What's in a Name? | Martin 'Beanz' Warde on Identity, Comedy and Creative Storytelling

This week on All Lit Up, Managing Director Claire Finn steps in as host to welcome writer, comedian, TV host and activist, Martin 'Beanz' Warde to the Lighthouse Library.Martin unpacks what it meant to grow up a gay Traveller in a small Irish town, how creative storytelling is in both his blood and his name, and how he considers which projects to work on next. He shares how his play (soon-to-be short film) The Dead House, was inspired by the sight of men laughing at a funeral and why he thinks comedy is the best way into hard subjects.Plus, hear an exclusive scoop on a new project Martin is working on with Lighthouse Studios...In a conversation that ranges from the nomadic history of Irish Travellers through how the nickname 'Beanz' came about to the sound of rain on a tin roof, Martin closes with a reading of an original piece written to a 1963 photograph of his grandparents' wagon, Home.____Martin Beanz Warde is a multi-disciplinary artist and a prominent voice in today’s Irish media. As Ireland's first gay Traveller comedian, he uses his platform to advocate for human rights, most recently as the TV presenter of RTÉ’s sustainability docuseries The End of the World with Beanz (2024-).As a comedian, he’s worked with Des Bishop on Joy in the Hood (2005) and toured Ireland with his stand-up show Gomey Feen (2019). As an award-winning journalist and photojournalist, he writes for The Irish Times and the Examiner and has opened two exhibitions on Traveller identity and experiences - Through Our Eyes at Photo Museum Ireland and The Mincéirí Archives with the National Museum. As a writer and performer, he sold out his one-man show The Dead House (2023) at its opening run in Dublin Theatre Festival, and has just wrapped production on the short film adaptation. With a BA in Sociology and Politics from NUI and an MA in Journalism from University of Limerick, Martin is also highly-sought-after TV and radio guest.____All Lit Up! is a Lighthouse Studios production.Visit lighthousestudios.ie or follow the studio on social media to stay up to date with all news and the latest episodes.Instagram: @lighthousestudiosireLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lighthousestudios