Sister act: It s so easy to do a love scene together!

Transcription

1 Sister act: It s so easy to do a love scene together! As this article was being prepared for publication, Cathy and Gillian pushed their stage careers a step further: Gillian played Beatrice in the GEDS production of Much Ado About Nothing and Cathy, already the Good Fairy in the GAOS 2014 panto, Once Upon A Time, was cast as Kate in the 2015 GEDS production of Dancing at Lughnasa. Read on to find out how the two glam girls from the Emerald Isle have risen through the ranks of the Geneva theatre scene, with more than a dozen shows each to their credit, with GAOS and GEDS. The sisters as tots in Dublin Gillian Barmes and Cathy Boyle grew up as the Lyons sisters in the Dublin suburb of Glasnevin, where their parents were members of the local music society. We were surrounded by Am-Dram as long as I can remember, recalls Gillian. First she, then Cathy, five years her junior, came to Geneva with multi-lingual business skills and huge enthusiasm. Cathy followed Gillian onto the Geneva stage; in the past quarter-century, the pair have delighted local audiences in productions ranging from pantomime to Shakespeare, Tennessee Williams to Broadway musicals. Tell us about your early theatre experiences. Gillian: We used to get taken along to rehearsals and performances, and the families of the society used to go on holiday together, so there was this togetherness, we d all be singing songs and having great fun a kind of total immersion. And both our Mum and Dad have older relatives who were active in the theatre in different ways, so there s definitely a dramatic streak in the family! At school I was in various plays but as it was a girls school, and me being tall and gangly, I was cast in male roles. Cathy: I did less drama at school, it was more with the Brigins (pron. Bridgeens, a Catholic group like the Guides), where I played in some shows. But really, my main love was dancing ballet, tap jazz What brought you to Geneva? Gillian: Things were not brilliant back then in Ireland and so I wanted to work abroad. I did a bilingual diploma in secretarial and business studies and in 1988 was offered a one-year contract with the ILO. That year became two, then three then I met my Australian husband, Mark, and that was it! I recently got an award for 25 years service, I can t believe it! (laughs) I joined GAOS in 1988 after meeting Andrew and Simon Hayes at a party; that led to helping out with catering at a cabaret. I did makeup for Peter Pan, in 1988, and in 1989 I had my first try-out for a show The Music Man Cathy: After Gillian started with the theatre in Geneva, sending us back videos of her shows, I thought, That s the life! and followed in her footsteps 1

2 same course, same diploma, and I arrived here aged 19, for a six-month contract with ITU and subsequently moved to the WTO in early The evening I arrived, Gillian's now husband, Mark, whisked me off to Chêne-Bougeries where she was in the Music Hall. It seemed everyone knew who I was, as Gillian had told them I was coming, so I was straight into the GAOS family, Day 1! How were your early days on the stage here? Gillian: I got into the chorus of Music Man and I was so delighted because it was the first time I d ever worn a dress on stage and they gave me two! I enjoyed myself so much and as I was young and my time was my own, I auditioned for subsequent shows three that first year and two the next. Cathy: The first show I was in was West Side Story [1994] and in 1995 I played Anya in Fiddler on the Roof. Then, in 96, we were both in Cinderella, playing opposite each other in the main roles our first show together! Was this engineered somehow? Cathy: Absolutely not! We d both decided to audition, Gillian as Prince Charming and me as Dandini, so we could play alongside each other. I was astonished when I was offered the part of Cinderella I didn t see myself in that role. Working with Richard and Pam [Walsh] was a dream, it was very special. How was it playing the romantic scenes? Cathy: It was so easy! It s your sister and you re quite happy to hug your sister and give her a kiss. Gillian: We were the only Prince and Princess duo who could look at each other and say I love you and mean it! (laughs) We got to dance and sing together, it was lovely. Cathy: Our parents went to every performance I think our mam wept all the way through it! As the princely couple in Cinderella Gillian (Maximus) in The Ice Maiden, GAOS 1991 You both took time off to start a family and both returned for the 2008 pantomime, Aladdin. Coincidence? Cathy: Gillian happened to mention that she was going to the read-through for the panto and I thought, why not, and went along too. We were given a very warm welcome by those who remembered us I d been off the stage since playing Brooke in Noises Off [GEDS, 2001]! Gillian: I d had a back injury in 1997, before my children came along, so I d been away for 11 years. I wasn t sure I d have the confidence. But when I saw Richard Walsh was going to direct it, with Kate Booth and Pam and the opening night would be my 40 th birthday! I thought it would be great to go for Principal Boy one last time, a final fling before hanging up my fishnets! 2

