Eilish was born in Dublin in the early fifties and was the second youngest in a family of 10.In her early teens Eilish sang and played in a band called The Pentagonperforming mainly in pubs and clubs. In 1999 she took to the stage in in the very first of Mrs Brown’s Boys plays as Winnie McGoogan. Eilish also penned and performed her own one-woman show called ‘Live Love Laugh’ which premièred in the Dublin Gay International Theatre Festival in 2012 and won the ‘Doric Wilson Intercultural Dialogue Award’… (What a mouthful!). In 2013 she performed her show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival to rave reviews. Her film work includes’ Mrs Brown D Movie’, Sparrow’s Trap and a short film called Noreen.
In advance of her show, Elvis is My Daddy, coming to The Civic we go to know her a little better.
Could you tell us a little about your journey into acting, and how it all happened for you?
I started my journey into acting many years ago through amateur dramatics and loved every aspect of theatre production but particularly acting. I returned to Ireland in the late nineties and started working for my brother Brendan O’Carroll initially as wardrobe mistress and female understudy. In 1999 one of the actors had to take some time out and he asked me to perform Winnie in the stage production of Mrs. Brown’s Boys for a couple of nights… The rest as they say is history.
What’s your favourite part of the process of acting?
I love every part of the process, first reading the script, developing the character, working with other actors, rehearsing, having fun and finally performing.
How did you get involved in this production?
The writer John Murphy wrote the part of Lana Lavelle with me in mind after he came to see my one woman show in Belfast. I was thrilled he did. I loved the script and have enjoyed the journey so much.
Can you tell us a little about ‘Elvis is My Daddy’?
It is a play, a comedy, and a musical all wrapped up in one package. It’s a wonderful trip down memory lane, a foot tapping, hand clapping show with a lot of laughter.
Can you tell us about your character?
Lana Lavelle was a huge star in Vegas some 40 years ago and the story is revealed throughout the show as to why she is now making her comeback.
What do you hope audiences will take away from watching it?
We call it a good old fashioned night out. It’s a show that truly loves it’s audience. We’ve had great feedback when we meet the audiences afterwards.
“A great nights entertainment, with a great story”
“Couldn’t resist singing”
“Loved the songs”
“We laughed so much”
I came out feeling empowered, on a high”.
Do you have any dream roles?
If I’m truly honest I have to say this is one of my dream roles. In my younger years (and still) I was addicted to musicals and I would imagine myself on stage with all the glitz and glamour singing me heart out. It’s been a long time coming but here I am living the dream…
And finally, what was the last TV show you binge-watched?
Boston Legal. I sat and watched 8 episodes in one sitting. I love comedy and good character driven story lines and Boston Legal ticked all those boxes for me.
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Elvis is My Daddy comes to at The Civic on Wednesday 4th – Thursday 5th November 2015 for 2 nights only. Tickets are €18 & €16 concession and are on sale from our box office – 01 4627477 or online here
