FEMINIST FORCES
Laura Donnelly on the joy of working with women in her exhilarating new Victorian sci-fi series
‘I get to dress up in brilliant costumes, ride horses and do stunts with a great bunch of gals. Honestly, what doesn’t appeal about that?’ says Laura Donnelly. Best known for her heartrending, Olivier-winning turn as Caitlin Carney in her partner Jez Butterworth’s critically acclaimed play The Ferryman, the Belfast-born actress is reflecting on her starring role in HBO’s latest blockbuster series. The Nevers, on air this month, takes place in late-Victorian England, in the aftermath of a mysterious incident that has left some women ‘touched’ by magical powers. It’s a racy riot of quippy dialogue, exploding steam-punk inventions and fight sequences with the combatants wearing corsets and bloomers.
‘It’s the most fun I’ve ever had on a job,’ says Donnelly. ‘Getting up at 5am for work was not a problem.’ She was disappointed when filming was cut short last year due to the pandemic, and she, Butterworth and their two young daughters had to retreat to rural Devon, where they spent most of lockdown in ‘reset mode’. The experience was reminiscent, she says, of writing The Ferryman, when the couple holed up for a few weeks in a cabin in upstate New York to collaborate on the script. The story was based, in part, on Donnelly’s own uncle’s disappearance during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. ‘I felt a lot of responsibility taking on that narrative,’ she says, ‘It meant so much to so many people and it remains one of the best things I’ve ever done.’ The pair are hoping to work together again soon, but for now, Donnelly has The Nevers to focus on.
While the show’s message of women’s empowerment appealed, it was the largely female cast, crew and writing-room that really struck her. ‘I’ve never been on a set quite like this one, full of female energy and with so many women behind the camera too,’ she says. ‘At drama school there were only nine women in my year, and I grew up thinking the best role I could ever get would be a supporting part alongside a man.’ Now, it’s the male industry stalwarts like Ben Chaplin and James Norton who are supporting her in The Nevers,a series that is likely to make her a household name. ‘I’m glad this is happening to me in my late thirties, with experience behind me. I’m not sure how I would have handled it in my twenties,’ she says. ‘But now? It’s pure excitement.’
‘The Nevers’ will be available on Sky Atlantic and Now from 17 May.