Thursday 14th April, RTE John Murray Show

Hi everyone!

My name is Aela O’Flynn and I am 12 years old, and from Dublin.  I’m currently performing the role of Hilary Kelly in the Tall Tales production of ‘Moment’, a fantastic family drama by Deirdre Kinahan.

I first played the role of Hilary, a murdered child, in 2009.  The show premiered in the Solstice Theatre, Navan, and went on to the Project in Dublin.  I was delighted, nearly two years later, to still be just young enough to play the role when it transferred to the London stage.

I was lucky, in fact, to get the chance at all.  Due to the difficulty of bringing a child on tour, Deirdre actually re-wrote the play at one point, cutting out Hilary’s scenes.  Thankfully for me, it didn’t work out – and I was called back! (Thanks Deirdre, David, Maeve, Ronan and all the cast and crew who didn’t want the scenes cut.)

And so I’ve been living in London with my mum and/or dad for the last five weeks, playing an exhausting eight shows a week in the prestigious Bush Theatre, off West End.

Re-rehearsals took two weeks – and, considering we hadn’t performed the play in 14 months and we had two amazing new cast members, we progressed very quickly! We couldn’t have asked for a better director than David Horan. A former actor himself, David was very understanding and patient. He was also willing to let us experiment with our roles. It was a really big help to have such a brilliant director.

As a child actor, school was always going to be a difficulty. I am in primary school, which made it slightly easier.  However, I still had entrance exams and end of term tests to study for. Luckily, our set designer (Maree Kearns) is a close friend of an Irish secondary school teacher, Ciara Flynn, who was working in London, and agreed to tutor me. We got on great!  I continued to keep up with my class in school and the tutor and I also did some preparation for secondary school.

In my spare time, I’ve also had a couple of lessons at Pineapple Dance Studios and have managed to see some great West End shows such as ‘Les Miserables’, ‘The Lion King’, ‘Blithe Spirit’, ‘The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)’ and ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’. I have also visited lots of museums including the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum.

I found the museums particularly interesting because I am naturally curious. I am especially interested in science. The museums improve every time I come to London, the Natural History museum especially. They have various new exhibits including the intriguing Cocoon in the Darwin Centre, which is definitely worth a visit.

I had so much fun living in London! There seemed to be something exciting around every corner! Be it a special outing or a special person in the audience there always seemed to be some adventure going on.

Living in a house of adults was a lot less difficult than you would think. We didn’t see each other that much. We all did our own thing.   I enjoyed, though, sometimes having a late-night chat after a long day at the theatre. Both of my housemates (Maeve Fitzgerald and Fiona Keller) were absolutely lovely!  As my only sister, Kellie, is 22, I am used to being the only child in a house of adults.

I have been very lucky in that I worked with some amazing people throughout this production! Everyone has treated me fabulously and I really loved working with them all! From my chats with various members of the cast and crew to the stage manager (Fiona) teaching me how to write the show reports and the general generosity and the way everyone made me feel special. I would like to thank everyone involved for all their help, support and kindness.

Another experience I found particularly interesting was the occasional after-show Q&A. The questions the audience asked were both interesting and unusual.

The Bush Theatre, a venue well known for introducing new playwrights, is also leading the way in opening up the theatre to a wider audience. We had two Saturday matinees that catered for people with sight and hearing difficulties. The matinee for sight difficulty (an audio described performance) included a pre-show “Touch Tour”.  A touch tour is where the sight impaired person is led around the set to feel and familiarise themselves with the environment. The entire cast also met the people and we talked to them and described our costumes.  Then, during the show, the audience wore headphones and our stage movements were described to them. For the captioned performance (the performance for those with hearing difficulties), a large screen was positioned high over the set, and a typist backstage cued the script as we performed.

It’s been a great experience, and I’ve learned so much about acting, touring, directing, stage management and so much more.  The actors and crew have been so hospitable to me, as the only child in the cast, and the reviews have been fantastic.  In particular, I’d like to thank Deirdre, David and Tracy for giving me this wonderful opportunity – and my professional debut!

‘Moment’ will return to Ireland in April, playing in Blanchardstown, Bray, Tallaght – and, of course, the Solstice – before going on to Cork, Limerick and Galway. That should be great fun!

Moment took London by storm, receiving unanimous critical praise in the UK press with a series of 5 star and 4 star reviews.  Here’s what some of the press had to say:

“…consummately well-conceived and immaculately acted production….One of most quietly shattering evenings in the theatre that I have experienced…Go” **** Paul Taylor – The Independent

‘What gripped me about this one was Kinahan’s assured handling of dramatic form… what matters is Kinahan’s ability to show how the present is contaminated by the past, and how drama, like any other art form, depends on a rigorous command of structure.’ **** Michael Billington, The Guardian

“The wonder of Deirdre Kinahan’s play is that she places her tale of trauma in a recognisable domestic context in which rage and disaster co-exist with biscuits and small talk…. vivid staging and .strong acting ‘ **** Dominic Maxwell – The Times

‘The stuff of Greek tragedy, but delivered along with quiche, coleslaw and cups of tea.’ **** Sarah Hemming, The Financial Times

“Kinahan’s faultless plotting keeps you engrossed, and her often humorous account of sibling rivalry and everyday bitching is guaranteed to entertain” Aleks Sierz, Arts Desk

…but without a minutes rest we are back in the saddle and getting ready to launch into a 7 venue National Tour.

National Tour details…

Draiocht, BLANCHARDSTOWN  -  6th April

Mermaid Arts Centre, BRAY  -  8th & 9th April

Civic Theatre, TALLAGHT – 12th – 16th April

Solstice Arts Centre, NAVAN  – 20th & 21st April

Town Hall Theatre, GALWAY – 26th – 30th April

Everyman Theatre Palace, CORK – 3rd – 7th May

Belltable Arts Centre, LIMERICK – 10th – 14th May

On Monday 7th February in the Lab, Dublin the cast and crew of ‘MOMENT 2011′ sat down to read through the script. It was an exciting morning as the cast and crew familiarised themselves with the playscript and their characters.  Like the family in the play from today they will be ‘family’ again for the next couple of months. There has been two casting changes for this revival at the Bush Theatre since the first staging of Moment in 2009, notably actress Rebecca O’Mara playing Ruth and Karl Quinn playing Dave.  Here’s some images taken during the read-through.