Nicola Coughlan: It was a challenge to play a character ‘very different to me’

By Carla Feric, Press Association Entertainment Reporter

Irish actress Nicola Coughlan has said it was a “really interesting challenge” to play a character who was “very different to me”.

The 39-year-old is best known for playing panicky student Clare Devlin on Channel 4 comedy Derry Girls, and quiet wallflower Penelope Bridgerton in the Netflix series Bridgerton.

But earlier this year, the actress took to the stage in London to star in The Playboy Of The Western World as the spirited, independent and sharp-tongued Pegeen Mike.

The play, written by Irish playwright John Millington Synge, follows Christy Mahon (Eanna Hardwicke), who is on the run in rural Ireland, gaining local fame and winning the heart of Pegeen Mike after claiming he killed his father.

In an interview with the Press Association, Coughlan spoke highly of her character and said: “I love that she is very different to me in that she knows how to exist in a world of men.

“I’ve always been surrounded by women, but Pegeen doesn’t know how to deal with women. It’s a really interesting challenge.

“When she’s surrounded by a group of women, she is in completely foreign territory. She’s terrified.

“But, I do like how she commands respect, how the men are scared of her, and they know it’s her pub and she has this. And I love how violent she is.”

She added: “It’s really nice to play someone like that. She’s so bossy, I love how bossy she is. And female violence is usually never depicted as that kind of violence – it’s usually a "mean girls” sort of thing.”

A performance of The Playboy of the Western World was recorded for National Theatre Live during its three-month run, and it will be available to watch in cinemas across the UK later this year.

Coughlan told PA it was “nerve-wracking, but in a nice way” to film the show, adding: “It did give that little level of realisation.”

The Galway-born star said: “Theatre is live. It’s happening. It’s a shared, ephemeral experience.

“Even though this is filmed, it was a one-time thing. There are no edits – you’re going to see it as the audience saw it at that time. And it’s really beautiful.

“It’s incredible to film the show and to be broadcast around the world. I grew up in Ireland, and you don’t get to see things from the National Theatre.

“You hear about these things, but the fact that now people can see it everywhere is a really brilliant thing.”

Following its stage debut in Dublin in 1907, the play historically caused week-long riots as it was believed to be an offensive portrayal of Irish people.

Coughlan said, “I’m really proud that we’ve done the proper version with the proper accents.

“We could have done some sort of museum piece that was very accessible, but this is the play as it was written, where it’s not changed.”

The actress also hailed working on a traditionally Irish play with Irish cast and crew members as “lovely”, adding: “We could be very honest.

“I think we just tried to play it quite authentically.

“(The reaction) is interesting because you have the reviewers – very British reviewers – going, ‘it’s very Irish’, and you go, ‘well, yeah, it is’.”

The Playboy Of The Western World will be available to watch in cinemas across the UK as part of NT Live from May 28th.