My Weekend: Cork actress says 'Sometimes Mondays are my Sundays!'

Tell us a little bit about yourself;

I am a performer born and raised in Bandon. I grew up performing in the local church choirs and school musicals as a child and was lucky enough to be a student of the late Bobby Beare for over a decade when he retired as a singing teacher from the Cork School of Music.

I studied drama and theatre studies and music at UCC before moving to London to pursue my singing career. I received post graduate degrees in classical voice from Royal College of Music and musical theatre performance from the Royal Academy of Music where I also qualified as a singing teacher and was later awarded an Associate title for contributions to the musical theatre industry.

My career has ran the gamut from performing Shakespeare with the Royal Shakespeare Company, to performing musical improv at the Melbourne Comedy Festival, to lecturing as a singing teacher at MTU. I’m happy doing anything involving singing, acting, making people laugh or building confidence in others.

I currently live with my husband in East London with a very hissy feral cat who we’ve named Broccoli.

What is your ideal way to spend a Friday night?

Discovering a new restaurant or bar with my husband or friends and seeing a comedy show.

Lie ins or up with the lark.. which is it for you?

I don’t mind an early morning when there are tasks to be done, but given the choice I’ll choose a lie in every time.

Does work creep into your weekend at all?

It’s rare that it doesn’t. Theatre schedules are usually an eight show week with one day off. When I’m not in a show I spend my weekends performing in cabarets or preparing material for auditions/lessons/projects. Things like weekends and bank holidays mean little for the self-employed!

If money was no object where would you head to on a weekend city break? And who would you bring with you?

I would love to rent a big villa in Rome and bring lots of my friends and family together for some sun, wine and pasta.

Closer to home, is there some place you like to head to recharge the batteries?

I’m very lucky that my family home in Bandon is so close to the coast. I love going to Inchydoney beach to get my feet in the waves.

Do you like to catch up with family/friends at the weekend?

It can be very difficult to catch up with people in person when living in London – everyone is on different schedules and distance and diaries mean a lot of advanced planning is necessary.

I’m very grateful to technology to bridge those communication gaps somewhat.

Do you get to indulge any hobbies? Even as a spectator?

Oh yes, I’ll try anything once! This year I’ve given Lindy Hop, sewing, clowning and gardening a go – we’ll see what sticks…

Entertain or be entertained? If it’s the latter do you have a signature dish?

Entertain definitely. My partner and I both love cooking – he will likely do the main and I’ll do the starter and desserts as I love baking and have a sweet tooth. We’ll both whip up the cocktails – we make a mean margarita.

We have so many places to eat out in Cork – where are your go to spots for coffee/ lunch/ special meal?

We got married in Cork last year in a very intimate family ceremony and the nine of us went to Market Lane for our wedding meal and Mutton Lane for our post-ceremony celebratory pint as those are special places to us. We will always try and squeeze in a visit to Arthur Maynes for some food and cocktails when we’re in the city.

Sunday night comes around too fast.. how do you normally spend it?

Sitting on the couch with tea and biscuits, husband beside me noodling on the guitar while I indulge in some variety of Real Housewives as the angry cat snores in his basket – bliss!

What time does your alarm clock go off on Monday morning?

Anytime from 7am to not at all – sometimes Mondays are my Sundays!

Anything else you are up to right now...

I’m thrilled to be in Cork for Summer Revels and am making the most of my time here to appreciate and get to know other Cork artists. I’m excited to perform my drag act GirlBossGod in Cork’s newest LGBTQIA+ venue Vibe and experience the vibrant queer scene that has blossomed in Cork since my college days.

Summer Revels runs from Wednesday, July 24, to Sunday, August 11, various times. For more see https://www.corkoperahouse.ie/whats-on/the-summer-revels/