THEATRE
Interview with Olivia Byrne “The industry as a whole is looked upon in this very way that’s like... if you're not in it you don’t know anything about it.”
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livia Byrne is an actor based in Dublin. Reprising her role as Shirley in Hangmen at The Gaiety Theatre, Olivia chats with our theatre editor Amy about entering the world of theatre, the current Irish theatre scene and the importance of having taste. The theme of our issue is ‘Better Luck Next Time’. Having already played the role of Shirley, how have you prepared for the character for a second time around? I think, it’s mainly how I feel is different, if that makes sense? I feel less nervous and less scared and I think that’s going to help in whatever way [the play] changes because of the actors around me changing or because Andrew [Flynn] wants to change something or if he felt something didn’t work the first time [...] The role really evolved as the run went on. It was very different at the end than what it was at the beginning, mostly because I was just more comfortable. I could do more, I could have more fun. I knew the show so well at that point. We did over sixty shows which is a lot of work. So I knew the show so well. I know a lot of actors sometimes feel closed in when they do a play because it’s the same thing over and over again but for some reason knowing it so well gave me the freedom to be really listening and watching what was happening on stage. Because every show is different and it’s really based on what the audience is like. If the audience is giving you nothing the show is going to be very different.
PHOTO by Davie Jakes You are working with big, well known, experienced actors who are mostly male. It’s your first time in the rehearsal room and you’re the youngest and the second only female [actor]. How did you navigate that? Well I think I got very lucky that they were all very kind. Especially Denis [Conway] who played my Dad, who was kind of like…you know, it’s like “number one on the call sheet” kind of person, they set the mood a little bit. And he was amazing and he’s the kind of person that is so good that you want to be good for him because he is just on top of it, just knows what’s going on. And then Aisling O’ Sullivan who played my Mam was such a comfort, she was so amazing. We shared a dressing room and I just had such a feeling that she was looking out for me if anything were to go wrong or anyone was to say something I wasn’t comfortable with. I just really felt she was looking out for me. Is there anything you would change about the current Irish theatre scene? What’s your opinion on it right now? [...] I think we lack in [having] solid places for people, young people especially, to go and create. We don’t have [those] solid, established places that people can use, or if we do I just don’t know about them. I’m kind of of the belief that like, I’m not hearing about it [so] it’s probably not happening because I’m, like, involved? And I’m also actively seeking stuff out? And it’s also like (sighs), the industry as a whole I think is looked upon in this very way that’s like if you’re not in it you don’t know anything about it. And it can feel really hard to get into it and then if you’re in it at all you’re like ‘oh, there’s like… five people here’. And they all know each other, and
everyone knows everyone. And especially in Ireland, it’s so small that, like, if you know someone they’ll know someone who knows someone and then everyone knows each other. But if you’re not in that, it can feel so hard and like, how can you even begin to do that? And I think we need to just demystify the whole industry as a whole, film and theatre. Because there is space for people to get into it and people should be getting into it but it’s just hard when you don’t know how. And like, no one talks about it because in a way everyone is trying to protect their place within the industry. You studied screen acting, how has that influenced your craft as a whole and in theatre? I think what screen acting has done, especially in Bow Street [Academy], it established a process for me and gave me the tools to be able to sustain myself in work and to be able to look down the barrel of three months of work and be like ‘okay, so I need to map this out in my head. How am I going to do this and survive and like…not die?’ Because it’s a lot of work and it’s a lot of mental work that you’re constantly doing. Everytime we do the show, it’s like ‘what worked? What didn’t work? What’s funny? What wasn’t funny? What did I like about that? What didn’t I like about that?’ I think I’m lucky in the sense that my teachers or mentors I grew up around instilled in me the constant learning kind of feeling. So every show is different or every take is different because I’m open to constantly being wrong. And I think it’s really hard to do that, to be silly and make a mistake and be like ‘this isn’t working, so what is working and where
