A question of taste: Judy Hegarty Lovett

Thu, 15 Aug, 2019 - 21:30

Judy Hegarty Lovett is from Monkstown in Co Cork, and is co-artistic director of theatre company Gare St Lazare Ireland. Judy directs their next production How It Is ( Part 2), featuring British star Stephen Dillane and her husband Conor Lovett, at the Everyman in Cork from Sept 3-7.

Best recent book you’ve read:

The Discovery of France by Graham Robb. It opened up the country for me in many surprising ways.

Best recent film you’ve seen:

Pather Panchali by Satyajit Ray.

Best recent show you’ve seen:

Ray Scannell’s Bluffers Guide to Suburbia at Cork Midsummer Festival. Great play, great performances. Loved it.

Best piece of music you’ve been listening to lately (new or old):

‘Earfquake’ by Tyler, The Creator.

First ever piece of music or show that really moved you:

Waiting For Godot by Samuel Beckett at the Ivernia Theatre, Cork, sometime in the early 80’s.

The best show you’ve ever seen (if you had to pick one!):

Cafe Muller — Pina Bausch.

Radio listening and/or podcasts:

Conor (husband) has the radio on his phone all of the time so I catch bits of it that way and sometimes I even listen. I like BBC’s In our Time podcast.

Your best celebrity encounter:

I met Van Morrison at an Amnesty International event. We were playing Molloy by Samuel Beckett at that gig and I was chatting with him about Beckett after the show. I was a little beside myself for a while as I might have played Astral Weeks every day and for the rest of my life, but he was just lovely and we had a good chat.

You can portal back to any period of human cultural history or music event?

Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder concerts.

You are curating your dream festival – which three artists are on the bill (living or dead)?

I don’t have to... Cork Midsummer Festival does that for me.

Unsung hero — individual or group you think don’t get the praise they deserve:

Corks Homeless Drive.

You are queen for a day — what’s your first decree?

In the words of the great Bruce Lee,” Be water my Friend”.

Interview by Des O’Driscoll