3 What about your experience with GEDS? Gillian: In 1991 I was in a reading of Tom Stoppard s Artist Descending A Staircase, playing Sophie, a blind girl who fumbles her way around with a script in my hand, of course! Several more followed. Cathy: I ve also done quite a few. The last one, that Gillian was in as well, was arranged by my husband Owen [The Hunt for Red Willie, 2014]; it was chaotic, a lot of fun. I m not sure people understood everything we said because were doing full-on, thick Irish accents Gillian: I m not sure I understood half of it! (laughter) Are play-readings important? Gillian: I love being in them, you can get into a character that you might not think of auditioning for, try things out. When I read the main role in Wit [a play by Margaret Edson about a professor of literature diagnosed with cancer, who dies on stage] it was totally different from anything I d ever done and it pushed me down a different path. Without that I m not sure I d have even thought of auditioning for Laura in Glass Menagerie in 2012; things came into it that I d tried out in Wit and if I d have come from the old comic roles I d known before I wouldn t have had the nerve to do it. Gillian as Laura in The Glass Menagerie You seem to identify with injured, vulnerable women Gillian: Laura and Birdie [The Little Foxes, 2013] are both very human characters and even if I hadn t lived through the same experiences, I felt great empathy for them. Playing comedy is certainly not easy but you don t have to dig so deep to find the character Playing characters like Laura and Birdie you have to go deeper to make them believable, so I tried to find real experiences either in my own life or in my friends or relations lives that I could tap into. I learned a huge amount but both parts were emotionally draining. G Gillian, Chuck Slovenski has directed the four plays you have appeared in; he says you re one of the few people who can make him cry on stage (Embarrassed laugh ) I wasn t sure I d have had the nerve to go back to the stage after my 11-year absence but I knew Chuck from work, I d choreographed an Irish dance for his own play My Irish Pal. In 2007 he was putting on Blithe Spirit, and that s so much fun I think he s a wonderful director, he has a definite idea of what he wants and so for me the challenge is always trying to meet his expectations and to match what he sees; it can 3

4 take me a while to get it and for example with Birdie it clicked quite late on. Fortunately, Chuck has a lot more belief in what I can do than I do myself! Wizard of Oz, 1998: Cathy and the Wizard (Peter Barnett), with, l-r, Chris Powell, Martin Jennings, Mick Storr Cathy, how do you see your relationship with directors? If a director wants a role played a certain way I would strive to do that; I might suggest something but if they don t agree that s fine. My approach worked well with Richard Walsh in Noises Off or Anthea Roth in Wizard of Oz; she didn t want me to be a sort of Cinderella re-born, but someone more feisty; that was the part. In Sound of Music, also with Anthea, it was more of an adult role, she wanted something different from how it was played in the film, and that was a new type of character for me to find. How do you prepare for opening night? Gillian: I try to get there as early as possible, walk around the set, check my props, make sure everything I m going to touch is there, that s one less thing to stress about. I go and get dressed and made up, staying calm. But once I hear other people around I go hyper, I have a need to talk, to chatter about anything, otherwise my brain will go into total doubt. Cathy: I m much the same, get there early usually one of the first to arrive. I often have two of everything I want, like tights, false eyelashes, shoes, hair curlers (one gas-operated, one electric, just in case!). I m not as hyper as Gillian but I don t like to shut myself off in Loot it was strange because I was the only female cast member, usually I m in a room full of girls. I was grateful having Cécile [Van de Voorde, doing costumes] for company. Who would you like to share a dressing room with? Cathy: Honestly, I like to share with Gillian, I know she s prepared like me and has got everything. But also my pal and fellow "Auntie", Cheryl Rooney. Gillian: I was going to say Benedict Cumberbatch! (laughter) I like sharing, with Cath of course but with other people too because often it s in the dressing room that you chat and get to know the people you ve been working with for the past six weeks. Have your own families been involved in theatre? Gillian: Both my children do courses at Simply Theatre; my husband Mark was in a show once, Gypsy Baron [1993] he agreed to step in late on as someone had dropped out sick, he mimed the songs on stage and Cathy (Elsa Schraeder) with daughter Cloda (Gretl von Trapp), Sound of Music, 2010 learned the dance steps with me at home! He s also helped backstage. Cathy: Cloda is doing a performing arts class at Simply Theatre and has appeared in a couple of their shows; she was also one of the von Trapp children in Sound of Music. I met my husband Owen during West Side Story [1994] and he has been active in both societies. 4

5 How can we get more people to come to our productions? Gillian: Try to bring in the local community more; many people speak some English, or learn English. I m sure they d jump at the chance of seeing an English-language production. A closing word? Gillian: I stand there in the wings hoping I ll remember where to be, when, and that when I open my mouth what I ve learned comes out. I want to do the part to the best of my ability. Cathy: When I m waiting for my first entrance, in the wings, I m thinking to myself, What am I doing here? Why am I putting myself through this? I feel sick! Then I get on, and it s like the best thing ever! Interview by Loulou Stirrup and Nic Sommer, September