Person to Person: 'I am so ready to bring the humour and sass to the stage'
Cork woman, Lily Carey Murphy, is gearing up for the Christmas panto at The Everyman.
TELL us about yourself;
My name is Lily Carey Murphy and I am a 21-year-old musical theatre performer from Ballincollig, Cork. I trained at CADA Performing Arts, which fostered my love for the arts so much that I ended up moving to London to train professionally at the Urdang Academy. I just recently graduated with a BA (Hons) in Professional Dance and Musical Theatre, and since then have been working as a singing waitress with the Daisy Green Collection.
People liked to call me the Irish Anna Kendrick in university, which I took and ran with, so I hope that can give you an indication of what my personality is like!
I was born in Cork.
Right now, I am living just north of central London in Holloway, but when I come home, I live with my mum in Cork City which is so handy as my driving skills are non-existent at the moment.
My family consists of my mum, Deirdre, dad Barry and my brother Luke. We don’t talk every day when I am in London, but I am so grateful for all their support, more than they will ever know, as I would not be doing what I love without them behind me every step of the way. My brother has a beautiful baby, Bonnie, with his wife Sophie. She is turning 2 in January, and I have the honour of being godmother to her as she is an absolute legend! I would also just like to give a shoutout to my godmother, Joanna and my cousin Emil,y as they have been massive supporters of me in both my personal life and career from pretty much when I came out of the womb!
As much as she will probably laugh at me being a softie, my best friend is my flatmate Louise. We met on the first day of drama school, three and a half years ago and have been pretty much attached at the hip ever since! She is who I go to for silly advice, a dance party in the kitchen, or we often enjoy a cup of tea and a natter with some form of random documentary or show on for background noise! She is truly a gem and I wouldn’t have gotten through my time at Urdang without her.
My earliest childhood memory is me performing in my montessori show with a cardboard flower around my head. I was performing and ran off the stage and my parents came back to ask what was wrong and I came out with, ‘Why are you looking at me with your eyes?’ Upon reflection, that is quite gas as I have ended up going down the route of performing as a career. If only my parents knew the diva I would become…
The person I most admire is Renee Rapp. She is a musical theatre performer turned pop star whom I look up to as she is always unapologetically herself. In every interview I watch of her, I am crying with laughter as she never hides any aspect of who she is for anyone. I really respect that and try to do that in my own life (not to mention her singing voice is so magical to listen to).
I work in hospitality when I am not performing so I deal with MANY types of people. I think the worst has to be anyone who starts explaining my job to me over the counter, as every time it happens, a part of me wants to turn around and say, 'Would you like to hop behind the bar for the rest of my shift?’ but of course I keep that to myself.
A lot of my childhood was spent going to London with my mum to go watch theatre shows as we preferred that over sun holidays a lot of the time. However, one sunny holiday that sticks out to me is when I went to Tenerife with my flatmates after our summer show for a week. It was an insane time that I will never forget!
My favourite TV programme that I could watch over and over again is . Viola Davis is an absolute masterclass in acting and being able to command a space with her energy. I also LOVE reality TV, especially . My comfort shows are always British sitcoms like and , which have really shaped my humour.
I do not listen to the radio much but I do LOVE a podcast. My top 3 are: (as I always just feel like I am having a goss with two friends from home when I listen), (as she always brings on guests who have the best theatre industry advice) and (as queens Christi and Kelly recap my childhood favourite show: )
When it comes to cooking, I do not often enjoy taking my time, as I am just thinking about the end product. My signature dish would be a chicken burrito bowl if I was taking my time and wanting to cook something for a guest.
I do not have a particular restaurant in London, but I absolutely love every time I go to Greek restaurants. If I was to pick a restaurant in Cork, it would have to be Luigi Malone’s as I have celebrated so many occasions there and always enjoyed the food and staff.
I am gearing up for the new season in the new year so I recently went back and read Benedict Bridgerton’s book, , by Julia Quinn. Such a fabulous Cinderella story.
I think it has to be by Dolly Alderton. She perfectly captures what living life in a big city in your 20s feels like, and she does it with such humour that I was sat on many a Ryanair plane home cackling to myself silently while reading it.
I have a vivid memory of owning a CD version of by Alexandra Burke as a child, so I would always be blaring and in the car or at home. The last album I downloaded was probably Cat Burns’ new album, .
Ever? This is like picking a favourite child. I love so many songs, but I think it has to be by The Goo Goo Dolls. I am a hopeless romantic and I think the message of someone wanting to give up everything they have for the sake of someone else is so special. Musical theatre-wise, I think it has to be, from Amelie, as it is all about how the whole world is connected, which is always a fascinating thing to think about.
I am absolutely gutted that I do not have Pitbull tickets for his concert in Hyde Park as I know all his songs back to front so if anyone knows anyone please hit me up. However, for a showstopper, I would pay heaps of money to see Lady Gaga. She has so many songs I love and really knows how to put on a show. Recently, I am loving what Katseye are doing as a girl band so I would love to see them too.
I don’t.
This truly depends on the day. People in school always used to be fascinated by my morning energy, but now that I work late nights in pubs, I have become a bit of a night owl, which I never thought I would say. However, once I am up, I am UP.
In my personal life, my proudest moment was genuinely when I got on the plane to London for the first time on my own when I moved over. There were many tears but I think it gave me a level of independence which is now integral to who I am as a person. In my professional life, it would have to be the production of that I did in my second year at Urdang. It was directed by Nathanael Campbell, and I played Martha and was also a vocal captain. Pulling such an insanely innovative and magical piece of theatre together in eight days was such a proud moment for me, the cast and the creatives, and I remember many tears were shed when we sang the last rendition of the finale.
I love having savings in my account but once I start shopping for one thing, I cannot stop myself sometimes. I could go into a shop for a toothbrush and walk out with a new wardrobe.
I am an avid Lime bike user when I am in London, so I would have to say the roads as there are times where I am riding said bike and wondering how I haven’t flown off due to the state of some of the bike lanes.
I feel my most happy when I am performing and using performance for change.
I want to be remembered as always trying my best to help those around me. Whether it is advice over coffee or just being a shoulder to cry on, I hope that I can be remembered for being there when people need someone to have a rant to. I also will always be the biggest hype girl and like everyone's stories and hype them up. CREDIT WHERE CREDIT'S DUE!
I recently returned home for rehearsals for The Everyman Panto, , directed by the fabulous Catherine Mahon Buckley. I will be playing one of the stepsisters alongside the queen that is Roisin Lane and I do not know if the public is ready for this iconic duo! I am so excited to be making my professional debut at home, and I am so ready to bring the humour, sass and diva villain energy to The Everyman stage. Grab your tickets to the ball, but do not try grabbing the prince from me.
Cinderella opens in the theatre on November 29. See www.everymancork.com
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