Amy catches up with Rachael Rooney, who is starring as Catriona in The Girl Who Was Very Good At Lying, at the Edinburgh Fringe.
Hi Rachael, how are you feeling ahead of the Fringe?
Hi Amy, I’m really excited! I’ve always wanted to do the Fringe, I just never thought it would be with a mad one woman show.
What can people expect from The Girl Who Was Very Good At Lying?
I wouldn’t want to spoil anything. I think they joy of the show is that you can’t predict what’s going to come out of Catriona’s mouth from one moment to the next. What I can say is there will be chickens, church orgys and heartbreak…if that sounds like a good time, come along!
What are the key messages / themes within the show?
As you can probably tell from the title of the show, lying is a huge theme. We delve into why we lie. What are we hiding behind and hiding from when we create these false realities around our own existence?It’s a unique look at mental health and the deep feelings of isolation and loneliness that can come to the surface when we’re in a particularly vulnerable state.
You play Catriona in the production, tell us a bit about her.
The writer Eoin McAndrew calls Catriona ‘a little strange person’. I think that’s perfect. She doesn’t exactly fit into society’s idea of a ‘normal’ 21 year old. But, despite the title of the show, I think she’s incredibly honest, probably to her detriment. There’s a loneliness inside of Catriona and she constantly works to fill it up with anything she can so she doesn’t have to feel that massive void of nothingness. But generally, she’s a very charming weirdo who’ll hopefully disarm you with her unique take on the world.
The show played at the Omnibus Theatre for three weeks, how did this run go?
It went really well. We managed to find our feet with the production and get it to a real place of play. With it being a one woman show we really found it changed every night. The audience are my cast members and I loved allowing them to change it every night. Finishing the run with multiple five stars reviews really gave us the confidence to take it even further as we have moved to Edinburgh.
Why do you think the Fringe is so important for new productions?
It’s a really supportive, collaborative place. Everyone wants to see work that’s bold and new. It’s a really amazing opportunity to break rules and lay all your cards on the table. There’s a real freedom offered to new productions and it’s inspiring to be around.
Is this your first time at the Fringe? If so, how are you preparing?
It is! Honestly, I’m just really appreciating my sleep at the moment cause I know that becomes less and less of a sure thing.
What other shows are you hoping to see whilst in Edinburgh?
Paines Plough’s entire Roundabout line up looks so exciting, especially FEELING AFRAID AS IF SOMETHING TERRIBLE IS GOING TO HAPPEN. There’s also Final Baby Girl! From Baby Lame and Francesca Clark Productions.
With a huge number of shows to choose from at the Fringe, tell people why they should come to The Girl Who Was Very Good at Lying!
It’s a lot of fun, really surprising and completely bonkers. It’s all of these things but Eoin McAndrew has managed to then fill it with the most wonderful heart and humanity. You will come out of the show caring about this crazy young woman.
And finally, where can people buy tickets to your shows and where do people find you/ the show on socials?
You get tickets here; https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/girl-who-was-very-good- at-lying
Our socials are @VeryGoodAtLying across Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.
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