Stars align for Mullingar Arts Centre's Réaltaí

Thomas Lyons

“I used to do my homework on the stage that we're sitting on, didn't I, Sean?” Niamh Algar slaps the floorboard of the stage as she turns to Arts Centre director, Sean Lynch, to confirm the facts.

The award winning actor is back in the hub of Westmeath's dramatic arts. It's a sort of homecoming, but motivated by a chance to take in the image of her beautiful visage rendered by local artist Neil Selby in his striking new mural Réaltaí.

Niamh is in Ireland shooting a film alongside Colm Meaney and Sinéad Cusack, two other actors featured in the impressive artwork adorning the walls of the Art Centre. While Sinéad has longstanding links with Westmeath, Niamh trumps her with knowledge of the theatre where she started her acting journey.

The two actors have a great rapport, this is very much the Niamh and Sinéad show.

There's a touch of the old time Vaudeville double act between the two Thespians: “And I'm quite fond of Niamh for some reason, not quite sure why. She seems to make it difficult. She does, she makes everything difficult,” the smile on Ms Cusack's face could only be described as wry, yet the playfulness is very apparent in tone.

“Don't be like that, this is all going in the Examiner, so your sarcasm is not going to come across,” her co-star warns.

Sinéad Cusack may be Irish acting royalty, but there are no airs and graces about her. Affable, charming and highly amusing she exudes a sense that she never leaves the limelight.

Réaltaí contains a host of Irish performing stars. Sinéad described her delight at being included in the stellar line up: “We're really proud,” she answers on behalf of her co-star, “Niamh showed me the mural on her phone.

“We're working together and we decided to come down and see it first hand. I was just blown away to be part of a Mullingar mural. Because I love Mullingar, because we had great friends here.”

Sean gives a potted history of the Arts Centre. He tells of the grim origins as Mullingar Gaol, before it became a cinema and community hall. Niamh points out features to her friend.

“We'd be here from nine in the morning until ten o'clock at night. My mother was waiting outside. Because there was no car park they'd be going round the roundabout or up and down the town waiting for us to come out, but this is where it started,” she recalled.

A review of the Mullingar actor's CV indicated she has since trod a diverse acting path. From gritty drama to horror Niamh could not be accused of being typecast: “My first show was Les Mis. I played a nun in the first half and a sex worker in the second half. I was eleven I think.

“Do you know what it shows? It shows that I had range,” she laughs. Calamity Jane, West Side Story, in which she played a male role, were other successful local productions.

Now she is immortalised on the wall of her first theatre: “It's a huge honour. It's an amazing piece of art. For a small island we have produced so many artists that get recognised for their work on an international scale,” Niamh observes.

“We've always been an island of storytelling. Saints and scholars,” Sinead retorts.

She does not believe the current proliferation of Irish talent is by design: “I'm not sure a great deal has been done to develop our young artists. I feel governments have not been as generous as they could be towards the dramatic arts.

“I think drama should be on every school curriculum because, apart from anything else, it's an important team effort. It gets you working together towards a common goal. I think that's really important to teach.

“Drama and music and the arts are being sidelined in mainstream education. I think we need to be very careful about that.”

Niamh agrees: “I would have loved it if I could have taken drama in secondary school, because then I would have actually done well.

“I was lucky enough to come from Mullingar, where the Mullingar Centre was such a pivotal and prominent structure within the town. The annual shows, like the musicals, gave young people who perhaps didn't excel in sport or academics an outlet to express themselves.”

That grounding stood her in good stead: “Sean was my first director and I learned a huge amount. I think, most importantly, he taught us about playwrights and about writing and understanding where stories come from, but also how to engage with audiences.

“We're sitting on a stage here where he made sure we understood how productions worked, how the sets get made, how the costumes get made. There were never any small parts, only small actors.”

If you want to see the artists who feature in 'A celebration of Irish stars: Réaltaí' the mural can be viewed at Mullingar Arts Centre.