Currently performing as part of the ensemble cast in Barbara Bergin’s Dublin Gothic at the Abbey Theatre, award-winning actress Sarah Morris shares her highlights, points of reference, and words of wisdom.
Dublin-based actress Sarah Morris left school after her Junior Cert in need of a creative outlet. Flash forward to 2019 and she’s won the Irish Times Theatre Award for Best Actress for?her role as Nannie in The Lost O’Casey. Below, she shares her cultural life.
Did you always know that you wanted to work in theatre?
I think I’ve always wanted to be an actor, in whatever form that’s presented itself to me so far. I left school early, after my Junior Cert, because I knew I couldn’t hack that kind of routine and rigidity without a creative outlet. I was always more interested in people, and in applying myself in a more practical, hands-on way.
Tell us about Dublin Gothic and your role within it.
Dublin Gothic is a beautiful new play by Barbara Bergin. It’s innately original, Barbara has really tinkered with form in the writing. We follow multiple characters, threads and storylines, all ultimately linked through themes of belonging, and of embracing or rejecting the shadowy or “loser” parts of ourselves. It explores what we inherit from our bloodlines, both good and bad, and what makes you, you.
I play two characters in the play: Honor in Act One, and Honor’s great-granddaughter, Nell Nell, in Acts Two and Three. It’s filled with authentic Dublin charm and is fundamentally rich in its language, with Barbara honouring Dublin cadences while also completely turning them on their head and breaking the rules.
What has the reaction been like so far?
Great. I think everyone takes something different from the play. Whether one theme resonates, or all of them do, there’s something in it for everyone, from emigration and the need to feel seen as an artist abroad, to fighting oppression; the search for love to fill an emptiness; identifying your purpose; or the innate desire to be wanted and loved.
The play travels through three eras; the late 1800s, the 1950s and the 1980s, and there’s a social and political familiarity to each. Maybe you grew up in one of those times, or your parents or grandparents did.
What has it been like working with Barbara Bergin and the ensemble cast?
It’s been amazing. We’ve had such a lovely company on the show, and there are millions of us. The play asks a great deal of you as a performer and storyteller, and that responsibility runs through every department. We all have to work together to tell the story as clearly and excitingly as possible.
You have to trust each other. We all rolled up our sleeves and dove in headfirst. Once all that work is done, you throw it up and hand it over to the audience to share.
Who is someone you look up to in Irish theatre, television and film?
I have so many. I loved Lola Petticrew and Hazel Doupes performances in Say Nothing. All of Ella Lily Hyland’s work is just beautiful, dangerous, skilled and spicy all at once. And both Walsh sisters, Eileen and Catherine, are magnetic and incredibly brave performers.
What has been the highlight of your career so far?
I don’t know, I’ve been lucky to have loads. The best part of being an actor is the five minutes when you hear you’ve got the gig… followed by the next five minutes when you think, ’Oh Jesus, how am I going to do that?’
Winning the Irish Times Theatre Award for Best Actress for Nannie was a huge honour. She’s a character that stays with me. I see her every day on the streets of Dublin.
What is one thing you wish everyone knew about being an actress?
You can book a holiday all you want , but you’d better be ready to cancel it. Sun holidays, winter breaks, hens, weddings… the lot. That is a pretty poxy part.
What would you say to a budding actor unsure of their next steps?
Go for it. Live your life. Drink, eat, fall in love, fight, fall over. You can’t be an actor without an appetite for life and living, so get outside the bubble of drama school and away from watching all the Inside the Actors Studio interviews. Don’t take yourself too seriously. But yeah, of course go see things, exhibitions, plays, films, documentaries.
Sarah Morris’ life in culture
The last thing I saw and loved… I’m in the middle of watching Task at the moment and really enjoying it. The cast is fantastic, and it’s always nice to see Irish talent soaring in the heart of it all too.
The book I keep coming back to… Kae Tempest’s On Connection, it’s beautiful. I’m ashamed to say I’m not the biggest reader, but I’ve really gotten into audiobooks over the last few years. I’ve just started Kathy Burke’s autobiography A Mind of My Own, which I’m loving, and I recently finished Jennette McCurdy’s I’m Glad My Mom Died.
I find inspiration in… Collaboration. When I’m feeling spent, like my creativity is on airplane mode, being in a room with people you respect, who challenge and excite you, can be incredibly recharging. Once you surrender to that collective energy, the fizz kicks in: ideas firing off each other, plugging into each other and sharing it can make for magic on occasion.
My favourite film is… It changes all the time, but I always come back to Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia. I also love Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name — it really depends at any given time.
The song I listen to to get in the zone is… Right now, a lot of Lankum, especially their live version of ’Rocky Road to Dublin’. In the mornings, Radiohead’s In Rainbows: ‘15 Step’ or ‘Weird Fishes’. If I’m in my feelings, ’Je te laisserai des mots’ by Patrick Watson. If I want a bop and a smile, Olivia Dean. And sometimes I’ll throw on Nicholas Britell’s Succession soundtrack for a bit of motivational drama.
The last thing I recommended… Lily Allen’s West End Girl, I’ve had it on repeat. Film-wise, Notes on a Scandal even though it’s years old, it’s brilliant I only just recommended to a friend. I love when you get around to watch things you’ve been meaning to watch forever.
I never leave the house without… I should say a charger, because my phone is always dead, but honestly, lip balm.
The piece of work I still think about… Billie Piper in Lucy Prebble’s I Hate Suzie. Or Sean Baker’s The Florida Project. Probably Andrea Arnold’s FishTank, I remember watching it for the first time and feeling every second of it. That kind of visceral, raw, unapologetic film making steeped in authenticity that’s what invigorates me most as an artist and an audience.
The best advice I’ve ever gotten… “There is no right way.” So, stop trying to do it right, you can’t. If you can accept that it can be incredibly freeing.
The art that means the most to me… Barbara and I spoke about Honor’s loneliness, and she mentioned seeing Edward Hopper’s Hotel Room in person and experiencing that visceral sense of isolation and loneliness from seeing it in the flesh the simplicity of the beauty and pain within that painting. She said it was palpable. That stayed with me.
I’ve grown into appreciating art more as I get older; Louise Bourgeois’ sculptures nearly knock me over, even in images. I didn’t grow up in a particularly arty or “cultured” environment, and I used to find art intimidating. But now I’m embracing it. It’s like discovering a classic film or a band you’ve never listened to, it’s a gift.
I was recently given a card for an opening night of one of Niamh Swanton’s images This Is Not Where I Thought I’d End Up. Somehow it captured the entire play in one image. I had to frame it.
The most challenging thing about being an actor is… Balance. It’s a mad thing, quite often, your sense of purpose feels ignited when you’re working, so when you’re not, that purpose can feel dormant, even though it isn’t. Figuring out that balance is key. I don’t know if you ever master the balance, but it’s a process.
If I wasn’t an actor, I would be… Maybe a criminal psychologist. I’d still be interested in behaviour, character traits, and understanding why people do what they do. If that didn’t work out, I’d throw my hand at something else.
The magic of theatre to me is… That it’s live. It can’t exist without an audience. It asks the performer and the audience to be present together in the same moment, and that’s pretty cool.
Production imagery by Ros Kavanagh.
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