Obituary: Vincent O'Neill, award-winning actor and master of mime who co-founded a New York theatre company

Irish Independent

7 hours ago

He was an actor of 'uncommon talent, depth and invention' and a champion of the 'transformative power of theatre', according to US critic and historian Anthony Chase.
Vincent Michael O'Neill was born in south Dublin as the middle child in a family of five. His father, Leo, was a principal officer in the Department of Finance, and both he and Vincent's mother, Helen, instilled in their children a passion for literature.
As his sister Margaret recalls, the house was 'full of books', and their mother sent them at an early age to Audrey Meredith's school of acting in Glenageary. Vincent and his older brother Chris continued their interest in drama through school in CBC Monkstown, and in UCD, where Vincent studied Spanish and French. He later attended Trinity College Dublin.
Chris dropped out of his third year in college when he was offered a place in the Abbey School of Acting and Vincent would follow. They collaborated in the Oscar Theatre and School of Acting, founded by Chris.
When French pantomimist Marcel Marceau visited Dublin, he encouraged Vincent to apply for a place at his Ecole Internationale de Mimodrame in Paris. There he was fortunate to meet Samuel Beckett.
In an interview with the Irish Echo, he recalled that when Beckett learned he was studying mime, he remarked that 'you are a walking oxymoron, a native of the most talkative nation in the world pursuing the art of silence'.
In 1985, Vincent and Chris took their production of Beckett's Waiting for Godot to Buffalo in New York State, where they received enthusiastic reviews. He returned to Dublin to work with the Abbey Theatre company as actor, director and choreographer, but Chris went back to Buffalo.
After a visit in 1989, Vincent joined him, telling Anthony Chase in 1990 that 'it's difficult to raise your head above water' in Dublin, and 'when you do, they hang around waiting for you to drown'.
Within a year, he and his wife, actor Josephine Hogan, founded the Irish Classical Theatre Company (ICTC) with Chris and Dr James Warde.
He appeared in 67 productions and directed 30 more at the ICTC. Chase recalls in a tribute 'one moment of revelation' during the first ICTC production of JM Synge's The Playboy of the Western World at the old Calumet Arts Building, where Vincent was not only an actor but a director.
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'The stage was challenging — a linear set-up with two support poles that had to be worked into every set, walls flocked with soundproofing, sprayed black in a mostly fruitless effort to muffle the pumping music from the adjacent bar,' he wrote. 'But Vincent's artistry transcended every obstacle, commanding the space with that physicality he'd honed studying mime under Marcel Marceau in Paris. His vision communicated this familiar script with a playfulness and soulfulness that I had never imagined before. It was a divine theatre experience,' Chase added.
Chris died unexpectedly in 1997. By then Chris's daughter Aisling, who had appeared as the boy in Waiting for Godot with her father and uncle, had acted in several of their productions. They included Sean O'Casey's The Shadow of a Gunman and Brian Friel's Lovers. She is now best known for her role as Carol in RTÉ's Fair City.
Vincent held senior roles with the University of Buffalo theatre and drama faculty, and continued acting, directing and teaching. During Covid, he gave mime classes on Zoom.
Writing for Theater Talk Buffalo, Chase said his 'mellifluous, expressive, and versatile' voice brought 'the full dimension of so many characters to life, from Beckett to Wilde, Synge to O'Casey, Yeats to Shakespeare'.
He won a number of awards as actor, director , playwright, and 'outstanding citizen'. His last performance was in Friel's Faith Healer, directed by Hogan. The couple had remained close friends after separating; O'Neill married Teja Rao two years ago. Vincent O'Neill is survived by his wife Teja Rao, children Laura and Jamie, sister Margaret, close friend Josephine Hogan and extended family. His ashes will be returned to Ireland for a funeral mass at a later date.