2 minutes with… Ciara O’Dowd

Wild-Looking But Fine: Abbey Theatre Actresses of the 1930s traces the lives of Aideen O’Connor and Ria Mooney; from their debuts on the Abbey stage to performing in New York in 1937, and the lives they made for themselves after that tour. Illustrated with captivating original black and white images from the period, the book is a reflection on how we can construct life stories from the disparate traces left behind. For our first ‘2 minutes with’ of DBF24, we caught up with author Ciara O’Dowd to find out what inspired the book and more.

What inspired you to delve into the stories of Aideen and Ria? 

I often think that Aideen and Ria chose me to write about them, rather than the other way around. I found a box of letters in an archive in Galway, letters Aideen had written home to her sisters about life in New York, where she was touring with the Abbey Company in 1937/38. They were vibrant, exciting letters about theatre and life, at the very same time as the 1937 Constitution was being passed into law here.

Ria was also on that tour, but she was struggling with her confidence (and perfectionism), and at being back in New York, where she’d worked in the late 1920s with the rigorous and challenging director Eva Le Gallienne.

Both were strong, capable women, serious about acting and passionate about theatre. I realised both had ended their lives unfulfilled and unrecognised for their work at the Abbey Theatre. I wanted to tell their life stories in a  way that celebrated their attempts to achieve something that was simply out of reach for women in Ireland at that time.

You researched extensively for this book. Can you tell us about a discovery that surprised you?

There were many, but most of the best examples were the friendships the women made in unlikely places, finding a network of support that sustained them. I discovered that Aideen had a close friendship with composer and New York socialite Kay Swift. Swift was the long-term partner of George Gershwin, and an uncredited contributor to his musical Porgy and Bess.

Swift helped Aideen secure American residency by putting up financial security. When I met Swift’s granddaughter, she explained that the money was a dowry from her first husband, and the only security Swift herself had at that time. She offered it to Aideen so that she could stay in Hollywood; that’s true friendship.

You explore how Irish acting and directing of the time was connected with the work of feminist artists overseas. Can you tell us more about this? 

Ria Mooney performed with and became an assistant director with the Civic Repertory Theatre Company in Greenwich village in the 1920s, which was a revolutionary and acclaimed group led by Le Gallienne. Le Gallienne followed the work of Stanislavski, viewing the actor as a creative artist that should be supported and nurtured, and focused on the empathy and understanding required by actors to embody characters. Ria brought these ideas and techniques back to Dublin, where she led an Experimental theatre group, trained generations of actors and worked with many established and emerging writers as Director of Plays in English at the Abbey Theatre.

Is there another event at DBF24 you are looking forward to? 

So many! Martina Devlin and Roddy Doyle, in particular. Perhaps the one I’m most excited about is The Most Unladylike Puzzle Book with Robin Stevens. I’m a huge fan of the series of books; she’s a writer truly gifted in weaving historical research and detail into fiction that enchants all ages. My son loves puzzles too, so we’ll be there for that and I’m hoping she might sign a book for me!

Hear more about Aideen O’Connor and Ria Mooney’s fascinating lives and legacies at our event at the Abbey Theatre on Thursday November 7th, when Ciara will be in conversation with actor Jane Brennan and Script Associate for the Abbey Dr Tanya Dean. Book here to join us.

Wild-Looking But Fine is published by UCD Press and is available to buy here.

Images featured with the permission of UCD Press.

Paramount Studios, April 6, 1938