Entertainment

Nichola MacEvilly talks art, activism, and why every Irish performer knows each other

NICHOLA MACEVILLY, from Sligo, trained in London, studying at Rose Bruford College and Central School of Speech and Drama.

She is back in London currently in rehearsals for her latest show.

Nichola MacEvilly (Pic: Jake Stewart)

What are you up to?

Right now I’m in rehearsals for Conor McPherson’s Girl from the North Country at The Old Vic here in London.

Have you worked with Conor McPherson before?

I have indeed. Previously we brought Girl from the North Country to the Olympia in Dublin for six weeks before embarking on a 25 city tour of the UK. Conor’s adored by everyone who is lucky enough to work with him.

He’s one of the greatest playwrights of our time, but he’s also one of the best directors I’ve ever worked with. Most importantly he’s very kind, and great craic.

There are some other Irish actors in the play - have you worked together before?

Colin Conor and I shared the Girl from the North Country stage before so it’s great to be reunited with him.

Myself and David Ganly had never worked together but we knew one another in that way all Irish actors know each other despite never having met.

Great to finally work together. We also have a Tipperary man, James Berkery, as our associate movement director.

Rehearsals for Girl From the North Country (Pic: Manuel Harlan)

What is your favourite song in the show, and why?

Oh, I couldn’t pick a favourite but I do love Girl from the North Country as it’s the one I get to sing myself.

It’s a haunting a cappella version arranged beautifully by Simon Hale.

It underscores a particular moment in the show. A moment where light and dark, good and evil, reveal themselves simultaneously. I adore it.

What led you into an acting career?

There is a great theatre tradition in Sligo where I grew up and live.

It wasn’t uncommon for kids to recite Yeats poems and do Sean O’Casey plays at the Feis.

We were very fortunate. I was very taken with theatre as a whole, and I suppose acting was where I landed within it all.

I didn’t have a eureka moment, or a calling to act. It’s something that’s settled with me over time.

What is your favourite play?

I’ve just developed a small obsession with Conor’s new play The Brightening Air.

I went to see it twice at The Old Vic, and bought the text.

It’s set in Sligo so I have a direct line to the world it’s set within. It’s a beautiful study of family, love, and the magical.

I also love Tennessee Williams plays. I’d love to do Suddenly Last Summer one day.

You were in a production last year with actor Brian Cox - what was that like?

Yes we did Long Day’s Journey into Night in the West End. Brian Cox is undoubtedly one of the finest actors of his generation.

Eugene O’Neill’s plays ask a lot of the actors who perform them, and Brian’s character James Tyrone is one of the most iconic and challenging, so it was interesting to observe him navigate the challenges there.

His contemporary Ian McKellen was doing Player Kings’in the Noel Coward behind us. The stage doors face each other so we had fun waving across every day.

MacEvilly hails from Co. Sligo (Pic Anna Leask)

What are your Irish roots?

My dad was born in Sligo and my mum in Cavan Town. My mum is a Smyth from Main Street.

They were living in Sligo when I was born but were visiting Cavan for Christmas when I decided to make my entrance on Stephens Day.

I’m Sligo through and through but proud to have been born in Cavan like my mum’s people.

Where is your favourite theatre in Ireland?

Hawks Well Theatre in Sligo. It was built by the people for the people.

A number of the founders have passed away in recent years. We’re very aware of their legacy. We owe them a lot.

You will be playing Constance Markievicz later this year - tell us about that?

Yes very excited about this. It’s a project we’ve been working on for over 6 years.

It’s called Two Sisters and is created by Kellie Hughes with original compositions by Michael Rooney and Stephen Doherty. It’s inspired by the two Gore Booth sisters Constance and Eva.

It’s a powerful blend of music, song, and spoken word adapted from their original texts and correspondence. It features myself and the singer Niamh Farrell with seven extraordinary musicians.

Constance in particular has been unfairly represented in some cases I believe. We don’t pass comment on that either way through the work but we do allow her own words and perspective to come through.

What would you say has been your proudest moment on stage?

Aside from Girl from the North Country of course, I’d have to say the first preview we did of Fun Home at The Gate Theatre in Dublin was a particularly memorable moment in time.

The audience were invited members of the LGBTQI+ community and it was humbling to hear their audible reactions throughout the show.

You could sense they were screaming ‘Yes, I recognise myself in these characters’!

It felt like an important moment in which our work had the potential to make a real impact on the lives of people who may ordinarily have felt excluded from the conversation.

Which living person do you most admire?

This changes regularly but the most consistent person has to be Mary Robinson.

From her Irish presidency to her membership of The Elders, she has the ability to cut through the noise and speak with clarity and conviction without personal agenda or fear.