Honor Molloy (; born May 25, 1961) also known as Honour Kane, is an Irish-American playwright and librettist. Known for her “signature acrobatic language”Grote, Jason. “Review: Summerworks, 2005.” New York Press, May 17, 2005. https://www.clubbedthumb.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/ClubbedThumb_Reviews_2005.pdf and “kaleidoscopic use of malapropisms,” Molloy’s plays and musicals have been produced at over 100 venues across the United States, Canada, England, Ireland, Australia, and India.Molloy, Honor. “Honor Molloy (Playwright): Credits, Bio, News & More.” BroadwayWorld. Accessed November 5, 2025. https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Honor-Molloy/ .
Throughout her career, Molloy has been awarded a Pew Fellowship in the Arts, a Harvard Radcliffe Fellowship, a National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship, 3 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowships, 2 Frederick Loewe Awards for Musical Theatre, and a Creative Capital Award. In 2017 she received a Proclamation from the New York City Council for "Contributions to Irish Culture."Millay Arts. “Honor Molloy,” Millay Arts (website). Accessed September 1, 2025. https://www.millayarts.org/artist/honour-molloy/
Andy Webster of The New York Times has compared Molloy’s writing favorably to that of Conor McPherson and Martin McDonagh.Webster, Andy. “Review: Crackskull Row: An Irish Gothic with Masher Basher and Rasher.” The New York Times, September 17, 2016. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/17/theater/review-crackskull-row-an-irish-gothic-with-masher-basher-and-rasher.html. Stanley Crouch of the New York Daily News once described Molloy as “beyond recommendation, her writing and performances should be mandatory events for all civilized people.”Molloy, Honor. Smarty Girl: Dublin Savage. Narrated by Honor Molloy, Kevin Holohan, Susan McKeown, and Aedin Moloney. Unabridged audiobook. New York: Simon & Schuster Audio, 2012. https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/smarty-girl-honor-molloy/1112359702
Early life and education Molloy was born in Dublin, Ireland,Molloy, Honor. “Honor Molloy: Hearing Voices.” Writing.ie. December 28, 2015. Originally published in Irish Echo, December 9, 2015. https://www.writing.ie/interviews/stage-screen/honor-molloy-hearing-voices/ where she developed an early love for theatre. Her father, John Molloy, was an actor and playwright at the Abbey Theatre, and her mother Yvonne Molloy was a writer and director for RTÉ and BBC Radio. In a 2017 interview with the Irish Repertory Theatre, Molloy recalled that,
As a child, Molloy appeared as Noeleen Feeney, the daughter of her father's character Oliver Feeney, on the RTÉ drama serial Tolka Row. Set in a fictional housing estate on the northside of Dublin, the drama ran for five series from 1964 to 1968.
Molloy later immigrated to Pennsylvania with her mother, spending her adolescence in Greater Philadelphia. She attended NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, where she obtained a BFA in Drama. She later attended Brown University, where she studied under the playwright Paula Vogel and received an MFA in Creative Writing.
Career Susan Hefner & Dancers From 1990 to 1994, Molloy authored libretto for numerous dance pieces by Susan Hefner & Dancers, including Attempted Flight at Judson Memorial Church, Marrow Clamor at One Dream Theater TriBeCa, Eve of Consumption at Theatre Row, and Unruly Graces at Dia Chelsea. In a 1993 interview with The Morning Call, Molloy discussed authoring the libretto for the later piece while in residency at Millay Arts and Smith College.“Honour Molloy Gets Playwrighting Grant.” The Morning Call, May 1, 1993. https://www.mcall.com/1993/05/01/honour-molloy-gets-playwrighting-grant/. Unruly Graces consists of 11 scenes, composed of dance and verse. Jennifer Dunning, in a review for The New York Times noted,
Susan Hefner & Dancers have continued to perform versions of these pieces and others around the world.
Maiden Voyages Maiden Voyages was first developed at the Royal Court Theatre's International Playwrights Group Residency in London, England in 1990. That same year, the play received further developmental readings with the Boston Women in Theatre Festival and Working Theater.“Monday Night Reading Series.” The Working Theater. Accessed November 13, 2025. https://theworkingtheater.org/events/monday-night-reading-series/ . Maiden Voyages was first produced by the Drama Department at the University of Kent in March 1991.“KRED no 145.” UKC Collection, University of Kent, March 18, 1991. Accessed November 13, 2025. https://media.www.kent.ac.uk/se/18002/Kredno145_reduced.pdf . Based on Molloy's real-life friend Bronagh Murphy, the play depicts an Irish midwife working in a Dublin maternity ward. Maiden Voyages was later produced Off-Broadway by New Georges at Theatre Row in May 1993. The production was directed Jessica Bauman, and featured an ensemble of Susan Bernfield, Tobi Brydon, Robin Howard, Susan McKeown, Colleen McQuade, Bronagh Murphy, Marian Quinn, and Caroline Winterson.
