The playwright and screenwriter Lisa McGee is best known for creating the hit sitcom Derry Girls, which ran on Channel 4 from 2018 to 2022, winning a Bafta for its third series. She was born in Derry in 1980 and studied drama at Queen’s University Belfast. Other screen credits include the RTÉ series Raw and the Bafta-nominated Being Human for the BBC. McGee lives in Belfast with her husband, the actor Tobias Beer, and their two children. Her new series How to Get to Heaven from Belfast, a comedy thriller in which three women try to solve the murder of an old classmate, is available to watch on Netflix.
TV
Columbo
Columbo is one of my favourite TV detective shows. The early 1970s episodes are perfect: the writing’s incredible and the storytelling’s so tight. And I love the class battle: the criminals are always rich and privileged and he always gets them, using their prejudices against them. I like that they tell you hardly anything about Columbo. He’s sort of like this ghost that turns up – the conscience of the killer, almost. Sometimes I’ll have a really good idea for my work. I’ll be like, “This is amazing, I’m a genius.” And then I realise it’s an episode of fucking Columbo.
Theatre
The Weir at the Harold Pinter theatre, London
I first saw this Conor McPherson play when I was a student and I’ve been in love with it ever since. I’ve seen it a few times but this production with Brendan Gleeson was my favourite – there’s something not-of-this-earth about how good he is. The story is so simple. A woman with a very sad secret in her past has moved to a village in rural Ireland; she comes into the pub, and they all start telling ghost stories. It’s just a remarkable piece of work, looking at how we use stories to cope with loneliness and grief.
Bag designer
August Night
August Night is a brand run by Irish designer Caoimhe Grant, who does really beautiful, girly bags that are practical as well. They’re all different sizes. I got one recently that I love because I can put my laptop in it. I’m quite chaotic, and I get quite stressed about packing, but with this, I can just bung everything in. From the outside, everything looks under control, but there could be anything inside – I have a pair of shoes in there at the moment. You feel professional, but also stylish. I would encourage anybody to check out her designs.
Book
Half His Age by Jennette McCurdy
I loved Jennette McCurdy’s memoir, I’m Glad My Mom Died. Now she’s written a novel about a teenage girl who has a relationship with her English teacher. It’s told from the girl’s point of view and she thinks she’s in control, that all this has been her idea. It’s very uncomfortable at times, talking about first sexual experiences and the blurred lines with the abuse of power, but I love the bravery of the writing. And I really like people who write things I could never write. It’s a fantastic book.
Podcast
The Creep Dive
I spend most of my life listening to podcasts. I get a lot of ideas from them, but I particularly love the storyteller ones. The Creep Dive is presented by three Irish women who tell shockingly dark stories with a really Irish kind of hilarious touch, where they could go from the grimmest, darkest story to talking about the latest pair of shoes they bought. The chemistry of their friendship comes across while they’re talking about gruesome crimes, weird urban myths or things like the P Diddy trial. Anything that’s a bit off-centre, they’ll cover it.
Comedy
Robby Hoffman: Wake Up (Netflix)
Robby Hoffman is an American-Canadian stand-up comedian I’m really enjoying at the minute, and this is her Netflix special. She’s so funny and her material is so incredibly dark, but you know she’s good enough to get you through it. I’m a sucker for good comic technique, and the precision of the storytelling and her delivery are just remarkable. Sometimes you’re holding your breath because of the area she’s taken you into and you’re like, “Oh, I don’t know how you’re going to get out of this”, but she always does. I love that.
Photographs by Lucy Curran, Alamy, Rich Gilligan, Creep Dive, Netflix