Tara Flynn on Apocalypse Clown and growing up near Kinsale
Tara Flynn is one of the stars of Apocalypse Clown.
IT’S the wacky new comedy about what happens when a group of failed clowns find themselves in a mysterious solar event. The growing buzz for Irish movie Apocalypse Clown is no great surprise to Co Cork-born actress Tara Flynn. Having initially read the screenplay from its writers, whose work she knew through the comedy rock group Dead Cat Bounce, Flynn was keen to be involved.
“I read it and I was just like: ‘This is so my thing. This is so bonkers and brilliant and creative’. I love the way their minds work. And I went please can I do it please, please?
“The spirit of the film is dark silliness. My favourite comedy is intelligent silly - a combination of something that is really firing on all cylinders, really thoughtful, but not afraid to take the mickey out of itself. I really feel like this has that in spades.”
Set in Ireland following the sudden death of international clown maestro Jean DuCoque, the story centres on a group of oddball clowns. Following a brawl that sees them briefly jailed, they emerge to find the country thrown into chaos following the emergence of a solar flare. In a supporting role, Flynn plays the bouffant-sporting newscaster who tries to make sense of it all.
Directed by George Kane, Apocalypse Clown is co-written by Shane O’Brien, James Walmsley and Demian Fox. Flynn first came across the writers’ offbeat comedy while living in the UK, through their comedy-musical act Dead Cat Bounce.
“I used to see these lads at the fringe and it was sold out and there were big queues every night. Again, beautifully crafted amazing musicianship and so many jokes.”
Flynn herself became an established comedienne, performing stand-up for almost a decade. But her interests always lay in acting and theatre, a passion fostered in her youth in her home town of Kinsale. Having rented near Cork city, her parents bought their first home outside the town in the years after she was born.
“It was a fantastic place to grow up. We went to school in town, our friends are still there. I love that town, I love going home and I go down whenever I can. Mum is still there thank goodness so there's a lovely excuse to go down.
“The Rampart Players were so supportive of anyone who had any bit of theatricality. They put on shows, it was great training and they put on pantos every year. We were very supported in the convent in Kinsale, Our Lady of the Rosary. We had a great music teacher, Frank Buckley, and he used to put on musicals.
“I always wanted to do theatre and that was where I came in. Comedy sort of found me and it's the way my own work started to come out. I started off acting and got into voice work through that. Because I never got to go to drama school, I kept doing classes and some of the classes I did were things like improv, which tend towards comedy, then joined Dublin comedy improv, then started doing stand up, all with the acting going on.”
In recent years, she has been focusing on film and theatre, with dramatic roles in films including the Achill-set My Sailor, My Love and filmmaker Frank Berry’s film set in the world of direct provision, Aisha.
“People will often ask, do you prefer serious acting or comedy acting and to me, they're the same. You're still looking for the authenticity in the scene.
“It's a bit reductive when people ask is comedy harder. It's not that it's harder. But you add that tension breaker so there's an extra bit on top. I think it's sometimes why comedy actors can often transition to more serious stuff, or comedy writers. It's not as easy to go the other way.” In the coming weeks Flynn will record the third series of her podcast with Marian Keyes, Now You’re Asking. The problem-solving podcast sees them dig into their own life experiences.
“I love the accessibility of that and the podcast we love making because we’re trying to give people a bit of solidarity and hope. It's ostensibly a problem-solving podcast because of course, as you know, Marian and I are very, very, very wise. Very wise indeed,” she smiles.
“That’ll go out on BBC Radio 4 in the autumn and on BBC Sounds, and the great thing I love about the BBC sounds aspect is the podcast is then free for anyone to listen to wherever they are in the world.”
- Apocalypse Clown is now in cinemas