In October 2008, a new version of Maiden Voyages had a limited engagement at the Liberty Hall Theatre in Dublin, Ireland where it enjoyed a sold out run. The Irish Times later noted “Maiden Voyages was well received… With Murphy’s finely tuned ear for naturalistic dialogue allied to Molloy’s poetic lyricism and concern for social justice, they’ve created a powerful, grittily humorous, and deeply moving account of the lives of five very different Dublin women, all in the throes of labour pains.”Irish Times Staff. “Bronagh Murphy: An Appreciation.” The Irish Times, March 23, 2009. Accessed November 13, 2025. https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/letters/bronagh-murphy-an-appreciation-1.728861 . In 2010 Maiden Voyages received a special staged reading with Working Theater as part of the company 25th anniversary celebration.Working Theater, *25th Anniversary Season Annual Report 2010* (New York: Working Theater, 2010), PDF file, https://theworkingtheater.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Working-Theater-2010-Annual-Report.pdf.
Rehearsing the Granda
Rehearsing the Granda had a workshop production at the Laurie Beechman Theatre in February 1990. The play subsequently premiered Off-Broadway at The Public Theater as part of JoAnne Akalaitis' "Special Projects Series" in February 1992. Julie Nichols directed the production. Later that same year, the play had an additional limited engagement at Theatre Row. Rehearsing the Granda was included in The Best Plays Theater Yearbook of 1991–1992.
Sticky n Juicy on da Senate Floor Sticky n Juicy on da Senate Floor had its world premiere at AS220 in Providence, RI in March 1990. The play subsequently premiered Off-Broadway at The Public Theater as part of JoAnne Akalaitis' "Special Projects Series" in June 1992. The production was directed by Jimbo Flynn, and featured Molloy and Donna Villella in the titular roles. Sticky and Juicy on da Senate Floor was later included in The Best Plays Theater Yearbook of 1991–1992. The following year, Sticky n Juicy on da Senate Floor had a subsequent run at WOW Café, produced as a curtain raiser for Kurt Schwitters' Causes and Outbreak of the Great and Glorious Revolution in Revon."Theater Week." United States: That New Magazine, Incorporated, 1993, p. 43.
Tongues of Stone Tongues of Stone was first commissioned through a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in 1993, selected as one of 13 honorees out of 182 applicants awarded $260,000 by the federal agency.Alexander, Jane. “1993 Annual Report.” National Endowment for the Arts. September 30th, 1993, p. 198. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Annual_Report/MQAUPgI997EC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=honour+molloy+national+endowment+for+the+arts&pg=PA198&printsec=frontcover The play is a comedy-drama about the early stages of the anti-abortion movement, lampooning political figures like Jesse Helms. Tongues of Stone was later developed by both Lincoln Center Theatre and The Royal Court Theatre as part of the Audrey Skirball-Kenis Playwright Exchange. The play had a workshop production with New Georges at the Workhouse Theatre in April 1994.Clarke, Eileen. “Theatre Listings.” New York Magazine. April 11, 1994, p. 83. https://books.google.com/books?id=VbcBAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA83&dq=honour+molloy+tongues+of+stone&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiZiIOw-OGMAxXhw_ACHbRsPDYQ6AF6BAgMEAM#v=onepage&q=honour%20molloy%20tongues%20of%20stone&f=false In a 1995 interview with Lesbians on the Loose, Molloy expressed difficulty in finding a home for play, stating,
Later that same year, Tongues of Stone had its word premiere at the Belvoir Street Theatre in Sydney, Australia, programmed as part of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival. The production was directed by Sarah Carradine and featured an ensemble of Josie Dobrowska, Maeve Germaine, Rachael Maza Long, Janice Oxenbould, Mary Regan, and Jennifer Vuletic.“Tongues of Stone,” AusStage, accessed April 18, 2025, https://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/24494. James Waites, in a review for The Sydney Morning Herald noted, "The women’s parts are richly characterised, the scenes are well constructed, and the dialogue artfully crafted to the level of poetry. A talented cast under Carradine’s direction adds further flesh. It’s a thoughtful production, with plenty of attention to detail."Waites, James. “Basking in Their Own Prejudices.” The Sydney Morning Herlad, February 7th, 1995. pg. 12
Snapshot
Snapshot, a multi-author project from the Actors Theatre of Louisville premiered as part of the 26th annual Humana Festival of New American Plays, which ran from March 3 – April 13, 2002. Within Snapshot, Molloy's one-act play Monument tells the story of two emergency telephone operators navigating a terrifying series of calls on Tuesday morning, September 11, 2001. The production was directed by Russell Vadenbroucke and featured an ensemble of Jake Goodman and Ellie Clark. The creative team included Paul Owen (scenic design), John White (costume design), Tony Penna (lighting design), Colbert Davis (sound design), and Doc Manning (props).Palmer, Tanya, and Amy Wegener, eds. Humana Festival 2002: The Complete Plays. Hanover, NH: Smith & Kraus, 2002. In a review from Booklist, Jack Helbig noted "Louisville's annual Humana Festival is famous as a showcase for new plays and playwrights. The 2002 festival included new works by such big guns as Anne Bogart, Tina Howe, Julia Jordan, Charles L. Mee, and Adam Rapp, while emerging playwrights were relegated to Humana's National One-Act Play Contest... Of these, Honor Molloy's moving meditation on 9/11 is the most haunting." Snapshot was later published by Playscripts Inc., and has been licensed for production over 100 times at theatres and universities across the United States, Canada, and India.
Madame Killer