30 years since its premiere and 40-odd translations later, Disco Pigs is returning to its hometown of Cork, a much-anticipated revival of the play that launched the careers of Cillian Murphy and Eileen Walsh. It's a frenzied coming-of-age whirlwind with new—land's own Aoise Meaney at its centre, playing Runt, described by Aoise herself as a conflicted 17-year-old girl, who is in a "deeply romantic and devoted" relationship with Pig (played by Séamus McLean Ross). The play follows the story of an airless folie à deux as the pair explore the complexities of being young and growing up in Cork. As new—land’s newest hire, it took approximately 0.45 seconds to hear about the beloved Aoise’s big gig, and not much longer to be handed my first culture task: sit down with her and get a tell-all on taking part in a cult classic like Disco Pigs.
With Aoise growing up in County Clare, her foot in the door to the world of acting was self-initiated rather than granted. "I didn't know about drama school. I didn't know about any of these things." So as per any resourceful teenager went on a quick stalk of actors and writers from Clare followed by a dreaded cold outreach email, to which a surprising number wrote back. "It's another reason why I'm so proud to be where I'm from," she tells me.
She spent three years in Cardiff at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama on a scholarship (which otherwise she’d have taken a year out to save for), then made her way to London to join new—land, where she learnt the other side of the camera as a Sales Assistant while keeping her acting going alongside. Aoise was selected to play Runt out of over 200 other auditioners, a complete breakthrough of a role after two years of near misses and things "dropping here and there".
I asked Aoise to describe Runt to someone who hasn’t yet seen the play. "Her whole world is Pig,". Being born on the same day, in the same hospital, and living next door to each other for seventeen years can do that to a pair. The two of them have built barriers, both emotional and linguistic, that leave space for no one but each other. "They're really vulnerable," Aoise says, "but they really try to make themselves feel tough so that they can just keep everyone away.". Though she’s careful not to write them off as a pair of feral teens because it’s more complex than that. "They’re extremely intelligent and creative beings (...) They've created this whole world where there are rules and a language and a uniform and everything, but they're only 17.".
Though Aoise remarks that her childhood was very different from Runt’s, there are experiences they share, one being the complete inferno of being a 17-year-old girl. Reflecting on her own relationships, she says, "I really empathise with how hard it can be to say what it is that you actually want when you’ve been agreeing to something else for so long." Weeks and weeks of rehearsals have allowed Aoise to really channel the mind of Runt, and most nights she comes offstage "just wanting to give her a hug".
Alongside preparing for Runt by listening to Spotify playlists titled "bobbly baby boots girl she RUNT" and “i spy something beginning with princess”, Aoise credits much of her ease in settling into the intense rehearsal schedule to her Pig, Séamus McLean Ross. By complete fate, and mirroring their on-stage characters, the two share a birthday, as they found out during the final callbacks. They have spent the rehearsal period living in apartments next door to each other, and outside of rehearsals they are admittedly "together all the time". She tells me that she could immediately see Séamus was Pig, just as he could see she was Runt: “We are the Pig and Runt of each other.”.
Walsh is directing his own play for the first time in thirty years, and despite seeing dozens of productions over the years (some better than others), each adaptation is uniquely its own. Aoise brings her own spin to her character, with her Runt rougher and more tomboyish than versions audiences may have seen before. Walsh spotted that side of her in her very first auditions, somehow less to his surprise than hers. "They see me as this strong, tough girl," she says. "I’ve kind of been known as that, like, oh, I’m quite tough, but they’re really hyping up that element."
[ABOVE] Aoise as Runt wearing a skirt over her trousers, a fashion choice she made for her audition that wove its way into the final costume.
Disco Pigs is Aoise’s professional theatre debut, which means this will be her first run-in with the critics, though the prospect doesn't seem to phase her. "They can say whatever they want," she says. "I literally love what we’re making so much." As far as she’s concerned, "if one person gets it, then that’s all it’s about. It’s about bringing these kids’ stories to life," and besides, Disco Pigs has never been built to please everyone. Walsh has told the company that the productions he’s seen elsewhere haven’t felt dirty or gritty enough, whereas this one is supposed to be, in Aoise’s words, "uncontrolled and unpredictable and fiery and full of love and passion". "It’s a bold piece. It’s a provocative piece, because that’s who the characters are,” she says. “So if it’s not liked by everyone, I think that means we’re doing something right."
By this point in our conversation, Aoise was so excited about Disco Pigs premiering that her responses turned into a series of very passionate hand gestures, which unfortunately can’t be quoted (I’ll take them as a glowing review).
Disco Pigs runs at The Everyman in Cork until 14 November.