Dublin Theatre Festival Interview: Kate Gilmore in The Train.

Monday, September 14th, 2015 at 11:02 am | Alumni Interviews, News & Events

Kate Gilmore, a graduate of the 2013 year in The Gaiety School of Acting, will be performing in The Train, a musical that promises to integrate political commentary, sex and some great tunes!  Kate had a chat with us about her latest theatre project, musicals and what’s coming up next!

Can you tell us a little more about The Train and your role in it?

The Train is a new musical written by Arthur Riordan (Improbable Frequency) and Bill Whelan (Riverdance). The show is about the media coup orchestrated by The Irish Women’s Liberation Movement in 1971. A group of brave and determined women travelled to Belfast to bring back forbidden contraceptives in defiance of restrictive Irish Laws in a trailblazing event widely referred to now as The Contraceptive Train. It is an ensemble piece with an eight-strong cast, most of which play numerous roles. Mainly, I play ‘Maggie’, who is described as a republican-socialist demon and active member of the movement and ‘Theresa’, a straight-talking young lady, who believes women fighting for equal rights would be better served using their charm to win the opposition round. It is an incredibly fun show to work on and I am bursting with excitement for audiences to see it.

Do you think young people attending the play will be shocked by the type of restraints that were on Irish society not so long ago?

Absolutely. The changes these women set in motion by taking that train are immense and, while elements of the show will be shocking and infuriating to young people who may not know the ins and outs of Irish history at that time, it will also be thrilling to witness the earliest stages of independence from Church and State in this country. Although, I think we still have a long road ahead in the way of progression.

Are you excited to perform in a musical, albeit an alternative one?

I don’t think of it as an alternative musical, I think of it as new and innovative. All classic musicals were new once. It’s been a life-long ambition to work on a musical. We don’t produce or house nearly enough musical productions in this country. It really is a child-hood dream and rehearsals thus far have not disappointed. It is exactly all I hoped it would be. Incredibly fun and fulfilling.

If you had to choose a more “traditional” musical to be in, what would you go for?

I’d love to play LV in ‘The Rise and Fall of Little Voice’ by Jim Cartwright but that is not a musical, just a play with songs. I love the music from ‘Funny Girl’, it’s so jazzy and anything by Sondheim would be pretty unbelievable to be involved in.

This has been a fantastic year for you – the Irish Times Theatre Award earlier on in 2015 and now performing in the Dublin Theatre Festival – to name just a few highlights! What’s the next project after The Train?

I’m very grateful for the year I’ve had but I understand the life of an actor is never stable and I will forever worry about where my next job is coming from. The Train has legs and the possibilities for it after the festival are endless. But when I do get some time, I plan to re-mount a (sort of) musical I co-wrote last year with Laurence Falconer for The Cup Theatre Company called ‘A Picture of Us’. It received amazing reactions and we are in the process of deciding what to do next with Theatre Upstairs, where it premièred last July.

 

The Train runs from the 6th to the 11th of October at The Project Arts Centre, as part of The Dublin Theatre Festival. Book now!