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Pride of the nation

SHELLEY MARSDEN speaks to Emily Taaffe, the baby-faced star of new play, Nation… - 09/12/09

LAMDA-trained Dublin actress Emily Taaffe, 25, has been based in London for four years. Enviably fresh-faced and very sweet in person, she is the youngest of five children and as such was always encouraged to perform.

Though Nation is her biggest project to date, she has starred in The House of Special Purpose (Chichester Festival Theatre), Rock’n’Roll (Manchester Library Theatre) and Three Sisters (Abbey Theatre, Dublin).

Taaffe plays Daphne in the play, based on Terry Pratchett’s adventure story and running at London’s National Theatre. Mark Ravenhill’s adaptation, suitable for ages 10 and above, is a continuation in the theatre’s commitment to bringing thoughtful theatre for young people to the capital.

Set in a parallel world in 1860, two teenagers are thrown together by a tsunami that has destroyed Mau’s village and left Daphne shipwrecked on his South Pacific island.

One wears next to nothing, the other a long white dress; neither speaks the other’s language and somehow they must learn to survive. Introducing various universal themes amidst some imaginative staging and a hefty cast, Nation is an ambitious look at what happens when an entire world has been washed away and a new one must begin…

Em, you look way younger than yourtwenty-five years, Emily!

I know. I’m 25 and still getting ID-d! I went to buy a bottle of wine recently for

dinner, and I had to bring my boyfriend with me in case they wouldn’t sell it to me. But it’s great from a work point of view. I mean, I’m playing a 13-year-old in Nation!

Enjoying the run so far?

It’s a pretty technical show, with lots of music and a big set – full-on, but good. It’s definitely the biggest-scale thing I’ve done by far, the first job I’ve had in London, and the biggest role I’ve had since I graduated in 2007. There are 27 of us in the company, I mean it’s a huge undertaking.

Plays for young adults at The National are becoming quite a tradition…

We’re in there with Coram Boy and War Horse, yes. It’s brilliant for The National to do such challenging and inspiring work. So often, young people fall into that bracket where they’re not old enough for adult plays, but they’re not young enough for kids shows. Nation, like any great story, crosses the

generations. It doesn’t talk down to young people. You’re in that in-between age when you’re finding your place in the world.

Which is in keeping with the message of Nation, am I right?

Exactly; it’s about choosing who you want to be; what rules to keep and which to throw away. Characters in this play are creating their own nation, but it’s also about creating your own future. To be involved in a play that asks those questions is important. It makes me think, and hopefully it has that effect on

theatre audiences.

Have you read Terry Pratchett’s novel?

Before I auditioned. It’s brilliant; it creates this amazing world and Pratchett’s knowledge is so vast. There are a lot of big questions in the book, and Mark Ravenhill has really succeeded in transferring them to the stage. It’s a different medium, so things have been changed; the play moves a lot faster; but the essence of the story is still strong.

For the full interview, buy this week's Irish World at your local newsagents, or pick up a copy HERE from only 50p!