INTERVIEW: ‘Pumpgirl’ finds three souls searching for something (anything) in Northern Ireland
Photo: Hamish Allan-Headley and Labhaoise Magee star in Pumpgirl at the Irish Repertory Theatre. Photo courtesy of Carol Rosegg / Provided by Matt Ross PR with permission.
Abbie Spallen’s monologue play Pumpgirl, set in Northern Ireland, finds three characters connected through their toxic relationships and yearning for something new in life. The title character works at a petrol station, according to press notes, and must defend herself from the unsavory clientele. One of those customers is Hammy, an amateur stock-car racer, who stays out on the town rather than at home with his wife, Sinead.
The play has gone through many productions since its premiere in 2006, and now the Irish Repertory Theatre is presenting the show in an extended engagement through Jan. 12. Nicola Murphy directs a cast that consists of Hamish Allan-Headley, Labhaoise Magee and Clare O’Malley.
“It was just the old audition process,” Allan-Headley said in a recent phone interview about his landing the part of Hammy. “I had done a play with them a few years ago called The Belle of Belfast, which was set in Belfast, and so they knew that I had a bit of a handle on a Northern accent. So they called me in for this because of that, and then I met with Nicola Murphy, the director there. And we got along great, and the rest went quite smoothly.”
The actor was new to the work of Spallen. He had never read Pumpgirl before being offered the audition, so he decided to sit down and pore over the pages. He was immediately impressed and excited by the prospects of acting in the monologue show.
“I hadn’t seen a male role like this one pretty much ever, so I was quite excited to be part of it and thought it was an important story to tell,” he said. “It’s been a collaborative process with me and Nicola Murphy. I would say that there’s some quite horrible things that happen in this play that this character is part of, but we focused on bringing out the humanity of the character. So we started with that, and by that I suppose we mean we started with focusing on what and how this character loves.”
Acting in a monologue play is a different challenge than acting in an ensemble piece. The three actors on the Irish Rep stage never directly interact with one another, and this can be seem quite isolating from the outsider’s perspective, Allan-Headley said.
“But you’re very aware of the ensemble nature of the piece when you’re doing it,” he said. “You’re very aware of Clare and Labhaoise doing their thing, and they’re incredible. So I just try to keep up with them.”
During rehearsals, Murphy even directed the actors in one large collaborative process. The performers didn’t come into the rehearsal room separately and learn their parts without ever experiencing what their colleagues were planning on doing. They were together for this theatrical ride.
“It’s not always the case that you get to have rehearsal time allotted to creating the world of the play,” Allan-Headley said. “Quite often there isn’t time, so you just go and work on your piece and come back, and the whole thing moves forward. But Nicola was very good about making sure that we had time allotted to create the world in which these people inhabited and connect the through-lines of what happens.”
The experience of working at the Irish Rep must be a positive one for Allan-Headley because he is returning to the theatrical institution for a second time. He called the staff, including co-founders Ciarán O’Reilly and Charlotte Moore, wonderful and lovely.
“They create a family atmosphere,” he said. “I would recommend it to anyone who has the opportunity to work there. Jump at the chance.”
Allan-Headley has been acting for quite some time. He was involved in some community theater when he grew up, but because he came from a construction family, he actually became a registered electrician (his brother is a machine operator). After graduating high school, he went into the trades, but eventually his path led him to New York City and revisiting that early love of acting on the stage.
“I think I always knew in the back of my head that’s what I was going to go toward,” he said.
And he has quickly found a home in several plays, including these dramas from Ireland and Northern Ireland. He believes this island has been so powerful in its output of quality theater because of the history of its pain and struggle.
“They really have a way of bringing out the humanity and levity in tragic stories,” Allan-Headley said. “They have such a rich history of strife in that country, and they have a way of bringing out this idea that life still occurs and goes on through these difficult times. … That’s a universal thing that all people can relate to, and so I think people are drawn to it.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Pumpgirl, featuring Hamish Allan-Headley, continues through Jan. 12 at the Irish Repertory Theatre’s W. Scott McLucas Studio Theatre in New York City. Click here for more information and tickets.
