Janet Behan

Behan was born in London, the daughter of an Irish father Brian Behan and an English mother Celia Behan. Her father was a playwright, the great-nephew of the songwriter Peadar Kearney (author of Amhrán na bhFiann, the Irish national anthem), and brother of the writers Brendan Behan and Dominic Behan.^[2] Her husband is the television director Dermot Boyd. Her siblings include journalist Rosemary Behan,^[3] writer and musician Ruth Behan,^[4] and poet Daniel Tobias Behan.^[5]

Behan trained first as an actress at the Central School of Speech and Drama, and appeared in numerous plays and on television, including a role in Eastenders and productions at the National Theatre.^[6][7]

In 2011, her play Brendan At The Chelsea was produced at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast, with Adrian Dunbar starring. The production went on to tour New York and Dublin, to critical acclaim.^[8][9][10]

The play was published by Edinburgh University Press in 2014, and Behan appeared in an RTE television documentary 'Brendan Behan - The Roaring Boy', alongside Adrian Dunbar.^[11][12][13]

In 2016, Behan premiered her new one-woman play 'Realtine / Noreen' at the Camden Fringe, Tristan Bates theatre.^[14]