Actress Kelly Gough spoke to David Hennessy about the London premiere of Chloë Moss’s Run Sister Run at Arcola Theatre in London.
Kelly Gough is about to star in the London premiere of Run Sister Run by award-winning playwright Chloë Moss.
Marlie Haco will direct Jo Herbert and Kelly as sisters Connie and Ursula). Theo Fraser Steele and Charlie Beaven complete the cast as Adrian and Jack.
Described as a sharp yet tender exploration of sisterhood, Run Sister Run follows the entwined lives of Connie and Ursula over four decades as their relationship is tested in profound and unexpected ways.
It asks the question, How do we protect those we love without losing ourselves?
Award-winning playwright Chloë Moss explores the destructive and redemptive power of family bonds in this gripping story of resilience and survival.
Spanning four decades, Run Sister Run follows sisters Connie and Ursula, tracing the forces that bind them together and threaten to tear them apart.
The play interrogates the tension between nature and nurture, exposing the complex contours of sibling love.
The play draws the past into the present, revealing the lasting impact of the choices that shape us.
From Ennis, Co. Clare Kelly Gough is recognisable from TV roles such as Marcella, Call the Midwife, Strikeback, Broadchurch, The Fall, Grace and RTE’s Raw.
Her film roles include Kill Command and the Irish language film, Tarrac.
Her stage roles include Julius Caesar (RSC), House of Shades (Almeida Theatre), Harm (Bush Theatre), A Streetcar Named Desire, Don Carlos (UK tour) and Macbeth (Second Age).
Kelly’s sister is the two time Olivier Award- winning actress, Denise Gough.
Having enjoyed a career of more than two decades, Kelly reveals in the interview that she has no plans to do any further acting past this production to instead focus on teaching.
How does it feel to be part of this London premiere for Run Sister Run?
“In the Irish sense of the word, grand.
“It feels grand.
“I am unashamedly grateful for the work, and ‘work’ means little in the Grand scheme of things.
“I couldn’t have dreamed up a better part, play, director, writer or company for myself, it’s grand so it is.”
What attracted you to Run Sister Run and the writing of Chloë Moss?
“The story and the structure.
“By structure, I don’t just mean the chronology of the narrative- I mean the way the writing sits on the page.
“Specifically, I mean the punctuation.
“Chloé’s work reads a bit like the way Shakespeare does- she’s on your shoulder, every Silence, Long Silence, Pause and (Beat) works a kind of magic.
“One interpretation is: you really ‘hear’ this play. I love it.”
How would you describe your character, Ursula?
“In the truest sense of the word, a lunatic.
“She could turn tides if properly resourced. Unfortunately for Ursula, there are zero such resources in place.”
Connie is looking back at moments with Ursula over a great many years, does that mean there’s a great range and variety of moments, tone for you in this play?
“Undoubtedly. It’s a beautiful beast of a play.
“Both Jo and I spend most of the rehearsal day drowning in sweat, and the soles of our feet are black as the back of the fireplace…I am unbearable by the end.
“Thankfully, Jo is sound. Really sound.
“In fact, everyone involved is sound.
“I am very aware of how lucky I am.”
It’s been described as very raw and very funny at different times, is that something you like?
“I’m not sure ‘like’ is the right word- the rawness of real life is quite enough for me.
“That said, Mark Twain described a sense of humour as one of the best defences humankinds has.
“I often wonder if that’s why JK Rowling chose the word ‘RIDDIKULUS’ when writing about how to tackle a Boggart…
“When the rawness of reality gets too much, I find howling with laughter helps.”
How does the Connie/Ursula relationship change throughout the years?
“I think it starts the way all sister relationships do- with the elder taking the lead, forging the path, and the younger absorbing every single atom of information.
“Then life steps in.
“Each character must learn to play the hand they have been dealt independently.”
You’re from a big family and even have a twin sister, how does the play’s themes of sisterhood and family resonate with you?
“It’s been a real stretch. Not.
“For better and for worse, for richer and for poorer, my massive family has made me who I am…I’d have been lost without them. I don’t always like them, but holy smokes I love them more than anything.
“I can (and often do) give out yards about them, but I’d throttle anyone who tries to do the same.
“My parents, brothers and sisters (by blood and in law), nieces, nephews, and Shelley and Denise are- inarguably- my anchor.
“Come for them at your peril.
“Even at 38, I’m a real almost-youngest child; they are almost everything to me.”
Of course your sister Denise is also a very well known actress, has she been an inspiration to you? Will we ever see the Gough sisters on screen/ stage together, do you think?
“Niecey is an inspiration in the way all my siblings are, we are both blessed enough to be part of a very good family.
“Though we are far from perfect, I know all of us do our best, and – to me- there is nothing more inspirational than that.
“É sin ráite, I strongly suspect the answer to the latter part of your question is no. At the time of (this interview), this is my last acting job. As my mother might say: ‘We’ll see’.”
Does the play also say something about the lasting effect of events from childhood in later life? Are you having those kinds of conversations in the rehearsal room? What feelings do you think it will envoke in the audience?
