Eimear lands lead role and makes Abbey debut

Ciara O’Hara

“I’m so proud to be from Mullingar. Like, it is bursting out of me!”

Mullingar actor Eimear Keating has landed a lead role in the world premiere of Somewhere Out There You. The new play opens in the Abbey Theatre as part of Dublin Theatre Festival and runs from September 27 to November 4.

Written by Nancy Harris and directed by Wayne Jordan, Somewhere Out There You is described as a romantic comedy with a twist. Playwright and screenwriter Nancy Harris was nominated for an IFTA and a BAFTA award for The Dry, a comedy/drama TV series that aired on RTÉ and ITV earlier this year.

Eimear plays Casey, whose new boyfriend Brett seems like a dream come true, until Casey’s sister does some digging in Brett’s past. “So basically, it starts off with me introducing my new boyfriend to my family, and my family don’t believe that I could bag such a handsome bloke.

“It’s written by Nancy Harris and she gets families so well. What Nancy does is she’s able to write about a very dark topic but then deal with it in a very light way,” said Eimear.

“The writing is fantastic and anybody who comes to see the show will be able to relate to the family dynamic and how someone feels about their partner in certain situations, and also it deals with mental health problems in a way that I think a lot of people will understand after seeing the show, or might relate to as well. My character has bipolar and it’s addressed in a way that’s really beautiful, I think.”

Not only is this the first time for the play to be staged, it’s also Eimear’s debut at the Abbey, one of the world’s most celebrated theatres. “It’s a big opportunity,” said Eimear, who told the Westmeath Examiner that working with director Wayne Jordan is “an absolute dream”.

“I’m having the time of my life!” she added.

Discovering she had got the part was a proud moment. “It’s definitely one of the happiest moments that I’ve had in quite some time, I must say. I had my recall audition and I found out a couple of days later. So, I found that out in June, and then I got the part, and I’ve just been preparing ever since!”

The rehearsals are intense. “Oh, it’s a full-time job,” said Eimear, who has been in the studio six days a week since August. “And I mean from 10.00 until 6.00, and then you have homework as well, so you’d have to be learning your lines or going over notes and things like that, and even asking people in between like on little coffee breaks, ‘Do you want to go run a few scenes with me?’. Just so we know that it’s going to be well-oiled for when we’re up and running it.

“So, yeah there’s a lot of extra work involved… but none of us are complaining about that because we’re having so much fun with it and it’s such a great show.”

Out of all the work involved, Eimear finds learning lines the least challenging. “Learning lines is really not the hard part. It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it. And I think that’s a really big thing for, yeah, because you can say something in a passive-aggressive way, you can say something in a positive way, a negative way, a depressed way.

“And then… I was taught Stanislavski method in the Lir, which is very much like, what sort of breakfast would they have in the morning? What sort of star sign would they be… it’s all those sort of fun things… it’s about telling stories about people… seeing how they tick and being super-observant of other people, and then also there is a muscle in listening to other people as well on stage. You might come in with an idea that could completely change if someone else is coming in with something else. So, it’s all about reacting to other people.”

Eimear has enjoyed getting under her character’s skin and feels grateful for the part. “I feel so lucky. Now, I will say I did work hard for it but at the same time I feel like it’s also right place, right time sort of thing.”

She also feels fortunate for her Westmeath roots. “I’m so proud to be from Mullingar. Like, it is bursting out of me!”

Born and raised in the town, Eimear attended Presentation National School and St Finian’s College before being accepted to study drama at Trinity College’s prestigious Lir Academy. “I don’t think I would have got into the Lir and I don’t think I would have got this part if I hadn’t started in Mullingar Arts Centre. Sarah Nally… she’s an absolute star and she does so much for the community, and you know what, she never looks for thanks.

“She’s just there like, ‘Yeah, that’s what I do’. So, she’s a phenomenal human being. She taught me a lot. She helped me with my auditions to get into drama school. And then I got into the musicals and the plays in the arts centre with Sean Lynch as the director. And I made so many lifelong friends there. They’re celebrating their 25th anniversary soon. I’m so delighted for them. I love the arts centre and they gave me my start.”

After taking drama lessons with Olive Whelan, Eimear was drawn to the stage. “I got the bug when I was about 12 and then really didn’t find any interest in anything else, and as I got older and older the idea of getting a fallback degree, even doing arts, I was like, oh no, I really can’t. It sounds like I’ll be too down in the dumps to keep on going with this normal lifestyle. And I suppose, yeah, I just kind of found myself going, oh no… no, I can’t, you know what I mean? I just couldn’t see myself doing anything else as I got older.”

As well as Mullingar Arts Centre, Eimear also credits St Finian’s College and in particular, teachers Gerard Lillis and Helen Hassett with having a positive impact on her acting. “They’ve got a lot of music and everything… I wasn’t a schola, but I was very involved in music. Helen Hassett taught me singing there. They do facilitate people who are creative there. Well, when I went they were really good to me.”

Eimear stresses that while she loves acting, “it’s a tough auld life” as the work is “not constant”.

“If someone wants to become an actor, you’ve got to know that there’s a lot of sacrifices to be made Some people just know that they’ll be crap at any other job. So, they’re like, oh god I can’t do anything else; I need to do this. It’s the only way I’ll try and make money!”

Founded in 1957, Dublin Theatre Festival is Europe’s oldest specialised theatre festival. It is famous for championing writers, directors and actors from Ireland, and every year it places an international spotlight on Irish talent. Eimear is thrilled to be a part of it. “I’m ‘booked and blessed’, as they say… I’m very happy, and I’m really excited for the show to happen.”

Somewhere Out There You previews from September 27, officially opens on 29 September and will run until November 4. The opening night has already sold out but there are tickets available for other performances. Visit abbeytheatre.ie and dublintheatrefestival.ie for more.