Cork father and daughter work together on play: 'What makes us close is our ion for arts'

West End production coordinator Alex Bermingham is having “a kind of full circle moment” with her father, actor Ciarán Bermingham.

The Cork pair are working together on a production of Conál Creedon’s The Cure, opening on October 22 at the Cork Arts Theatre.

Alex, currently rehearsing with the latest cast of the long-running West End and Broadway musical, The Book Of Mormon, will be popping back to Cork to produce The Cure, a one-man show starring Ciarán.

When she was 15, Alex was taken by her father to the Cork School of Music where he was directing a show called Tick, Tick, Boom. She was there on work experience and ended up working as a kind of production assistant on the show.

It involved a lot of running around. I was privy to a lot of conversations about the creative side of things. It was a whole other world and I decided to figure it out a bit more.

Like father, like daughter, Alex, now 28, was captivated by the world of theatre, but not as an actor.

“I started off like so many children in Cork, going to stage school. I wanted to be involved in theatre but I didn’t know in what role. Luckily, I fell into producing. My dad directed me in stuff when I was a teenager.”

Now, she is his producer for The Cure. Alex says she has a good working relationship with her father because she started out working with him at a young age.

“What makes us close is our love and ion for the arts. I feel very lucky to have a full-time job in the industry that my father is interested in. I can get excited about shows and know that he’s also excited.

I feel lucky that I’ve been able to bring my parents to opening nights of shows that I’m working on in the West End.

Growing up, Ciarán told Alex that theatre is a hard line of work. He could see that his daughter was ionate about it.

“I was never going to be a doctor or a lawyer. That never piqued my interest. I knew I wanted to work in theatre. I ended up studying English at UCC. I included modules in Irish film and Irish drama as part of my degree.

“While at UCC, I ed the Musical Society and ended up being its chairperson. That gave me some background in producing on a small scale.”

At the age of 22, Alex moved to London.

“I don’t think I was too ambitious for Cork. I felt I needed to try London. I said I’d give it a year. I moved in the month of June and got my first theatre job in August in a production of Wasted, starring Cork actor, Molly Lynch.

I then fell into internships and freelancing. I came home to Cork when Covid happened and ended up staying for a year and a half.

During this time, Alex studied broadcasting remotely with Independent College and got work experience with Today FM. She wrote a radio play that her father was also involved in, about Tomás MacCurtain and Terence MacSwiney.

“I liked radio but I missed the live element of theatre. There’s nothing like the fear of an opening night – but also the rush when you’re standing watching everyone, seeing their interactions. It’s like the weirdest drug ever.”

In April, 2021, Alex returned to London. She got her current job as production coordinator with Sonya Friedman Productions, one of the biggest producers in the world. But there were periods before that when Alex had no theatre work. She got retail work with New Look in one of its London branches, having worked for the company in Cork.

During her ‘resting’ times, Alex says “there was a lot of coffee- making, odd jobs and auditions”.

“Producing is a more obscure path to take in theatre. With performance, you get an agent. With what I do, you have to graft and you have to love it.”

Recent work included producing the play, Lyonesse, starring Kristin Scott Thomas and Lily James. Alex is not fazed by famous performers.

“They’re just actors. You kind of become immune to (celebrities.) At the end of the day, we all have the same goal, to create something.”

Alex loves living in London. She gets to see the best shows and says that despite three-figure ticket prices in the West End, there are always offers for tickets, starting at £25.

I say I love London but I’m sitting here drinking Cork Coffee Roasters coffee – a taste of home. I love Cork. I kind of love being away to have the joy of coming home.

Alex always thought her father had “a really cool job”.

“It felt worthwhile to pursue a similar career, to make something that other people could enjoy. It’s why I’ve come on board to work on The Cure. It’s nice to work on something that is so rooted in Cork. Conál Creedon is amazing and there’s a great team involved.”

The Cure was originally commissioned for Cork’s tenure as European Capital of Culture in 2005 as part of ‘The Second City Trilogy’. It’s about a man waiting for a pub to open so he can purchase ‘the cure’ after a three-day bender.

The wait results in a hilarious – and at times touching – odyssey in his demented head. No doubt Ciarán will work his magic, with Alex watching attentively from the wings...

The Cure runs at Cork Arts Theatre from October 22 to 26. Tickets: €18, €15 (Concession). Booking fees apply. See www.corkartstheatre.com