“It’s possible to argue Nature vs Nurture is a significant theme in the play.
“Needless to say, all manner of conversations are being had in the rehearsal room.
“Talking, reading, moving, and writing, are key parts of any rehearsal process- this one is no exception.
“As for what feelings it may evoke in an audience…all people are complex; I have no idea how any of it will land.
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
How does it feel to be back onstage?
“Grand. I make plans and life does what it does- this is what life is doing now. Tomorrow, it might do something different. In September (God-willing), I’ll be back teaching. Whatever comes, I’ll follow my nose and my gut. I always have; I hope I always will.”
You started on the stage, isn’t that right? Does the theatre mean a great deal to you for that reason?
“It means a lot to me, but not because I started there. It means a lot to me because my parents started there. Dad directed plays in The Boys Club, Mam did the costumes.
“With the exception of one day, I’ve never been home and not heard my father singing.
“If you press Mum to perform a party piece, she plumps for Percy Shelley’s Ode to A Skylark.
“If you ask my aunts to perform, it’s a riot…I definitely didn’t lick it off the ground. Tá sé sa fhuil agam; it’s in my blood.”
You have been acclaimed for your stage roles such as Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire, was that a real career highlight? Or what has been a real ‘pinch me’ moment of your career to date?
“More often than not, life feels like a wild story I’ve (subconsciously) written for myself.
“Even in my worst moments, I know I’m living my dream.
“So I don’t pinch myself. If I pinch myself, I might wake up.
“That said, the first time I met Olivia Colman, she gleefully declared, ‘Lovely to meet you, this is GREAT. I know you’re not a c*** because Kudos (the makers of Broadchurch) don’t hire c***s.’ Inarguably, that was a GREAT few weeks.”
You’ve been a part of some great shows like Raw back at home and Casualty, Marcella and Broadchurch over here, what is it like to be part of such great shows? Do you often get recognised for being on TV and what show do you usually get recognised for?
“Acting is the same as any other field: it’s all about the people, and it varies from job to job.
“Oftentimes (though not always), the bigger the ‘star’ the greater the disappointment.
“Saying that, working in Film/TV is cloyingly infantilising- it could drive even the most sedate individual a bit mad.
“No matter how egregious the behaviour, I’m slow to judge.
“Being recognised for anything spins me all the way out- I don’t know how any of them do it. Mercifully, if I happen to be recognised, being an identical twin comes in awful handy…”
When did you know you wanted to act or did you always know?
“The decision to begin acting was swift and precise.
“Deciding to stop was…a process.
“However much I’m enjoying this job, I’m really looking forward to being back in the classroom in September.
“I want to write.
“I want to teach.
“I want to maul every book I own with annotations and be wildly at peace.”
I enjoyed the Irish language film Tarrac that you starred in, what did it mean to be part of that? Some of your early work was Irish language shows like Scúp, what’s been your take on the recent resurgence of the Irish language with An Cailín Ciúin and Kneecap?
“I am OBSSESSED with every wild and magnificent facet of the Irish language.
“Becoming fluent was, indisputably, the best thing I’ve ever done.
“I feel more like myself when I speak Irish, my twin sister and I speak it constantly, when I go home I speak Irish with James Meade (Dad’s friend).
“I annotate in Irish.
“I sing (badly) in Irish.
“As sure as the west coast of Ireland has been shaped by the Atlantic, we have all been shaped by the Irish language.
“I would, in the strongest of terms, encourage everyone to engage with it.
“Whatever the question, the answer is Irish/Gaeilge/Gaelinn.”
Are you into sports yourself? Do you cheer on the Banner when they’re playing? Or how do you like to relax in your free time?
“I’m not really into sports.
“I’m into reading, writing, rowing naomhógs with friends, getting in the sea (especially in Winter), walking, and spending a lot of time alone.
“I will cheer for anyone, but I cheer loudest for the counties of Clare, Sligo and Kerry.
“I play on the stage, on the page, and in the classroom…that’s enough for me.”
You have long been based in London, is that right? Is it very much home from home now? Have you interacted with the Irish community a lot in your time here?
“Home is where the heart is, and my heart is inside me; tá mo chroí ionam.
“Wherever my feet take me, Ireland (and Irish) comes with me.
“In addition, Irish people pop up EVERYWHERE.
“I can spot them at a distance, and they often stop when they overhear Ciara (my twin) and I on the phone.
“Needless to say, all of them are legends.”
What’s next for you? And would you love to see this production get another life?
“After this production of the play I’ll be heading to Sligo for a bit (my best friends live in Sligo). After that, I’ll head south to Clare to my folks (my two favourite people), and then down to dement the townspeople of Dingle once again.
“I know I’ll need to ground: I’ll hurl myself into the Atlantic, wash off the last of summer, and let the next chapter of the story begin.
“Whether or not the show has a second life, let alone one that involves me, isn’t something I dwell on.
“As Mum and Dad taught us all to sing ‘Que sera sera, whatever will be will be’.”
Run Sister Run runs 2- 26 July at Arcola Theatre.
For more information and to book, click here.
