Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Being in this play has lifted me out of depression ..it has completely changed my life
Mum’s delight over landing role
AFRAID to leave her home because of crippling depression and anxiety, Cliodhna Fisher had completely given up her dreams of being an actress.
The 24-year-old mum of three told how she hadn’t performed in years after losing all confidence for getting back on stage.
But after spotting a casting call for a production of Christina Reid’s play Joyriders on Belfast Live, she decided to take a leap of faith. Cliodhna told the Mirror: “My daddy told me to go for it – he more or less made me apply.
“The last time I acted was five years ago, I suffer from anxiety and depression so I stopped it all.”
Cliodhna, from Divis, West Belfast, has also been caring for her ill mum from a very young age and after having three kids of her own she said her focus changed.
She added: “I’ve had depression since I was about 15/16, I didn’t really leave the house or anything and then my mummy had been through an awful lot and got very ill, and my daddy raised me, so I had to grow up pretty quickly.
“I had to go and speak to counsellors as well at a young age as my mummy suffered a lot because of The Troubles so I was the one that had to help her through it.
“I’ve always wanted to act from a young age and I loved it. My daddy always said the one thing that would have lifted me out of my depression was if I was singing, acting or dancing, it was the only thing to give me that wee boost.”
With the support of her family, Cliodhna auditioned for Joyriders, which explores the lives of teenagers in a volatile environment against the backdrop of 1980s Belfast.
And she said she is now delighted to be back treading the boards.
Cliodhna added: “It’s been amazing. I wasn’t even going to go for the audition because I was so scared but my daddy is quite a spiritual person and he said to me the character who I play, Maureen, is just me.
“Everything that this character has been through, it’s just me. He said it was just meant for me so it was his encouragement that really made me go for it.
“I was so nervous at the audition and I met Pauline [Carville] the director and she said she hoped she had a connection with me and I just wanted to hug her because for the first time in a very long time, I felt someone believed in me and I needed that.
“Being in this play has just completely changed my life. It has completely lifted me out of my depression.
“I know it’s going to be a great show. I’m just the proudest person right now.”
Joyriders is on at An Culturlann on the Falls Road on August 10, 11 and 12. Tickets are available by calling Apollo Community Arts on 028 95434474 or online at www.apolloarts.co.uk.
WEST BELFAST YESTERDAY