Alex Murphy: Bye-bye Young Offenders, it's Philadelphia Here I Come
Alex Murphy as Gar Private in Brian Friel's Philadelphia Here I Come!, at Cork Opera House. Picture: Michael Mac Sweeney/Provision
Anyone who has spotted Alex Murphy roaming around Cork lately may have found themselves doing a double-take. Gone are the days of the buzz cut and shaved eyebrow associated with his famous Young Offenders character Conor MacSweeney, as the actor currently gets ready to star in Brian Friel's Philadelphia, Here I Come! in Cork Opera House.
“It feels like starting fresh. This play is tried and tested and it's a great way to celebrate getting back on stage," he says via a Zoom call taken from a bare community hall, where, the 23-year-old notes, "Many céilí have probably gone on."
The rehearsal location may not be glamorous, but Murphy is delighted to be calling it home for the next few weeks.
"It's so nice to be back and it's mad to have this many actors together in one room," he says. "There are 14 people in the cast, which is such a treat. There are just so many modern plays with two or three actors because they're just easier to put on, so it's not every day that a 14 hander comes to you. I was more than happy to jump at the opportunity."
Though in-person rehearsals are a glimpse of normality, having that many people together these days does come with certain precautions. Everyone who is involved with the play lines up to get tested for Covid-19 every second day. When it comes to the chance of a scare, Murphy jokes in a typical Corkonian way: "Sure, there's no Covid in Cork."
Murphy is from Rochestown, not too far from his icon, whom he shares a last name with, grew up.
“I did a few plays growing up but it wasn't until I neared the end of school that I really thought about acting as a possible career. We're told it's not a real job, so when I was younger it was like, ‘What makes me think I could do it full time?’. But then you grow up and you hear about Cillian Murphy. I saw him in a play and was like, ‘Cillian Murphy's from up the road? Sure, he's doing okay’."
Brian Friel was one of his favourite playwrights to study growing up. He was first introduced to Philadelphia, Here I Come! as part of his junior certificate syllabus. By the time he got to college the part of ‘private Gar’, who expresses the thoughts of the play’s lead character, was one of his dream roles.
“I remember in college we had to write down some dream parts and this was on my list. For the time it was so new to have a character that wasn't real, that was somebody's thoughts,” Murphy says.
"In school, you end up not really knowing plays, you just know there are themes of love and this and that. As I got older, I found a new love for this play. I have cousins doing the leaving cert now and it's on their syllabus, so I’m sure they'll be calling."
As well as English grinds, there has also been some accent work going on in the Murphy household lately. One of the tasks involved with starring in Philadelphia, Here I Come! is mastering a Donegal twang. Murphy was lucky in that regard.
“My mum’s from Donegal so I go to her and ask her to say lines for me. She’s pricey though,” he jokes. “I don’t want to build it up too much. Hopefully, it won’t be distracting and I won’t upset too many Donegalians. I’m sure my relatives will give me some honest feedback.”
Murphy’s friends and family have already booked their tickets ahead of October 6, but one of his closest friends, and former co-stars, will unfortunately be absent.
“Chris [Walley, who plays Jock in Young Offenders] is filming in Malta at the moment but we Facetime every second day. We have such great craic. We have matching tattoos and we've been on holidays together,” Murphy says.
“We went to New York once actually, right after we finished filming the Young Offenders show. We wanted to get away from Cork. The first day we arrived we went to this bar and a load of women surrounded us going, ‘Conor and Jock!’. It turned out it was an AIB night out, in the middle of Manhattan, and they were all Irish.
"It’s so weird being recognised, but it’s not us they’re recognising, it’s the bald lads with the accents.”
As for another season of The Young Offenders, Murphy is unsure if anything can be guaranteed. "I am merely a cog in that machine. It's the BBC, but it's hard to get everyone back together as well. It's nice to know that people want more of it though. We've done our job in that sense, so we'll just have to wait and see,” he says.
"I'm very proud of that show and putting little old Cork on the map. Walking around the city now, it's hard to find a street that we haven't filmed on. If it doesn’t come back, we’re happy to have a film and three seasons. I wouldn’t call that a failure.”
- Philadelphia, Here I Come! is at Cork Opera House, October 5 to 16
The return of live theatre has been particularly emotional for producer Patrick Talbot. The staging of Philadelphia, Here I Come! at the Cork Opera House next month marks the first time he’s put a production on stage since February 2020.
"Being able to do this again is a really great feeling. It's like reclaiming your career," Talbot says. "Being out for so long erodes a person’s confidence. Objectively, we understood why we couldn’t work for the past 18 months but subjectively...it’s almost irrational, but you end up questioning if you’re able to do it anymore.”
Talbot felt that others were in the same boat, so when it came to picking his first play back, he wanted it to have a large team behind it. A public grant of €333,440 from the Government allowed that to happen.
"I was very keen it would be an Irish classic and I also wanted to do a play with a large cast and crew so that I could employ a large group of people,” he says.
"The grant was a substantial amount of money but this is a large production. We have nearly 30 people on the books at the moment, but I designed it that way. A production like Philadelphia, Here I Come! costs money. The Department of Culture, thankfully, believed in the project and we're very grateful for that but we're still relying on an audience, like every piece of theatre."
Current restrictions allow for the theatre to be filled at 60% capacity, which Talbot is grateful for.
"I was thinking that we could have been looking at an audience of 50 at one point, which would have been dispiriting,” he says. “The fact that we can go back and see plays like this is a measure that a return to normality is within our grasp. The pandemic isn’t over, but we’re ready for that next step, and going to the theatre is very much a part of that."
For that step to work, Talbot says it’s more a matter of being in tune with the audience and relaying that going to a live event is safe, rather than just pumping money into the sector.
"People have gone back to doing things since the hospitality and sports sectors opened up and I think the same will apply to the events sector. Early trends do suggest that people are keen to come back in,” he says. ”We have to be cautious, but going to the theatre is safe.”
