Latest news with #SmockAlleyTheatre
Belfast Telegraph
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Belfast Telegraph
Irene Kelleher: ‘When I took my one-woman show to the Edinburgh Fringe, I had to live on one pack of Jammie Dodgers'
She performed her play A Safe Passage, co-starring Seamus O'Rourke, at the Smock Alley Theatre in Dublin last weekend. Kelleher, whose screen credits include Game of Thrones, will be performing in two productions, 'Stitch' and 'Footnote', at the Cork Midsummer Festival in July. For more information, go to How did your upbringing influence your relationship with money? My upbringing and family money habits aren't an excuse for my own terrible money management. My family didn't have much money. My dad came from a family of eight on Blarney Street, on Cork's northside. His father died young. My dad was only 17 – and as the eldest boy he had to take responsibility. He worked extremely hard and saved so he could put himself through college as a mature student and pay for our college fees. Both my parents were extremely careful with money and taught us the importance of saving. My sister and brother learned from this – but from a young age, anytime I had money I got too excited and couldn't wait to spend it. Have you ever felt broke? More times than I can count. When I was bringing my first show to the Edinburgh Fringe, I'd spent the first week's money sending a big present home to mam because I was missing her birthday. I lived on one packet of Jammie Dodgers over two days – one for breakfast, one for lunch, one before the show. Grim. (But I still eat them.) What has your acting career taught you about money? That I should know better. And that I will make it my life's work to encourage my two daughters to become credit controllers. I've gotten a bit better in the past few years: becoming a mother has meant I've no choice but to be more responsible with money. With acting and writing, you could get a great gig that pays well – like a good voiceover, film work or a writing commission, but then you might be months waiting for the next one to come along. What's the most expensive place you've ever been to? Iceland, for our honeymoon. We knew it was going to be expensive – but it was the most special holiday we'd ever go on, so we didn't mind splashing out. What was your biggest ever extravagance? My wedding dress. I got it made by a wonderful designer, Samantha Kennedy. I'm just under five foot so all the dresses I tried on in the shops made me look like I was making my Communion. I promised myself I'd wear it to other events, as it doesn't look like an obvious wedding dress. I haven't worn it since – but every now and then I take it out of its box, stroke it lovingly, and think: 'Ahhh, lovely.' Would you buy Irish property now? We'll have to soon. Ever since having our second daughter, our house has gotten smaller. Sometimes my husband and I feel like Charlie Bucket and his grandparents all in the one bed. What was your worst ever job? A job that was billed to me as a play. It was not a play. It was a 'Halloween experience' in a very fancy hotel. The pay wasn't great but I was told that I could stay on the property and all meals would be provided. It turned out to be the tiniest caravan I'd ever seen (think the holiday episode in Fr Ted) and my 'room' had an infestation of bees. The 'meals' were bread and cheese. They never took my costume measurements so the dress was three sizes too big – I had to be cable-tied into it and cut out of it when I needed the bathroom.
Irish Independent
04-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Irene Kelleher: ‘When I took my one-woman show to the Edinburgh Fringe, I had to live on one pack of Jammie Dodgers'
Today at 21:30 Cork actor and playwright Irene Kelleher has become known for one-woman plays such as Gone Full Havisham and Mary and Me, both of which had successful runs at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. She performed her play A Safe Passage, co-starring Seamus O'Rourke, at the Smock Alley Theatre in Dublin last weekend. Kelleher, whose screen credits include Game of Thrones, will be performing in two productions, 'Stitch' and 'Footnote', at the Cork Midsummer Festival in July. For more information, go to How did your upbringing influence your relationship with money? My upbringing and family money habits aren't an excuse for my own terrible money management. My family didn't have much money. My dad came from a family of eight on Blarney Street, on Cork's northside. His father died young. My dad was only 17 – and as the eldest boy he had to take responsibility. He worked extremely hard and saved so he could put himself through college as a mature student and pay for our college fees. Both my parents were extremely careful with money and taught us the importance of saving. My sister and brother learned from this – but from a young age, anytime I had money I got too excited and couldn't wait to spend it. Have you ever felt broke? More times than I can count. When I was bringing my first show to the Edinburgh Fringe, I'd spent the first week's money sending a big present home to mam because I was missing her birthday. I lived on one packet of Jammie Dodgers over two days – one for breakfast, one for lunch, one before the show. Grim. (But I still eat them.) What has your acting career taught you about money? ADVERTISEMENT Learn more That I should know better. And that I will make it my life's work to encourage my two daughters to become credit controllers. I've gotten a bit better in the past few years: becoming a mother has meant I've no choice but to be more responsible with money. With acting and writing, you could get a great gig that pays well – like a good voiceover, film work or a writing commission, but then you might be months waiting for the next one to come along. What's the most expensive place you've ever been to? Iceland, for our honeymoon. We knew it was going to be expensive – but it was the most special holiday we'd ever go on, so we didn't mind splashing out. What was your biggest ever extravagance? My wedding dress. I got it made by a wonderful designer, Samantha Kennedy. I'm just under five foot so all the dresses I tried on in the shops made me look like I was making my Communion. I promised myself I'd wear it to other events, as it doesn't look like an obvious wedding dress. I haven't worn it since – but every now and then I take it out of its box, stroke it lovingly, and think: 'Ahhh, lovely.' Would you buy Irish property now? We'll have to soon. Ever since having our second daughter, our house has gotten smaller. Sometimes my husband and I feel like Charlie Bucket and his grandparents all in the one bed. What was your worst ever job? A job that was billed to me as a play. It was not a play. It was a 'Halloween experience' in a very fancy hotel. The pay wasn't great but I was told that I could stay on the property and all meals would be provided. It turned out to be the tiniest caravan I'd ever seen (think the holiday episode in Fr Ted) and my 'room' had an infestation of bees. The 'meals' were bread and cheese. They never took my costume measurements so the dress was three sizes too big – I had to be cable-tied into it and cut out of it when I needed the bathroom.
