“America, I have sometimes thought of going there…”
“It’s a bit frustrating, okay,” says Armagh-born actor and writer Karl O’Neill, whose short play ‘Where Have All The Roses Gone?’ is getting a New York premiere this September while he is himself onstage in Belfast at The MAC as Herr Schultz in the musical Cabaret. “But that’s showbiz – you’ve got to take the work when it comes. And I’m thrilled to be doing Cabaret, it’s a great piece, and Schultz is a lovely part. Of course I’d love to be there in New York, I’ve never been to the States – and I had fully intended to go – but what can you do? Funnily enough, my character in Cabaret has a line ‘America – I have sometimes thought of going there…’ Bit ironic, eh?”
While Karl has been a professional actor for over 25 years, it is only in recent years that he has begun writing for the stage. “Like many actors, I dabbled for years with writing, and had bits and pieces, short stories etc, published but it was really the success of my children’s book that forced me to take writing more seriously.” The O’Brien Press published Karl’s story ‘The Most Beautiful Letter In The World’ in November 2007. “Typically, I wasn’t around for the launch, I was playing The Wizard of Oz at The Lyric in Belfast at the time, but instead of an official launch the publishers left copies of the book in Dublin parks and playgrounds etc – very much in keeping with the story in the book – and I’ve been fortunate to be asked to visit schools and libraries over the years to read to children and talk about the book. Children are the best audience, the most honest and giving.” He has written many other children’s stories since, some have appeared in newspapers, but no second book to date. “I read a selection of unpublished work in schools, and I know they work there, that’s the main thing.”
An experienced radio actor, Karl has had radio plays produced by RTE – Ciaran Hinds, Brenda Blethyn and Andrew Scott have all acted in his plays – and he often writes for the popular Sunday Miscellany programme. “I love radio drama, it’s very underrated, it’s film for the ear.” He has been shortlisted for the PJ O’Connor and Francis MacManus competitions and nominated for a Zebbie award by the Irish Writers Guild.
A couple of years ago he was a contributor to Fishamble’s Tiny Plays For Ireland with a 4-minute playlet ‘Between Us We Have Everything’ which was performed at the Project in Dublin and was subsequently published by New Island Books. “That was a great encouragement, to see that produced, and to realise the potential for a shorter form of play. We Irish tend to be especially good at the shorter form, be it story, song, or poem, so why not drama? So when I heard about The Attic looking for writers who would be interested in writing a 10-minute play in 48 hours, it was a tempting challenge.”
“It was a sweaty deadline, but certainly concentrated the mind, and I was thrilled when my play was chosen to be produced in Liberty Hall last September. That was a great night, and I am eternally grateful to The Attic, and my director Aoife Connolly, and two wonderful actors Hilary Cotter and Aoife Moore, for bringing it to life. For New York I have been allowed to extend the play a little and that’s the version I won’t be seeing while I’m doing Cabaret!”
‘Where Have All The Roses Gone?’ is set in Central Park, beside the Shakespeare statue on the Literary Walk, where the paths of two emotionally-damaged women cross. “We were given the theme ‘With love from…’ and I decided to choose two characters from whom love has been taken. It’s not a total downer, there’s humour there too, there needs to be, and I hope the American cast find the characters interesting and rewarding to play.”
And what’s next for Karl on the writing front? “Well, I have an unpublished novel currently with a US literary agent, we’ll see how that goes, and I’m researching material for a stage play with a strong Armagh connection. I’m unemployed again when Cabaret finishes in October, so I’m open to acting offers….!”
CABARET runs at The MAC in Belfast from 16th September to 4th October.
WHAT THE PROJECT MEANS TO ME
It was a very exciting project to be involved with and extremely well-organised by The Attic Studio. Given our restrictions beforehand – no more than three actors, at least one of whom should be American, and New York had to feature – it certainly focused the mind, but it was only when we got the theme of the plays from George Heslin in New York (dramatically delivered that Tuesday evening in Filmbase via Skype) that the adrenalin kicked in and I realised I now had to produce something within 48 hours that fitted the theme and the constraints and, hopefully, would be dramatic, have characters with some depth, and dialogue that some very brave actors would be able to learn off and perform on stage within 48 hours also. That I managed to come up with something coherent and that people seemed to like, was a great confidence-booster for future writing projects.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
There’s a bit of the agony and the ecstasy about New York for me. First of all, I’ve never been – despite the fact that my play is set in a specific location in Central Park – and to have my first visit coincide with a production of my little play seemed all too perfect. But I’m a working actor and I got offered a show (Cabaret) in Belfast which clashed with New York, and I couldn’t afford not to take it. Just to rub salt in the wound, my character in the show has a line “America – I have sometimes thought of going there…”. Maybe next time.
The Big Green Apple 