Originally published in print in October 2023.

Olivia Byrne is an actor based in Dublin. Reprising her role as Shirley in Hangmen at The Gaiety Theatre, Olivia chats with co-theatre editor, Amy, about entering the world of theatre, the current Irish theatre scene and the importance of having taste.  

 

Amy: Olivia, thank you so much for speaking with Tn2, we are so delighted to have you!

Olivia: Thank you for having me!

 

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, em… it’s mainly like 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.

 “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.”

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 if you know someone they’ll know someone who knows someone and then like 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 like 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 land 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 can we go?” And it’s hard and it took me a long time to get to a place where I wasn’t like: “No! I know what I’m doing!”, you know? But when you watch amazing stage actors work and get it wrong and be in the rehearsal room and just go for it and then figure it out as they’re doing it …you’re like [sighs] “okay.” Because they’re allowing themselves to get it wrong or allowing themselves to improve. Going into the first round of rehearsals, I kind of was like: ‘I need to have my full character figured out, all the lines off’, like, “know what I’m doing”. But then you get into a room [and] we’re all trying to figure out the show together, you know? 

 

Is there any advice you have received from your fellow cast and crew of Hangmen that has resonated with you?

Oooh em…. less, like, solid pieces of advice and more just watching them work. I learned what they do and how good they are. I learned a lot about protecting yourself in the sense that you have to figure out your own routine […] I go in early to the theatre because I like to be there early and I like to have time to wind down in the theatre before getting ready for the show. And then learning a good warm up so your voice is protected, because I got sick in the middle of the show and it’s like a ‘doctor-theatre’ thing [where] you go onto the stage and you feel completely fine and then you go off and you’re like [gasps] “I’m gonna die” […] Gerry [Grennell] actually taught me something really interesting – because I felt so grateful that I got the role in the middle of doing that intermediate course [at Bow Street Academy] so I could bring some of the stuff to Gerry. We were going through this exercise where he was like “Become as big as the room”, so, like, you fill out the space. And he said voice-wise instead of trying to reach them [the audience], become as big as the space so they’re already coming to you, so you’re not straining.

 

Having done Hangmen, do you have a new perspective that you’re leading yourself with into your future career?

Yeah, I think so. I worked when I was, like, seventeen. I got a role and I got my agent through that and then I didn’t work at all until I was twenty. So that’s three years of no work where you’re auditioning constantly. It’s a lot of self esteem knockbacks […] After the Bow Street full-time [course] I had, like, an existential crisis where I was like: “I don’t know what I’m doing” and I went to London for a little bit of the summer and I basically was a tour guide […] but being there and living on my own I really aligned my thoughts around acting. Because I think before that I was coming from a place of desperation and fear that I couldn’t do anything else ‘cause I’d done it for so long. So I really sat myself [down] for a moment and I was like: “What am I going to do if this just, like, doesn’t happen?” And I have to have a life, you know? And I have to know that I can do other things. And I really came to terms with the fact that sometimes this just doesn’t happen for people. And it took away a lot of that fear because I was like “Well, I can live. I’ve lived before and I can live after”. And it’s hard when you’re “in it” and you’re auditioning for things, it’s hard to look at that or look at it like that, when you really want something, especially. And I also got really specific about the kind of role I would want, the next role I would want. I remember sitting in the car with my Mam and I was like […] ‘‘I want to be in a play by the end of the year”. And my Mom was like: “I don’t know how you’re going to do that, because…what kind of play, like, you know? (laughs) No one’s really doing plays [with young roles]?” And I was like: “I know but I want to be in a play by the end of the year”. Manifestation’s real! And then I got the call for Hangmen and I only really got it when I got really specific about what I wanted. 

 

Do you believe the advice often given to aspiring actors: “If there’s anything else you can do, do that instead ”? Or do you think it’s okay to have other interests and not have it all figured out?

I think it’s really important to have a life outside of acting because it can be very all-consuming and then when you do get a job, if you’re lucky and it’s a big job, it’s months of work that’s really, really, like… intense. And you’ve no time for anything else and it’s draining and you’re working all day, or it’s all consuming, so it’s really important to have a life outside of that that isn’t…you’re not just being dragged down […]  There’s a kind of self absorbency that you kind of have to have where you’re like: “No, this is going to work for me. I’m going to make it work” that gives you a drive to keep going […] I’m at a point in my career where I can’t say no because I don’t have the luxury of choice, yet, but you also can have taste, you know? And I think it’s really important to create taste really early on so that you know what you want to do. And also when you get to a point where you have the luxury to choose, you’re doing things you want to do and you’re not just doing things that you, like, think are going to be successful. […] I think once you cultivate your own personal taste it’s not about, like, commercial success then and your whole career or your point of view isn’t like: “Oooh is this going to do well?” Like: “Am I going to become rich?”, or: “Am I going to become famous from this?” It’s like: “Well, do I actually even like this?” I would rather have a lengthy career that is full of projects I’m proud of, even if no one sees them, than do five movies that every single person in the world sees and then really be stuck, you know? You see that with a lot of actors who get really big and then start to branch out but they don’t know what to do […] And then you’re like, [sighs] that’s upsetting, you know? And it’s sad to see and it happens so often. And I’m not saying that I won’t maybe fall into that, you know, the ‘allure’ of Hollywood, or whatever, is enchanting to anyone. But I just think…I think I’d rather…yeah, I’d rather do what I want.

 

Hangmen by Martin Mc Donagh, directed by Andrew Flynn, returns to The Gaiety Theatre from the 19th of October. Tickets available now at www.ticketmaster.ie or from The Gaiety Theatre Box Office. 

WORDS: Amy Callery