in 2012. Niall was a creative collaborator and subject of National Film Board of Canada feature length Documentary film Lay Down Your Heart. Directed by Marie Clements. Audience award winning at Vancouver International Film Festival 2022.

The Originals (2024) is Niall’s debut Documentary film as Writer and Director. Commissioned by TELUS ORIGINALS The Originals premiered at Vancouver’s DOXA Film Festival in 2024.

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: MY LIFE (2025) is Niall’s debut theatrical production as Writer and Director of a new play. Created in collaboration with choreographer Billy Marchenski, BBML had its world premiere at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre. Produced by Niall McNeil Productions.

 

Published Works

  • Anthology King Arthur’s Night and Peter Panties A Collaboration Across Perceptions of Cognitive Difference (Introduction by Al Etmanski) published by Talonbooks (2018)
  • Anthology Interdependent Magic: Disability Performance in Canada, Edited by Jessica Watkin. Published by Playwrights Canada Press (2022)

(Praise for King Arthur's Knight & Peter Panties:)

McNeil’s singular voice and imaginative inner landscape are at the centre of these works, and in them entirely new worlds and languages are invented. Through dialogue and play, through the power of association, he subverts expectations. In these plays McNeil and Youssef challenge the classifications that “neurotypicals” presume must be the only legitimate means of perceiving and naming the world.

Talon Books