Rathcormac native, Sally O’Leary and her fellow cast members Rhiannon Neads and James Taylor, had hundreds of audience members doubled over with laughter during their five night run at the legendary Edinburgh Fringe Festival this month.
The trio decided to complete the last run of their own musical comedy show ‘Adele is Younger Than Us’ at this year’s fringe where it all began back in 2016 at a small 45 seater venue.
Sally, Rhiannon and James met at LAMDA college in London and decided to start writing their own material.
“A lot of this stuff like fringe shows comes out of not having work. You basically make work for yourself,” Sally told The Avondhu this week.
On their first trip to Edinburgh Fringe, their brand new show sold out, which marked the start of a very fun journey for the relatable production.
“It ended up going so well the first time and then we brought it back to the Vault Festival in London and won an award with it. It was nice to finish the show back up in Edinburgh where it started,” said Sally.
The trio are now working on a brand new show ‘By All Accounts Two Normal Girls’ and Sally is also working on new material with the sketch group ‘Muriel’, who make a lot of online comedy videos and also create content for the online channel, BBC Three.
IN THE BLOOD
As the daughter of Valerie O’Leary, a highly regarded actress and drama teacher in the locality, Sally grew up living and breathing all thing theatre from the day she was born.
She completed her LAMDA grades as a child with the Monfort College of Performing Arts in Fermoy under the watchful eye of her mother and was involved in the Loreto School Choir, Ballyduff Drama Group, Fermoy Choral Society and almost anything theatre-related all the way through her childhood right up to her late teens.
After finishing her Leaving Cert at Loreto Fermoy, Sally completed a BA in Theatre Studies at DIT and then spent a year cutting her teeth in the drama scene in Dublin (which included starring in the Olympia Panto with Jedward) before making the move to London in 2012 to study at LAMDA College.
“I always wanted to do drama and I had always planned on going to LAMDA if I could,” explained Sally.
WORKING HARD
Since graduating from LAMDA in 2014, Sally has been working hard in London and has recently started doing stand-up comedy.
Her short-term plan is to split her time between Stiff and Kitch projects (her comedy projects with Rhiannon), and her work for the sketch group Muriel.
Her focus is now angled towards writing new work and developing the comedy projects.
“I’d love to write a sitcom or something. I’d love to work more at home too but I really like London and two of my sisters are here now, and we live really near to each other.”
LIVING THE DREAM
Leaving Rathcormac as a talented actress with bundles of ambition, Sally has certainly done herself proud and is carving a name for herself in the comedy and theatre scene in the UK.
There are a number of factors which have lead to her success but her years of experience and hard graft in the amateur drama scene have certainly been influential, she feels.
“I really believe in getting as much experience as you can, getting out and meeting like-minded people and making your own stuff. Do as much as you can. Everything I did in Loreto, Monforts, Ballyduff Drama Group, the Choral Society has all been a help,” said Sally.
“If you’re taking the drama school route, apply and audition over and over again. Don’t be disheartened if you don’t get in the first time,” she encouraged.
Best of luck to Sally as she continues to create award winning original material in an incredibly challenging industry.
