Rachel swaps Rose sash for Cinderella slippers!

After spending the past year in both the national and international spotlight as the 2022 Rose of Tralee, Rosemount's Rachel Duffy has swapped her Rose sash for Cinderella slippers!

The drama and theatre studies graduate from NUIG is playing the starring role in a production of one of the most beloved pantomimes of all time, Cinderella, which opened at Tullamore's new Esker Arts Centre last night (Tuesday) and runs until December 17.

Tickets for all 14 performances have been sold out for weeks, and ironically a young Rachel Duffy completed her work experience with the producer of the show and hugely-accomplished Tullamore actor and entertainer, Colin Hughes, at the Helix Theatre in Dublin when she was still a student in Moate Community School.

“Myself and Colin go way back and, in fact, he gave me my very first lead role in a school musical in Moate when I was about 13 years old, so it is great to be back working with him again after all these years” she says.

Reheasals for Cinderella began just a month after Rachel Duffy completed her whirlwind year as Rose of Tralee, and she admits that it was a bit like “jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire” but she is loving every minute of the new challenge.

“Panto is so silly that it was really hard at first to get through a single scene without laughing, and you go from being an adult to being a seven year old child again, but bit by bit the show began to come together and it has been a really great experience for every member of the cast” she says.

Having visited many schools in her role as Rose of Tralee, Rachel Duffy said she was “a bit surprised” at how much she enjoyed interacting with the children, and she says panto also offers the opportunity for lots of interaction with the audience.

“Christmas is such a magical time, especially for children, and I am delighted to be able to play even a small role in contributing to keeping the magic alive through the medium of panto” she says.

When she relinquished her Rose title, Rachel Duffy admits that the feelings of anxiety and doubt which had plagued much of her young life began to resurface, so when she was asked to play the role of Cinderella she was reluctant at first to break out of her comfort zone “Everyone needs a bit of a push sometimes, and Colin Hughes definitely had to push me, but to be honest it it a real honour and a real privilege to be part of the cast bringing panto to Tullamore for the first time.”

Rachel says confidence has “always been a challenge” for her and she readily admits that she “struggled so much” in the initial months after being crowned the Rose of Tralee.With the benefit of hindsight, she says the year taught her that she could achieve anything she wanted and she does not want to revert to a place where she is not prepared to step out of her comfort zone.

“It is great to do something on your own terms and when I joined the cast of Cinderella I hardly knew anybody else, but I was made to feel really comfortable from the start,” she says. “And we had so much fun at every single rehearsal that we couldn't wait for the next one.”

Rachel Duffy describes the Colin Hughes Promotions production of Cinderella, which is being sponsored by Tullamore Credit Union, as “a real team effort” and says she would like to spend “more time on stage” in the future.