Jen Coppinger: From a Bantry cattle-dealing family to the Abbey Theatre
Jen Coppinger is head of producing at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin. Picture: Ste Murray
Growing up in Bantry, Jen Coppinger was surrounded by the art of storytelling. The West Cork native was the youngest of seven children and her father, Mickie Coppinger, was a well-known cattle dealer. While her hometown didn’t have much in terms of theatre – or even a cinema – when she was a teenager, Coppinger recognises the influence her upbringing had on her love for stories and ultimately, what she does now.
“He loved his job very much. Just like I love my job,” the head of producing at the Abbey Theatre says of her late father. “A lot of his job was about having personal relationships with people, and he loved talking to people and meeting people.
“Obviously, I don’t deal in cattle but I’m dealing in stories, and I think my father loved having craic with people and telling them stories and hearing their stories.”
Being the youngest child meant constantly listening to her older sibling’s stories too. “I was hearing all the other six tell stories all the time. I think that’s probably why I love theatre,” she says.
Coppinger first worked at the Abbey in 2000 as an administrator and after being a self-employed producer for many years, she returned in 2018 as head of producing. Her latest production, Tartuffe, is a contemporary re-telling of Moliere’s 17th century French classic, adapted by Frank McGuinness that critiques how easily we are drawn in by people’s outward personas.
After repeating her Leaving Cert (or doing a “lap on honour,” as she says), it was while studying philosophy at Trinity that Coppinger first discovered theatre. That transition from her hometown of Bantry to Dublin was quite an adjustment. While West Cork now has ample opportunities for young people interested in the arts, being able to walk to a cinema or theatre was a novelty back then.
“It kind of blew my mind really, the first few years that I was in Dublin, to be able to access that. I think I probably took a while to be confident to go into some of those rooms because it can sometimes feel like, ‘oh that’s not for me’ until you get into that room, and you realise it’s for everyone.
“I think that maybe the arts get a bad reputation for being elitist when actually, everyone I work with in the Abbey and everyone I’ve worked with across loads of different organisations in my 20 plus year career, are so hungry to have new audiences in, to be able to give people an experience for the first time and more importantly, for them to feel comfortable to keep coming back in the door.”
Her favourite thing about what she does is that no working the day is ever the same which keeps things “exciting”.
“It was daunting during covid I have to say – but it’s quite an exciting work life really when anything can happen from a day-to-day basis with a show,” she says.
Some of her highlights while at the Abbey include a production of Translations which opened in Belfast last year.
“It’s all about language and the changing of townlands in the 19th century in Donegal…seeing it being played in Belfast where nationalism and loyalism is a very real thing that people live with all the time, how the audience reacted to that was very special,” she says.
Another includes the production of Every Brilliant Thing with Amy Conroy. “Amy Conroy has to be one of the most charming characters in the world. I leaned over at opening night, and I said to my friend: ‘look at how Amy Conroy will make the whole audience fall in love with her now’ and that’s what happened.”
While the covid years were challenging, Coppinger says it hasn’t killed creativity and at the Abbey, they’re keen to keep giving people the real experience of being at a play.
“I think that covid has really made us all appreciate the shared experience and liveness of theatre. I think that’s something none of us will take for granted,” she says. “We want to make sure that that is here to stay.”
As for her upcoming production Tartuffe, Coppinger promises something for everyone with amazing performances and “a cracking soundtrack”.
- Tartuffe is at the Cork Opera House on May 9-13, as part of an all-island tour. https://www.corkoperahouse.ie/
