WEST Belfast actress Eímhear Jackson is set to make her Lyric debut next week in the theatre’s production of Steel Magnolias.
Better known as a Hollywood movie starring Dolly Parton and Sally Field, the play of the same name was written by Robert Harling and first staged in 1987.
“The script is just fantastic, it is so funny,” says Eímhear, who hails from Dermott Hill. “It has been a ball with the cast. My character Annelle is a bit lost and she’s searching for a sense of community and has spent all of her life on her own. She finds her community in Truvy’s, which is the salon. So Truvy is kind of the glue that holds everyone together and she takes Annelle under her wing and then you see her develop and come out of her shell and she starts to get a bit sassy and you see her find her personality and stuff.”
Eímhear got her acting break at the age of 12 when she went along to an audition for the feature film Pumpgirl, and got the part.
“From when I was first on that set I just knew that this was what I wanted to do forever,” she recalls.
In 2017 when she was 21 Eímhear decided that if she wanted to progress as an actress then she would have to leave home and head across the Atlantic.
“I decided one day that I wanted to go to New York. It wasn’t a lifelong dream or anything, I looked up schools in New York for film and TV training and the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts was the first one that came up.
“I was 21 and I was in New York. At the time I didn’t feel it was a big deal being there on my own, but looking back now that I’m 30, it was a big deal, but back then I was just ready to go and so excited and I knew that when I was going to school it was like walking on to a film set every day. That took away any nerves, it was excitement. And it gave me that go-getter attitude."
The former St Louise’s pupil graduated with a Degree in Acting for Film and Television and a Degree in Musical Theatre Performance after her two years at the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts.
“All the teachers were all working actors,” she says. “They were all filming for Netflix, HBO and on Broadway, so they’re coming in to teach us and saying, this is what I learned two months ago. So all the knowledge they were learning on set they were bringing into the classroom. We were getting information that was right up-to-date.”
Eímhear stayed in New York for seven years and returned home in December 2023.
Eímhear Jackson
She said New York changed after Covid and she was keen to return home to discover new opportunities.
"Our industry here was moving so rapidly and career-wise I thought that realistically going home was going to be the best option and I’ll have more opportunity.”
When Eímhear returned home she established the Actor’s Hub in Blackstaff Mill for aspiring actors and writers.
“I realised that there was a huge gap in film and TV training so I wanted to open a business and I wanted to teach people acting for film and TV and I started the Actors’ Hub within a few months of being home. We have such amazing talent here in Belfast.”
With a week to go before opening night, Eímhear is looking forward to the curtain going up on Steel Magnolias.
“It feels good to be representing West Belfast on the Lyric Theatre stage on my Lyric Theatre debut,” she says. “People from West Belfast love to see other people from the West do well, so you’ve got me and our assistant director Debra Hill who is also from West Belfast, and I just know that people are going to eat it up and hopefully we’ll make them proud," she says.
Steel Magnolias runs from June 13 until July 10. Tickets https://lyrictheatre.co.uk/whats-on/steel-magnolias
