Cork actor: ‘My parents still come to see my performances, no matter where I am’
Julie plays Marianne, a quantum physicist, while Aidan Moriarty plays a beekeeper. Picture: Celeste Burdon.
The ups and downs of an acting career are all part of the package, says Rathpeacon native Julie Maguire, who stars in at the Cork Arts Theatre this month in association with the Cork Midsummer Festival.
It’s the second instalment in the theatre’s Re: Directing season.
London-based Julie is back and forth all the time, with work mostly in Ireland.
She is particularly keen on returning to home turf for this love story, written by Nick Payne and directed by Al Dalton.
Julie plays Marianne, a quantum physicist, while Aidan Moriarty plays a beekeeper. The pair meet at a barbecue and begin a relationship that unfolds across multiple possible realities. This is no ordinary narrative with a beginning, a middle and an end. Instead, it plays with time, and it throws up different possibilities. Marianne and Roland hit it off - or perhaps they don’t. They go home together - or maybe they don’t.
“Nick Payne has created this amazing piece that makes you question things,” says Julie. “If you make one decision, how does that have a knock-on effect on the rest of your life?
“While it’s a text-heavy piece, there is also what happens in a moment when nothing is said. That’s part of human nature and relationships, romantic and non-romantic relationships. I’m quite interested in that space in between what is unsaid and also, what is said through body language. Because the play jumps in time throughout, who knows what the exact path is that Marianne and Roland are taking? We will be revealing the different layers of a character, just like we all have different intricacies and detailed parts that can stay hidden or are expressed.”
When I spoke to Julie, she was looking forward to starting rehearsals.
Julie has never seen a production of the play. “That’s quite exciting for me. I’m going into this with no preconceptions or ideas from past productions. It will be demanding. All work should be demanding.”
Al Dalton says the emotional core of the play lies in its deeply recognisable characters and the universal questions they confront. “The play’s two characters both resonated with me on many levels,” says Al. “Their needs, their wants and flaws feel real and exact. The central question of ‘what if’ that is the spine of the play exists in all our lives, I feel, especially in our relationships and friendships. If we had the time again, would we make different decisions, say a different thing, be a better person?”
Describing the desire to act, Julie says: “It really is like a bug. Once you have that dream and ambition to create work, you will want to continue to do it.”
She says it doesn’t matter where you are in the world, “you still have to make it happen”.
A past pupil of St Angela’s Secondary School, Julie is the eldest of four girls. “Since we were young, we were in dance and drama classes. When I was a teenager, I really wanted to pursue a career in acting.“
Julie auditioned for the Lir Academy of Dramatic Art at Trinity College Dublin as well as for several UK drama schools. “I got into the Lir, so I went straight from school to Dublin. I had just turned 19.”
Her years at the Cork School of Music as a child and teenager stood to Julie. She says Regina Crowley is an “amazing teacher. I’m looking forward to catching up with her when I get to Cork”.
Ten years ago, Julie graduated from the Lir Academy. “It was a brilliant foundation for what you need to work as a professional actor. The training is world-class. Also, I made some of my greatest friends at the Lir. It feels like it wasn’t that long ago at all.”
Julie has acted in the Abbey Theatre in and .
Looking ahead, she would love to do comedy on screen.
“One of my favourite things to watch is .” This British sitcom was on Channel 4. “I like watching funny shows. The joy of this business is that you never know what is around the corner.”
While that uncertainty wouldn’t suit everyone, Julie describes herself as very optimistic. “I have to be. I’m driven and very much a glass-half-full person.”
Julie has a healthy approach to life. “I kind of root myself through having great relationships with family and friends. Routine is a big thing for me, and exercising and looking after myself. I do things I love, like going to the theatre and going on holidays. My career is one part of the full life that I have.”
To date, Julie has only written for herself, but says that maybe in the future, she and her sister, Patty, also an actor, might write something together to be performed. Her sister, Sally, has studied drama and theatre, while her sister Alice is a teacher.
What does Julie miss most about Cork?
“My mom’s roast dinners.”
is at the Cork Arts Theatre from June 16-20.
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