Associated Press
14-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
Castle Gillian: World Premiere of new Irish Musical Based on the novel by Maurice Walsh
On April 25-26, the new Irish musical, Castle Gillian: An Irish Tale will have its world premiere at the Smock Alley Theatre, Dublin, presented by Entr'acte. 'We are privileged to have been permitted to bring this incredible story to life on the stage by the author's estate.'— Kevin Purcell NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, April 14, 2025 / / -- On April 25-26, the new Irish musical, Castle Gillian: An Irish Tale will have its world premiere at the Smock Alley Theatre, Dublin, presented by Entr'acte in association with Quill & Quaver Associates. Entr'acte is Irelands's newest and most dynamic young musical theatre society. To coincide with this world premiere, the producers have created a worldwide singing competition (#singcastlegillian) the winners of which will be featured on a second album release as a follow up to the original film soundtrack of the musical, comprising the best cover renditions of 14 songs from the show as part of the show's creators' commitment to the discovery of global new musical theatre talent. Quill & Quaver Associates today announced a worldwide singing competition on TikTok, IG, FB and YouTube Shorts of 14 songs from the musical, including singing duets with the original film cast members. This coincides with the public release of the extraordinary 360˚ film version of the musical which, to date, has garnered 7 international film festival awards including two awards at the 2024 Cannes World Film Festival. Directed by British Director and screenwriter, Victor Kazan, Castle Gillian: An Irish Tale brings to life the classic Irish story by famed Irish Novelist, Maurice Walsh (The Quiet Man) of Gillian Morris, a renowned Irish trainer and owner of the once-famous racing stable, Castle Gillian, who has retreated from the world since the death of his wife. Gill, his son, recently returned from the War, has lost his way in life grieving the death of his greatest friend lost in battle, leaving responsibility for running the racing stable to his sister, Mary, to keep the stable heavily in debt to the bank from wrack and ruin. A cunning and sadistic local landowner, Garret Ward, offers to settle the family's debt in return for a controlling interest in Castle Gillian; however, marrying Mary is also part of his conniving deal. Complicating matters further, the relationship between Gill and his childhood sweetheart, Sylvia, has been profoundly affected by Gill's wartime experiences. Featuring a remarkable Irish music score and a book infused with sublime Irish sensibilities, this is a family drama of cinematic proportion. 'You can't possibly imagine the sheer delight of having our Irish musical premiere in Ireland' said Kevin Purcell, the composer of the score. 'Castle Gillian is a novel by Maurice Walsh, Ireland's famed author of The Quiet Man. We are privileged to have been permitted to bring this incredible story to life on the stage by the author's estate.' This competition will officially debut on Monday 14th April 2025. The judges of the singing competition are Sue Drew (GM, Creative & Acquisitions, Kobalt Music, USA) and Michael A. Kerker. (Director of Musical Theatre, American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) along with composer, Kevin Purcell. Creative Team Victor Kazan – Director / Book & Lyrics International librettist and director with a 50-year career across theatre, film, and opera; co-creator of Castle Gillian. Kevin Purcell – Composer Multi award-winning Australian composer and conductor; known for musical theatre (Rebecca (2004); To Catch A Thief (2025), symphony and opera work. For more information on the cast and creative team, including biographies, visit the website: About Quill & Quaver Associates With offices in New York and Melbourne, Australia, Quill & Quaver Associates is one of the world's leading executive producers of extended reality (XR) musicals. Quill & Quaver Associates provide unparalleled expertise in reimagining how to relocate musical theatre storytelling into the digital space by creating memorable and transformative 360˚extended reality experiences for audiences everywhere ALL MEDIA REQUESTS TO: [email protected] The writers, Kevin Purcell and Victor Kazan will be available for interviews in Ireland between April 19 – 26 upon request. Julie Merrett Reach Social Media [email protected] Visit us on social media: Facebook Instagram YouTube TikTok Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content 'as is' without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
