It’s a small world
Suaimhneas theatre company was set up by co-founders Francesca Garry and Jodie Sweeney when they met in the city that never sleeps ,New York back in 2025.
Both Irish creatives quickly realised working together made perfect sense in a industry that felt ever complex and incredibly challenging. They wanted to lean in on what theatre and the arts meant to them and that was simple. It felt like tranquillity. It felt like home.
They are committed to creating a space where new work is welcomed and artistry can truly flourish.
Our Team
Jodie Sweeney
Co-founderJodie Sweeney is an Irish creative whose voice is rooted in unearthing urgent, contemporary stories. Drawn to theatre that explores identity, gender, and the complex spaces where people try to connect. Whether working on a solo performance or an ensemble piece, her goal is always to create a space that feels visually and emotionally alive.
Jodie thrives on new writing and loves the thrill of working with a living text and a living writer. Molded by her training as an actor and combining it with her MA in Theatre Performance from UCD. Her practice is about collaboration, curiosity, and staging stories that challenge audiences to look at the world differently.
Her directing practice has been forged in the vibrant, fast-paced world of new work festivals. Her most recent directing credits include Groceries (2026) written and performed by Francesca Garry at the Pearse Centre Dublin. CyberSex (2026) written by Kate Devaney performed at Smock Alley Theatre for the scene and heard festival of new work. Mo Smaointe (2025) performed and devised by both Sweeney & Garry as part of the Riff Raff Theatre Festival: Immigrant Stories NYC at The Rat Dumbo. Was I Not A Girl (2024) written by Montgomery Quinlan as part of the Dublin Gay Theatre Festival.
Beyond directing her own work, Jodie’s practice is deeply informed by working alongside exceptional leaders on international stages. Jodie served as the Assistant Director on Kwaku Fortunes international debut of The Black Wolfe Tone (2025) working under the brilliant guidance of director Nicola Murphy Dubey. Jodie expanded her understanding of scale and immersive storytelling in New York. Working as a production assistant with performing responsibilities on the Irish Repertory Theatres Off Broadway production of The Dead 1904 (2024) directed by Ciaran O’Reilly.
Most recently Jodie brought all these threads together by co-leading her company, Suaimhneas Theatre Company alongside co-founder Francesca Garry, for their debut at Edinburgh Fringe Festival with MNÁ (2026).
Co-founder Francesca Garry
Interested in the real unfiltered experiences of humans while still capturing the weird and wonderful lives they lead, Francesca is committed to creating work that pushes people to think about things in new ways.
“ I want Suaimhneas Theatre Company to be a space, a community for artists that support and collaborate with other artists making new work, while having the shared goal of telling and creating stories that need to be told”
Francesca is repped by The Lisa Richards Agency since Graduating at The Gaiety School of Acting in 2022.
Her credits include MNÁ @ the Greenside venue Edinburgh(2026) ,Groceries directed by Jodie Sweeney @ the Pearse Centre(2026) , The national lottery campaign directed by Lochlainn McKenna(2026).
Francesca Garry is also a musician. Releasing original music earlier this year available from Spotify.
“ There a million ways to tell stories, I like to combine my theatre background with my musical one if and when I feel it serves the story I am telling”