I did some acting in the cops and robbers themed video for Brave Giant’s new track Way To Love. Fergal Costello directed the whole shebang with a stellar team on board.
Kate Gilmore, Ian McEvoy, Peter McGann and myself play a really inept band of robbers. The song recently shot to the top of the iTunes chart in Ireland.
You can take a gawk at the video right here.
I’m acting as a right ne’er do well in the new music video from Cat Dowling for her new single Trouble. It’s a grim Ra caper up the Wicklow mountains and the shoot was easily on a par with The Revenant. I assume. Anyway, it’s yet another cracking music video from Fergal Costello and a brilliant tune to boot.
Check it out here:
I had a very fun time last summer doing some directing on The Definitive View with Sneachta Ní Mhurchú by The Brownbread Mixtape. It’s got a very appealing synopsis which reads:
Ireland. The near future. You sit down with a cup of tay, and tune in to RTÉ Radio 1 to catch The Definitive View with Sneachta Ní Mhurchú: your favourite arty interview and playback show, featuring the quirkiest, murkiest Irish radio from the past week, hosted by Ireland’s most popular self-important presenter. A brand new comedy radio play with a live musical soundtrack, in the tradition of The Goons and Scrap Saturday.
It went on to be nominated for two Dublin Fringe Festival awards: Best Ensemble and The Bewley’s Little Gem award. It returns now for a week long run in Project Arts Centre with the powerhouse vocal talents of Eva Bartley, Gus McDonagh and Kalle Ryan behind it. It’s a “Pitch-perfect parody of RTE radio” as the Irish Independent called it.
It plays June 20th to 24th at 7.45pm nightly with tickets €16-€18. You can book them here.
I did a part in this terribly grim comedy from the warped minds of Sean Clancy and Peter McGann. The Lawless Mind chronicles the attempts of failed actor Mick Lawless to refashion himself as a mental health guru.
Locus Of Control is the debut feature film from writer/director Sean Clancy. We shot it last September/October around Leitrim, Sligo and Donegal. I was very lucky to get the role of Andrew Egan in the film and if I get hit by a bus in the morning, getting to play the lead in a feature film is one big tick on my bucket list.
It has been synopsised thus:
Stuck repeating the same pattern of mistakes again and again, Andrew Egan reluctantl
I described it as ‘The Shining’ on a Jobbridge scheme which was a joke but it is also a joke with an element of truth in it. Anyway, it’s about time there was an Irish movie that could be described as a ‘dole horror’ and this film definitely does that. It was a pleasure to work on and with such a brilliant cast, some of whom I’ve worked with before like Gus McDonagh, Peter McGann, John Doran, Ed Murphy, Aoife Spratt and Stephen Colfer and some I hadn’t worked with before like Seamus O’Rourke, Ciaran McCauley, Margaret Kilcoyne, Ciara Manning, Anthony Brennan and Pamela Devanney.
It’s a very funny, very dark, very odd film and an altogether accurate representation of being on the dole. It’s going to do great things for Sean and I can only hope to ride his coattails for years to come.
You can take a look at the trailer for the film right here.
Locus Of Control has its premiere on Wednesday October 12th at 6.30pm as part of this years Indie Cork film festival and we’ll be making a trip down to see it. If you want to see it, you can get some tickets right here.
A couple of my plays are now for sale on Playography Ireland if you’re the kind of person who likes buying and reading plays. Here’s what’s for sale at the moment.
Taboo (2016)
Taboo is a black comedy about the first date between a girl who doesn’t get out very much and a man who has trouble meeting new people. Lily cooks a three course meal. Tom brings flowers and wine. On the surface, everything seems fine. But in the modern world, dating is a surprisingly complex thing with a lot of unwritten rules.
“Morton’s script is by turns hilarious, and heart wrenching; and there is a good balance of well-observed naturalism and heightened drama” Emily Elphinstone, No More Workhorse
“A smart critique of dating in a modern world dogged by endless apps and devices” Chris McCormack, Exeunt Magazine
War Of Attrition (2013)
War Of Attrition is a comic thriller about a girl who attempts to track down the man behind the viral video that destroyed her life. With the help of a homeless drifter, she ensnares him. Soon all three develop a tense friendship that leads towards revolution.
