TWO North Belfast actresses are set for the Lyric stage this Friday for the opening night of Marie Jones’ The Blind Fiddler.
Kerri Quinn and Sarah Reid join a stellar cast including West Belfast actors Paddy Jenkins, Antoinette Morelli and Terence Keeley, as well as Ian McElhinney and Richard Clements. With traditional music at the heart of the play – and with Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann rolling into town – renowned trad musicians Cathal Hayden and Máirtín O'Connor complete the ensemble on stage.
The drama/comedy is inspired by a true story and follows Kathleen Gormley from her childhood, raised above a pub in working-class Belfast, which was an oasis for traditional music during the dark days of the Troubles, and explores family, memory and cultural identity. With Matthew McElhinney directing we can expect the unexpected as music and drama collide on the Lyric stage.
Kerri Quinn is a familiar face on our television screens including roles in Coronation Street and Hope Street and has recently finished filming Close To Home, which is based on Twinbrook writer Michael Magee's novel and is due on our television screens in the not-too-distant future.
“Working on this play is like having a bit of craic with your mates," says Kerri, "because we all know each other. With Antoinette, Paddy and Terry – we are all good friends and have worked with each other at different points of our careers.
“I love Marie’s writing. She has this earthiness about her and the comedy within it, but it’s a beautiful, heartbreaking story. The first time they did this play it was an hour and twenty minutes straight through but now it’s been expanded so much more and even the set alone is mammoth and with live musicians.”
As a former Irish dancer, Kerri says that for the play to be taking place during the Fleadh “is just amazing”.
“The music in the show is so powerful and so beautiful, and we’ve got a stellar cast. It’s going to be great,” she adds.
Sarah Reid is making her main stage Lyric debut in the Blind Fiddler. She is well-known across the local theatre scene for her extensive work in independent, contemporary and community-driven dramatic productions. Now living in England, Sarah says she’s excited to work with the cast and learn from their experiences.
Sarah, left, and Kerri in rehearsals
“Being able to work on a Marie Jones play – I have never had the opportunity to do that before – it’s very exciting and I’m very excited to be home for the summer. I always wanted to do a show that was based on a working-class family because that’s what I’m from and then to have it centred around live music and Irish identity. Music is very big in my family and my daddy is a self-taught saxophone player and my mummy’s side of the family have dabbled a little bit in the bodhrán or lilting, so there’s something really nice about coming home and being able to showcase elements of my everyday life and my family’s history and being able to present that on stage. So I’m really excited about it.”
With the play co-inciding with Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann, Sarah says her friends from England are flying into Belfast to experience the Fleadh for the first time.
“It’s a really special moment in time and I’m really honoured to be part of it,” she says.
During the interview musicians Cathal Hayden and Máirtín O’Connor were arriving to put the actors through their paces. Along with the music, Sarah said the audience will also be impressed with the set design on stage”.
“There are so many layers to it, so many surprises, so many opportunities to go from the past and the present. You are looking at pre-Troubles from 1969 right through to when you meet my character just after the Good Friday Agreement, so there’s a big span of time that you are transported through.
"I’m really excited for people to come and see it and to be part of it.”
The Blind Fiddler runs at the Lyric from July 31 to August 16. Tickets available here.
