Hi Rachael – pleasure to meet you! You must be excited to be playing such a colourful character at the Fringe this year, a festival that welcomes a great story. Is this your first time here?
Lovely to meet you. Yes, I’m a fringe newbie and I’m really excited that Catriona, my character, and ‘The Girl Who Was Very Good at Lying’ has managed to find a home here in Edinburgh for the month. It feels like the perfect place to unleash its madness.
How do you relate to Catriona? Are you fond of a white lie?
Honestly, I might just be the worst liar you’ll ever come across. It’s actually embarrassing how terrible I am at it. But like Catriona, I do think that lying has its benefits. She’s actually an incredibly honest person and naively expects everyone else to be as well. Her lies are more imaginative storytelling, they’re created to make everyone’s lives a little more interesting. In that respect I think it’s a talent but I can’t claim to possess the same level of skill as Catriona.
Having played Catriona do you think you’re a little more prone to embellishment now?
Embellishment is a lovely word for it. The world really is a lot more exciting with some embellishment, isn’t it? I reckon we’re all guilty of adding a little flavour to our stories, aren’t we? They’re a lot more fun that way.
What is the lie/story you’ve told/are most proud of? As in you thought ‘you know what? That was really quite funny.‘
I have a story with my best friend involving an impromptu netball match, nail extensions and a very angry referee. Every time we tell it to a new group, it gets a little more dramatic and ridiculous. All you need to know is that we lost and made some enemies to top it off.
What stands out most about this play compared to others you’ve been in? Is it your first time doing a standalone?
Yes this was my first stand alone and I was terrified when I first took it on. I’ve had some time now to get really comfortable with it and now I’m able to play and allow it to change depending on audience and moods within the room.
Catriona and her story really stood out to me from the first moment I read it. Eoin has written something that is so alive and mad and funny but heartbreaking at the same time. I picked it up and it jumped off the page straight away and I’ve been in love with it ever since.
What would you say to your audience to help them choose your play above all the others at Fringe this year?
So far audiences have really loved this mad world we’ve created. It’s got church orgy’s, cannibals and a human rooster so we can guarantee you won’t be bored. After all, a heartbreaking comedy is always lovely at 11.55 in the morning.
The Girl Who Was Very Good at Lying is playing at Summerhall until the 28th August 2022.