MY CULTURAL LIFE
Caoimhe Mulcahy, actress
Caoimhe Mulcahy is an actress who grew up in Spancil Hill, in County Clare. Her theatre and performance studies began in Galway, where she received her honours degree from NUIG. Caoimhe, below, moved to Dublin to train full-time as an actor at the Gaiety School of Acting, and she completed in 2015. A comfortable German speaker and an accomplished musician playing concertina, fiddle and piano, Caoimhe’s love lies in the stage, with her most recent role being the fiery Kate in The Spinning Heart at Smock Alley. She is currently in rehearsals for Dusk by Eamon Carr with Red Iron Productions, starring Garrett Lombard and Denis Conway. This runs in the New Theatre from October 11 to 15, following its special performance at the GPO last Thursday.
Art: Sunflowers by Van Gogh
My mother always taught me to appreciate the greats, such as Monet and Renoir, but it was Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, right, that always captivated me. It made sense to paint something so happy and bright. Art is what you make of it and we all take something different away. Van Gogh’s Sunflowers makes me happy. It and Tweety Bird are to blame for my unhealthy obsession with the colour yellow.
Play: Silent, Underneath, Forgotten
It is an incredible skill to be able to stand on stage and tell a story and hold an audience captivated for an hour or two. Pat Kinevane, left, does this with ease. He has the audience on the edge of their seat, holding on to every word that comes out of his mouth.
He genuinely made me laugh and cry at the beauty and cruelty of this world we live in.
The theatre makes me feel alive; even when something makes me feel uncomfortable and horrible and I go away from it, hating the world, that is a good and worthwhile theatre experience. Sometimes I forget to question why things are the way they are, and theatre reminds me to.
Design: Chat Noir
If I saw this poster, left, I would have gone along to the cabaret it was advertising. It’s intriguing, eye catching, very cool and typically French. That cat looks like he is up to no good and I want to find out what that is. The colours, the text, everything about this catches my eye. Everything that is said about Paris is in this poster. For me this poster, designed by artist Theophile Steinlen captures the excitement that can be found within its streets today.
Film: Up
This is not a kids’ movie. Up , right, is an incredibly touching story and anybody who says they didn’t cry watching it is a liar. If I hadn’t studied theatre I would have gone to art school and I am so impressed by what Pixar have achieved. Their colourful cartoons capture the fragility and hilarity of human experience and connect with us on an incredibly visceral level. This is a beautiful film.
Book: The Book of Lost Things
A good book is the closest thing we have to magic. If you’re going to read, why not go into a world full of mythical creatures and actual magic. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland always captivated me as a child and as a grown up The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly has a similar effect.