“…funny, sharp, relevant and delivered with panache” Una Mullally, The Irish Times
“An Easter Rising / Wikileaks mash up … the bang-on zeitgeistsy script is backed up by excellent use of live technology, and a completely believable spiralling chain of events.” – Susan Conley, Irish Theatre Magazine
Smitten (2008/2011)
Smitten is a musical comedy about Claire, a former nurse, who returns to her hometown to try and fix the emotional wreckage she left in the wake of her emigration years previously.
“Morton uses all characters to convey the myriad of emotions we all experience, whether female or male but he encourages us to fight against them and think before we act.” Darragh Doyle, Yay.ie
“As ever, there is a newness, a freshness, an in-your faceness about Morton’s work” Liam Murphy, The Munster Express.
If you’d like to purchase any of them you can do so from the links on each title or right here.
I have nothing to do with this but I’m posting anyway because it’s going to be great and I can’t wait to see it.
I’ve just come off working on the first two parts of Devious Theatre’s Devious 10 programme, Heart Shaped Vinyl and The Hellfire Squad so I just get to watch the third one like a proper fan. And that third and final part is Pulled by Niamh Moroney.
A comedy about two girls fightin’ the fear. Who will pull through? Amanda or Michelle? Maybe they’ll just pull the heads off each other… Join these two man eating club stomping wans as they battle one of the worst hangovers of their lives as they attempt to follow a trail of snapchats, texts, and selfies back to memories long lost to shots- what and who they did last night?! How did Michelle end up here, where the hell was Amanda? Or… do they even want to know?
The Hellfire Squad kicked off last week for its run in Project Arts Centre. It went down an absolute storm thankfully and we were very surprised (not to mention delighted) to sell out the 7 performance run.
We’ve been bowled over by the reaction to it. Considering how long we’ve been developing it for, it’s great to see it go down so well with audience members. Here’s an article Peter McGann and myself wrote about the writing of it.
Devious Theatre complete the home leg of the run from Thursday July 28th to Saturday July 30th in The Watergate Theatre as part of this years AKA festival. We’re delighted to bring it home and hopefully it will be met with the same reaction it was in Dublin. If you fancy a ripping yarn about the origins of Michael Collins’ hit squad, you can book your tickets on 056 – 7761674 or get them online here.
Here’s some of the plaudits the show has received during its Dublin run.
“McGann and Morton’s script manages to be historically accurate and hilarious” – Sunday Business Post.
“A modern Irish classic” – Pure M Magazine
“Admirably, the playmakers are more interested in a reclamation project, restoring these secret fighters to the record.” – Exeunt Magazine
“The play zips along at breakneck speed under the tight direction of Sarah Baxter” – The Kilkenny People
“An innovative view of the period and shows that we don’t have to treat the heroes of yesteryear with solemnity.” – No More Workhorse
We’ve also made two trailers for the show which you can view here:
God bless the work.
Say your prayers, The Hellfire Squad have risen.
Here’s the first look at the titular band of assassins assembled by Michael Collins in the aftermath of the 1916 Rising. They will be brought to the stage in Devious Theatre’s newest production next month.
A work blessing, gun running, porter swilling, scheme hatching, agent killing, hooley throwing, ballad singing, yarn spinning, card playing, hurl swinging, bomb rigging, shit kicking, freedom fighting, bullet spewing, hell blazing shower of miscreants as you’ll ever meet. God bless the work.
I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited to put anything on the stage and I don’t think I ever will be again. Peter McGann and myself have been working on it for the past number of years and Sarah Baxter is currently doing a damn fine job of directing us into shape. The great costumes here are designed by Helen McGinty with some damn fine photography and design from Ken McGuire.
The show plays Project Arts Centre, Dublin from July 18-23 and Watergate Theatre, Kilkenny from July 28-30. For more visit devioustheatre.com
