Writing Biography

In 2008, S.J. Horan graduated with an MA in Creative Writing (Plays and Scripts).

Productions to date...

PLAYS

Fishermen at Sea August 2008 was written by S.J. Horan, directed by Russ Hope and produced by Red on Black Productions. This was staged as a showcase for new writers under the umbrella of The Turner Plays, and part of the Camden Fringe at the Etcetera Theatre. The play deals with religion, family tragedy and the impossibility of forgiveness.

All or Nothing October 2009, was written by S.J. Horan, Directed by Lucy Collingwood (BBC) and produced by Ziella Bryers at the Caldercott Bookshop Theatre, as part of the Love Bites series. Just in time, a love-struck man realises the superficial nature of his girlfriend and escapes her clutches.

Family Holiday May 2010 written, co-directed and produced by S. J Horan, at the Cockpit Theatre, Marylebone, London. This play deals with deep family tensions and long-held resentments.

All In The Mind written by S.J. Horan was selected by a new theatre company to stage as part of their inaugural show.This comedic play, partly inspired by The Odd Couple, deals with the perception of relationships. Two people, one relationship, two very different stories. It was produced as a radio play during the pandemic.

A fifth sitcom-play, Berlusconi's Last Bunga, was favourably reviewed by playwrights and actors alike. It tells the story of an unemployed London-based Italian who has grandiose ideas about saving the world. From his flat in Hounslow and using the latest technological modernity, he plots to bring down an Italian President. All the while receiving parcels of cheese from his Mamma in Sicily.

That's Life and One Fine Evening the second and third parts of Sally's Irish Trilogy will be produced in Summer 2022. The plays deal with the devastating effects of rape and the hand of fate.

All That Glitters, written by S. J. Horan, was performed in Kent in August 2015 and produced by Sam Hall of 17 % Theatre Company. This play deals with the illusion that is the idea, the grass is always greener.

Ménage à quatre, a play by S. J. Horan about the feminist writer Simone de Beauvoir and her strange love affair with the existentialist Jean Paul Sartre - favourably reviewed, waiting production.

A short, comic Nativity play, Gavin Loses his Way, written by S.J.Horan was to be produced in Barnes in December 2020 as part of the Christmas Cracker Show but the show was cancelled due to the virus. A rather impish take on a former Education Secretary.

A radio play, Dance me to the end, was judged best radio drama by an actress on a well-known BBC Radio Drama in October 2021.

FILMS

One of Sally's short comedic films, Revenge is a Hot Chocolate Fudge Cake, was favourably reviewed by a local BAFTA judge and deals with a woman scorned. She plots and schemes to ruin her ex's wedding day, but, on the big day, really doesn't intend to be so mean...

Larry Lobbyist – a short film campaigning against a possible third runway at Heathrow, written, directed and co-produced by S.J. Horan reached the finals of a competition organised by Zac Goldsmth, MP for Richmond in June 2014. It can be viewed on his website.

In early 2015, Sally was honoured to be asked to make film adapatations of the winning children's stories in Screen Your Story. This is a London-wide competition, run by Dr. A. Mullins to raise money and awareness for CMV, a cruel and little-known virus which can have devastating effects on children. There was a fun-filled Gala in Barnes in July 2015 to present prizes to the children, hosted by Alistair McGowan and Jack Whitehall, amongst other glittering stars.

In October 2015, Sally adapted a story devised by Dr. Anne Mullins into a short film, Cinderella Charidy. This is currently being shot and is soon to be shown on YouTube to raise awareness of the illness.

In 2014, Sally’s first feature film, A Spell in Greece, was developed at the National Film and Television School as part of a project. It’s been redrafted several times – and is waiting to be produced. A feel-good film.

Sally’s second feature film, Supper's Off – an update of Shirley Valentine, was completed in 2017 but redrafted in the summer of 2020. A London agent – and many older women – have favourably reviewed it.

Sally’s third feature film, City in Flames, was completed in December 2021. It recounts one of the worst refugee crises of the twentieth century: the historian and writer, Giles Milton, likens its suffering to that of Treblinka. The inspiration for this film is her Greek grandfather who, back in 1922, was forced to flee Smyrna – formerly of the Ottoman Empire – along with hundreds of thousands of other Greeks and Armenians, as it burned to the ground. A former BBC director and award-winning writer has called it a “blockbuster.”

On the slate...

Sally is currently in pre-production of a short film, Goodbye Sunshine, which deals with the terrible and senseless scourge of knife-crime. Through the prism of life-changing grief, it recounts the tragic death of a fouteen-year -old knife victim. Of the devastation it brings to his mother and sister. It aims to shock and encourage young boys and men to reflect on their actions. It will be dedicated to Sally's dearly-loved brother, who so tragically and unexpectedly died in January this year. We hope to show it in schools and film festivals.

REVIEWS

  • "Loved it! The play flows so well and the dialogue is clever yet fast-paced and very funny. I'm in awe, seriously – this is a superb piece of work..." Musician
  • "A very well crafted play – mature and assured." Dramaturge and Playwright
  • "I liked the light tone and thought there were some very funny moments." Literary Agent
  • "Masterpiece" Actor
  • "The relationship between the mother-in-law and the daughters-in-law is fascinating and dealt with confidently, presenting tensions between women brought together by circumstance in sophisticated, atypical ways." Theatre Reviewer
  • "It brought out the turbulent passion in Turner's paintings and identified with the boiling, messy emotions churning away in his seascapes." Theatre Reviewer
  • " I just love your writing" – Producer