Cork actor: ‘I love performing at home. People turn up that I haven’t seen since I was a teenager'
With almost 20 plays written over more than 30 years, as well as numerous roles on stage, television, and film, Moxley says that theatre remains her first love. Picture: Shane OConnor.
Cork-born actor and playwright Gina Moxley is returning home with her much-lauded show,
Taking to the stage at Dance Cork Firkin Crane from September 18 for three dates, the work blends dance, opera, visual art, and performance to explore the gaps in history where female artists and their contributions have been overlooked.
The work is partly inspired by Moxley’s time studying art. She began thinking about the show after hearing that the Crawford Gallery was closing for renovations.
“I thought about doing a site-specific show about art. I rooted out the Story of Art book that we studied and realised there isn't one woman in it, not one in six centuries of art. That got me up on the high horse. I started thinking about absences and how, in our teaching, we were taught that women didn't make proper artists; they weren't in the history. I decided I would do something about putting them back into history.”
With the idea taking shape, Moxley came across a fascinating phenomenon known as Florence Syndrome — a condition in which people can become so overwhelmed by the beauty of art in Florence that they experience intense psychological or even psychotic episodes. She travelled to Italy to learn more.
The Inniscara creative decided she wanted opera to play a key role in the show, despite not being an opera buff.
“I wanted an opera singer to sing the names of ignored female artists back into the ether and into the walls of buildings where they've been ignored. It works so beautifully. People are very moved by it. We have two contemporary dancers, and then two actors, Bláithín Mac Gabhann, who's from Cork, and me.”
Moxley describes the show as anarchic and surprising.
“It is a bit like Pussy Riot. It is great fun and nearly topples into chaos. The audience goes on a physical journey. We go from room to room throughout the building. The show ends with audience participation in a clay modelling workshop. Audiences don’t know what they’re going to be hit with, but the response has been amazing.”
With a career that spans stage and screen, as well as acting, writing, and directing, why did Moxley decide to leave the world of art and take on the life of an actor?
“When I finished in the School of Art, I didn't know if I was good enough because I was doing off-the-wall stuff, and there didn't seem to be a great response to that. I had been interested in theatre, so I moved to Dublin, and I applied for a job as a set designer, which I had no experience of. It was an educational theatre company, and they were auditioning for actors. The manager suggested I put my name down, and I got the job.”
With almost 20 plays written over more than 30 years, as well as numerous roles on stage, television, and film, Moxley says that theatre remains her first love.
A recent stint on , written by Cork’s Stefanie Preissner and adapted from the Marian Keyes’ book, has brought Moxley to a new generation of viewers.
“I got a part in a film that'll be out next year, and the director on that said, 'I saw you in and I knew immediately you were who I wanted for this part'."
As someone with a long history in the business, what is Moxley’s take on the slew of successful young actors emerging from the Rebel County?
“There's a real bold streak. There's something a bit brazen about Cork people, and that makes the acting very honest and believable. There is a fearlessness. Cork actors speak their minds, and they're truthful.”
Moxley hopes people have fun at the show, but also become more aware of the women who have been erased from history and to be brave and speak up.
“People are terrified to open their mouths in case they get piled on, but once we start being quiet, anything can happen, and we have to have the balls to be more vocal about things and not take everything lying down. Feminism is sometimes a dirty word, but it is important to fight our corner with a smile and a good old poke at the same time.”
Ahead of the show, Moxley is looking forward to playing to a home audience.
“I love performing at home. People turn up in the audience that I haven’t seen since I was a teenager. People are interested in getting up and going out and seeing things. It’s also brilliant to see younger theatre makers interested in what people from Cork who live elsewhere are making.”
See: https://dancecorkfirkincrane.ie/i-fall-down-a-restoration-comedy-gina-moxley
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