Culture That Made Me: Aedín Gormley on ET, Julie Andrews, and Fleabag
Aedín Gormley is part of the 25th birthday celebrations for RTÉ Lyric FM.
Aedín Gormley grew up in Rathmines, Dublin. In 1995, she began presenting the evening drivetime show on Raidió na Gaeltachta and working as a continuity announcer on RTÉ radio.
She has been presenting on RTÉ Lyric FM since it opened in 1999.
Movies and Musicals with Aedín Gormley is on RTÉ Lyric FM Saturday afternoons; she also presents Aedín in the Afternoon on Fridays.
RTÉ Lyric FM is celebrating 25 years on air with a gala birthday concert at Limerick’s University Concert Hall, Wednesday, 1 May.
My love of film is down to my dad who was a major film buff.
We were one of the first families to get a video recorder and I have lovely memories of snuggling up on the couch watching favourites like Rebecca, The 39 Steps, King’s Row and Jane Eyre.
As a family, we watched these films multiple times and were able to quote dialogue freely to each other and indeed hum the tunes.
I was aware of how music affected the film I watched from a very young age. Sadly, my dad died when I was 17, but he gave me so much.
When I was 10 years old my best friend, Clare, and I went on the bus to The Adelphi cinema to see E.T.
We were blown away by the film. When we came out, I bought a poster that hung on my bedroom wall.
On the bus home, I looked up at the sky wondering if there might be other life out there. I decided I’d rather like to meet E.T.
This was my first major engagement with two geniuses in the film world who collaborate so successfully together – director Steven Spielberg, who made a masterpiece, and John Williams, who, for this magical score, won his fourth Oscar.
I was brought to the theatre from a young age to both musicals and plays.
A play that really made an impact was Seán O’Casey’s Juno and the Paycock directed by Joe Dowling in 1986.
It was one of those memorable productions where everything came together magnificently, with a perfect cast, including Donal McCann, John Kavanagh, Geraldine Plunkett and Maureen Potter.
O’Casey writes so well for women. When Juno says to Mary that they will raise her child together with the line, “It’ll have what’s far better – it’ll have two mothers", it gets me every time.
We are so lucky to have the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, one of the most versatile orchestras out there, who can play anything.
The orchestra is connected to my childhood as my mother, Ursula, played violin with them in the 1980s, so I was regularly taken to concerts.
It all came full circle when I started to present concerts with the orchestra through my work with RTÉ Lyric FM, which is always a joy.
They are a fabulous bunch of musicians. You can’t beat hearing live music played so well.
I interviewed Julie Andrews about her autobiography, Home: A Memoir of My Early Years, where she gives a fascinating insight into what was a difficult upbringing in war-torn Britain.
She never really shared her early life story before this. She told some interesting anecdotes, about starring in My Fair Lady with Rex Harrison and in Camelot with Richard Burton on Broadway before her film career took off.
I also conducted a public interview with her at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, which was an incredible experience.
She was just as you would expect her to be – professional, polished and polite. She utterly charmed us all.
Following the interview, the dinner with Julie Andrews and a small group was surreal!
I consider myself a Sondheim super-fan! He’s my all-time favourite composer and lyricist in the musical theatre world. He was one of the greatest and most original writers, who wrote grown-up musicals.
He explored human relationships in all their complexity in musicals like Company, Follies, Into the Woods and Sweeney Todd.
He was a master of melody and a genius lyricist, referred to as the “Shakespeare of the musical world”.
He was witty but could also break your heart with a song. His songs have great depth, after multiple listens I will still hear something I haven’t heard before.
Sondheim was a mentor to many, including Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator and star of the hit hip-hop musical Hamilton.
He pushed the format and style of musical theatre forward. As well as writing the music, lyrics and book for Hamilton, he played the lead role of Alexander Hamilton in the original Broadway production.
When it finally opened on this side of the Atlantic – in London – in 2017, I was hugely impressed – it was like nothing I had heard before.
I regularly make day trips to London to catch a matinée and finally seeing Hamilton on stage did not disappoint. I had to go back a second time. It blew me away.
I’ve been making my way through the Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus podcast where she interviews iconic older women with attitude and wisdom.
The guest list is pretty impressive, including Jane Fonda, Bonnie Raitt, Sally Field and Carol Burnett.
My personal favourite in the series is author Isabel Allende. She imparts many gems, including a great attitude to ageing, suggesting we shouldn’t ask, “How old are you?” but the more celebratory, “How many years have you lived?”
I’m often at my happiest walking in nature and I’m a big David Attenborough fan.
I have always been fascinated by the Galápagos Islands and Attenborough’s landmark documentary series was a mesmerising examination of this miraculous landscape, its plant life and animals.
I adored Fleabag. Phoebe Waller-Bridge is such a talented writer and actor. A flawless ensemble cast with the brilliant Andrew Scott (who can do no wrong) alongside Sian Clifford, Olivia Colman and Bill Patterson.
The internal monologues, and running commentary to the audience worked so well. It’s incredibly funny, original and also touching and heart-breaking, as this complicated young woman navigates life while dealing with grief. It welcomes repeat viewings.
Desert Island Discs on BBC Radio 4 is a great show and one I tune into regularly. I listened to hundreds of episodes during lockdown. Kirsty Young remains the best presenter of the series.
Her beautiful voice, calm demeanour and interviewing skills are second to none. She was often not only an interviewer but a psychologist.
One of her stand-out guests was Dustin Hoffman. The two had an affable rapport and she really got an honest and poignant interview, providing great insight into the actor.
