Cover story: Fair City is back
Just like the rest of the country, Carrigstown shut up shop in March during lockdown. Now the stars of the series tell Niamh Walsh they’re delighted to be back
AS the nation begins to try to settle into some sort of normality an old familiar face is back on our screens with the return of Fair City.
The much-loved soap ran — until March — uninterrupted for 30 years with the country entertained by the goings-on in Carrigstown. But, mirroring the world at large back in March, the cameras stopped rolling on Fair City, the set was shuttered, the cast and crew sent home and life in Carrigstown pressed pause.
But tonight the residents are back. And while long-serving character Dolores, played by Martina Stanley, may be masked up she can still summon her infamously snidey asides that she is so loved for.
Speaking to Magazine Martina said getting the call to go back was most welcome.
‘In March, they just didn’t have an option, we were coming into lockdown and like everybody, we just had to close it down.
‘It’s like someone just turned off a switch and we had to stop,’ she says of the national lockdown instigated by then Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. ‘Except the frontline workers, I just do not know how they do it, I am in total awe of them.’
While some among the younger generation have come in for sharp criticism for flouting Covid guidelines, Martina said she has understanding for the plight of the young.
‘It’s hard on the younger people ... there’s only so much they can take. I remember myself when I was young, you’ve a bigger network of friends and a different lifestyle and you want to be out and about, but hopefully the message will get through to them.’
Back in Carrigstown, Martina has built a formidable reputation over two decades in the soap as someone not be trifled with, but her character is much adored.
‘It [Fair City ] was running for four years when I came into it. So when you’re out and about you get people commenting on the show and people saying they miss it, which is nice to hear, and you have nice banter with people. ‘It’s great to be back. It was the best feeling in the world when we heard we were coming back. Everything has changed, there was a phenomenal amount of adjustments that had to be made for health and safety. Normally we shoot four episodes a week, now we are shooting three episodes a week. Everything has slowed down, the crew has been reduced, the cast has been reduced. There are more breaks because the crew have to wear masks all the time, so they need more breaks.
‘Some of our scenes are with masks, some are not, it’s difficult to shoot scenes with masks, so it’s trial and error at the moment. ‘
‘We are finding our way, and finding our way through it the same as anyone getting back to work can do.’
But she says viewers can expect the usual antics, catfights, family love-ins and fall-outs.
While Fair City is back, the arts as an industry has been decimated and Martina says her fellow artists have suffered during the crisis.
‘I think it’s a terribly difficult time for the arts and anyone working in the area, for everyone across the spheres from actors to writers to directors. There are so many creative people trying their best to keep things ticking over.
‘I think the Covid payment was great and it was fantastic it was rolled out. But there were so many
‘It was the best feeling to hear we were coming back’
people who couldn’t avail of it because they weren’t working right up into the lockdown.
‘Then what do you do? Get a job as a waiter? There are no jobs as a waiters, people are losing their jobs, left right and centre. But the arts have suffered so much and I think that’s one of the sad ramifications of all of this,’ she said.
‘I know [actors’ union] Equity are trying to lobby the departments to have their voices heard. You look at all the theatres around the country and the little venues, it’s just heartbreaking really.
‘It’s a precarious enough life as it is, the unknown was always a factor, but now the unknowing is far more bleak.’
This sentiment is echoed by her co-star Nyree Yergainharsian. ‘It’s very deflating. It’s not just our dreams, it’s our jobs, it’s our profession. Some people have worked for many years and trained for this life,’ Nyree says.
‘When I ask about the words of Employment Minister Heather Humphreys who recommend artists should go and seek other employment elsewhere, Nyree is decidedly unimpressed.
‘Then to be told go and “just retrain” or “get another job”. It was really deflating, it really showed a lack of understanding of what life in the arts is really like and also what the true role of the arts is, which is far more significant than sometimes it is given recognition for.
‘Creatives need a lot of support, the creative process can be very long and challenging and without some level of understanding of that at Government level we are just going to have generations of artists lost, they’re just going to go somewhere else or they just won’t happen at all. If we don’t get the support we need that’s going be a big loss and we will suffer in the future.’
She laughs when I ask about her pretty and unusual name.
‘My dad is Armenian and my mam is from Dublin so I have this accent and this name; it’s the ancient name for Armenia.’
Like Martina she was thrilled to get the ‘come back to work call’ from Fair City bosses.
‘Things are ticking over somewhat normally,which is nice. They are being understandably cautious, all of the measures are in place and we are taking things safely and cautiously, but it is great to be back on set.
‘Fair City is a finely tuned machine, it has been going over 30 years, so all they have refined now is new conditions. Everything just takes a little bit more time. They have obviously done Trojan work behind the scenes to get us up and working again. It feels like they’ve gone through everything with a fine tooth comb to get back up and running and get us back on set and filming.’
Nyree also agrees that life will go on as before, with slight tweaks. ‘Fair City always tries to represent what is happening in society, now obviously we mirror real life. We wear masks in the shops, there’s social distancing, they are very much a part of the story and life in Carrigstown is very much like it is part of life in Ireland.
‘Look how far we have come in this short amount of time, so I think these measures will just blend into the background. I don’t think people are going to go “Jaysus, here’s another mask”. It’s just going to be what the shops look like, that’s what Fair City looks like. And all of the things that people love about Fair City is still there.’
But will we still have all of the drama that the soap is famed for?
‘When it comes to anything physical — snogging, slapping — the answer is no, But what’s exciting now is the whole team is grabbing with everything they can to represent everything in new ways with language, with movements, with what’s not said that’s implied happened off-shot.
‘We can still tell the best stories in different exciting ways. People’s hopes, dreams, anxieties, fears, loves and life are always what Fair City has been about. We tell other people’s stories through characters. We have come in post-Covid so you will discover certain people will have had it and come through it — the drama continues around that.’
‘We mirror real life, we wear masks in shops’