Meet the Cork woman playing the leading lady in Beauty and the Beast panto

BALLINHASSIG native Marion Goggin, who plays Princess Belle, the lead female role in the Everyman pantomime, Beauty And The Beast, was all set to do a degree in drama and English at UCC. But her head was turned when she was offered the role of Jasmine in Aladdin, the Everyman’s pantomime in 2021/2022.

The 21-year-old decided “to put college on hold.” She is currently studying acting and performance at Laine Theatre Arts in Surrey.

Looking back on her decision to leave UCC, Marion says she was only three months at the university when she landed the Jasmine role.

“It wasn’t until my dad saw me on stage (in Aladdin) that he knew I wasn’t going to be going back to UCC. After the pantomime, I worked for the year in CADA Performing Arts. I continued my dance classes and my singing and acting classes. Then I moved to Surrey in August, 2022.

It was always at the back of my mind to go away and study theatre full time. I had finished my LAMDA (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts) exams.

While Marion is delighted she made the move to England, she says it was hard at the start.

“I have three brothers. Being away is different because I’m very close to my family. It took a while to settle in. I’m excited about coming home,” she told The Echo from Laine Theatre Arts, before starting rehearsals in Cork last month.

“In your first year at Laine, you’re not allowed to do any shows. So it was my first time in 13 years not doing panto in 2022/2023. I had been doing it ever since I joined CADA (which produces the Everyman pantomime every year). I started off with the junior chorus. I went on to be an understudy for the dancers. The year after that, Covid fully hit. 

I got the role of Cinderella but you couldn’t have a live audience.

Marion rehearsed this year’s pantomime, having completed an acting project at Laine Theatre Arts. She told me ahead of its opening night at the weekend: “Knowing Catherine Mahon-Buckley, the princess will be a strong version of the character. It was the same with Jasmine. She had to stand on her own two feet and not rely on anyone else around her.”

The challenge is for the beast to get someone to love him before the last petal on a rose falls. If he succeeds, he will go back to his former self as a dashing prince.

“You’ve got Belle, who doesn’t belong in the town. She’s intelligent and likes reading, which isn’t seen as the best thing to do.”

Marion loves the experience of being in pantomime.

“I’ve grown up doing it nearly every year. It feels like it’s my Christmas. I missed it so much last year. You become family when you’re rehearsing and doing the panto. We see each other almost 24/7, for weeks on end. You get really close and form friendships. 

I love it. It’s why I’m doing it. You have to love it.

“Theatre is not easy, but once you love it, it doesn’t feel like a job. Pantomime is an immersive experience; you have to throw yourself into it.

“My family are involved too in that poor dad and mum have to drive me in every day and wait to take me back home again.”

Pantomime always appealed to Marion.

“I grew up watching pantos ever before I was in them. My dad is heavily involved with the Insurance Institute. He’s the head of it this year. The members go to the panto every year with their families as an outing.”

When Marion joined CADA, she remembers being “gobsmacked” when she walked in on the first day.

“I remember walking through the doors and just thinking that the teachers, such as Fionula Linehan, were celebrities to me because I grew up watching them on the stage.

Once you’re in CADA, you have the opportunity to audition. As soon as I got on the stage, I just got hooked and I’ve been doing it ever since.

In her training, Marion is concentrating on mostly stage work.

“My main areas are singing and acting. In third year, there will be a lot more. If I decide to major in acting, I’ll get to do film acting and character acting. What I’ve been training in is generic acting. Theatre is what I prefer. I like having the audience in front of me.”

In the future, TV and film work may present opportunities.

“I love singing so I’d love to do more song-based shows. I’m singing for as long as I can remember. But I love acting too and would never turn down anything.”

Marion has to keep fit and healthy.

“With the singing side of it, you have to watch your voice as much as you can, so not too many late nights. In winter, I wear loads of scarves and drink lemon tea. There’s no screaming or shouting.

“I’m lucky fitness-wise because I’m training right up to rehearsals. I dance every day in college. Most of my days are 9 to 6. It’s all practical work. I’m training in tap, ballet and jazz dancing. I don’t have a choice about keeping fit. It definitely helps your stamina on stage. I need to be able to keep that up, especially for the children in the audience.”

With one more year of her course left, Marion hopes to get into as many shows as possible when she graduates.

“We’re lucky in Laine. We have an agent. You have to have a showcase. Different agents will come in and see you. Hopefully, you’ll get booked. After that, you try to get as many auditions as you can.

“In between roles, I’ll do master classes and will keep up my fitness and maybe teach a bit. If I get booked here in England, it will be amazing. If I don’t, I’ll see where I’ll go after this. 

Nothing is promised to you. You have to really love what you’re doing.

While Marion has chosen an insecure career, she has a positive attitude. “It’s amazing really; not many people get to do what they love in their job. I get to do my hobby as my job. It’s a great profession, especially when you’re on stage and you get to see the kids’ faces light up. Nothing beats it.”

Marion recalls a funny incident during a production of Cinderella some years ago.

“I was a handmaiden doing the opening for Cinderella. There were two little boys, one in front and the other in the row behind. They started fighting over who was to be in the front. They wanted to be as close to Cinderella as possible.

“The next thing, this little boy jumped over the front seat and tackled the other boy onto the floor. We had to try to keep straight faces. It was the first time I ever saw something like this happen. The boy just launched himself in front. Cinderella had to keep singing while the two boys tackled each other. They were probably in senior infants.”

Clearly, these boys took the audience experience seriously, even if they disturbed everyone nearby!

Beauty And The Beast is at the Everyman now until January 14, 2024. Bookings on https://everymancork.com/