We are heartbroken and bereft at the loss of Ross Costigan. Our collaborator, our partner in crime, our friend. He was a powerful actor, one who felt like a rock star every time he was on the stage, no matter what part he played. He brought his sense of mischief and attitude to so much of our work and the company would not have been the same without him. A stellar photographer, he was one of the best that Kilkenny had to offer and we were lucky to have worked with him for 8 years. He was brilliant at everything he turned his hand to.
Like all of us, Ross came up through Young Irish Film Makers and we all moved onto Dreamstuff Youth Theatre, of which Ross was a central force. He was built for the stage. A visceral, raw performer who chewed up intense roles but it was his comic flair that really set him apart and made him so compelling to watch. When we set up Devious Theatre in 2006, he was immediately involved and became part of our ‘organising committee’ for the first year which basically just involved meeting every week for breakfast and Ross giving out about the veggie options. His work on stage for us included Heart Shaped Vinyl, Cannibal! The Musical, Smitten and Can’t Pay? Won’t Pay! His crowning performance was easily his lead role as Mark Renton in Trainspotting in 2008 which blew people away and confirmed just how talented a stage actor he was. The constant run of standing ovations he got always surprised him and the adulation he received for that role made him comfortable for the first time with his own acting talents. His subsequent performance as Ray in Watergate Productions run of The Beauty Queen Of Leenane was also highly acclaimed. His final stage performance took place in 2011 in Scratcher which allowed audiences in Dublin to see his talents for the first time.
He moved to behind the scenes work with us as his photography career took off. He worked on posters, promo shoots, videos, graphic design and was also hugely interested in radio. He co-directed and produced our radio version of The War Of The Worlds which won a PPI Award in 2009. His voracious interest for so many creative disciplines was a mark of how passionate he was about just making great work. In the last couple of months of his life, he started speaking about returning to the stage and getting back into theatre. He was missing the creative life and he knew, perhaps at a time when he wasn’t sure about many other things, that the buzz of working on projects with his friends was really when he was at his happiest.
The creative life of our town will be so much poorer without him. We’re all so much poorer without him. We love you and we miss you Ross. x
Ken, Kevin, Niamh, John.
Thank you x
thanks for this beautiful tribute
my deepest condolences
he was such a wonderful wonderful guy
i always felt he was my type of person and always felt at home with him
in a deeper way
i am so sad to hear this news
so so sad
you must be heartbroken
i am too and yet i never knew him as much as you guys did
sending you all proper bear wrap round hugs
Muireann x
One of those Artists who never really quite understood just how talented he was,
Beautiful tribute… such a sad loss. Loved seeing Ross on stage and your photos prove how much he drew the audiences attention to him for all the right reasons.
From the times I’ve met him away from the theatre scene he was always so lovely.
Thinking of you all,
Lots of love.
Such a strong individual with so much talent.
My condolences to you all. X
Only learned of the death of Ross today in the shadow of Christmas in the Watergate brochure. I am deeply saddened and shocked. I enjoyed his acting, his film about gangsters and just to meet him was a buzz. Always he’d tell about something I should go and see. Sometimes artists who might get lost in the pack of a festival. He had such raw vitality and I will miss his spirit. To his family and Devious friends I share your sadness and so sorry I missed his funeral. Ross I will miss you.
Thanks very much for the kind words Liam, they’re greatly appreciated.