Cast
Antonia Campbell-Hughes | Arlene
In the last year, Antonia has been named a ‘Star of Tomorrow’ by Screen International, and garnered a ‘Rising Star’ award nomination as well as a nomination for best actress in a lead role by the Irish Film and Television Academy Awards.
Antonia will soon be seen to star as ‘Alice’ in ‘Lotus Eaters’, an independent comedy drama feature directed by Alexandra McGuinness which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival last year to unanimous acclaim; the film received its UK premiere at the London Film Festival. She also plays the lead role of ‘Arlene Kelly’ in the thriller ‘The Other Side of Sleep’ directed by Rebecca Daly which premiered at last year’s Cannes Film Festival as a part of the prestigious Directors’ Fortnight; Antonia’s performance was critically lauded with Screen International marking her out as a ‘talent to watch’. She will also play a lead role of ‘Shelley’ in ‘Storage 24’ opposite Noel Clarke and Laura Haddock and just completed filming the female lead role in ‘Kelly & Victor’ with Julian Morris based on the novel by Niall Griffiths.
In 2009, her supporting role in Jane Campion’s Palme D’Or, BAFTA and Oscar nominated feature ‘Bright Star’ saw her win rave reviews for her performance alongside Ben Whishaw and Abbie Cornish. Based on the romance between John Keats and Fanny Brawne, Antonia played the role of ‘Abigail O’Donaghue’, the maid with whom Mr Brown, John Keats’ best friend, fathers a child out of wedlock. She also featured in Brendan Grant’s ‘Tonight is cancelled’ and as ‘Lucia Joyce’ and she played the lead role of ‘Angel’ in Alex Orwell’s ‘The Task’. Her short film credits include starring in Anthony Wilcox’s ‘Hello Carter’ with Dominic Cooper and Bella Freud’s 2011 campaign short film directed by Martina Amati.
For television, Antonia is perhaps best known for her lead role of ‘Sam’ alongside Jack Dee in the award-winning BBC comedy series ‘Lead Balloon’ which has just returned for its fourth series. She was most recently seen in ‘When Harvey Met Bob’, a film for BBC television telling the story of when Bob Geldof met Harvey Goldsmith; Antonia played ‘Marsha Hunt’ alongside Domhnall Gleeson and Ian Hart. In the ongoing series ‘Bluebell Welch’ for MTV, she plays the title role of the music fan and MTV presenter, who tries to play it cool but also shows flashes of her manically obsessive fandom. She also portrayed the character of ‘Abigail’ in the Jennifer Saunders series ‘The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle’ which earned her critical acclaim. Her other television credits include Channel 4’s ‘Scapegoat’, as well as ‘Damage’ for RTE which was nominated for 3 awards at the Irish Film and Television Awards. She has also been seen in the BAFTA nominated ‘Delta Forever’ (BBC), ‘Free Agents’ (Channel 4), and ‘Music’s biggest fan’ (MTV).
On stage Antonia played in ‘The Lion’s Mouth/Rough Cuts’ at the Royal Court theatre and in ‘Roberto Zucco’ directed by Jimmy Fay at the Project theatre in Dublin.
Sam Keeley | Killen
Since being chosen for a leading role in The Other Side of Sleep from an open casting in his home town of Tullamore, Sam has gone on to win the role of Jamie in Misfits Season Two (Clerkenwell Films/E4) playing the long lost brother to Nathan, Robert Sheehan’s character in the BAFTA Award winning series which recently aired in the UK on E4. Very shortly after shooting Misfits, Sam was chosen for the role of Desmond in This Must Be The Place, a forthcoming Paolo Sorrentino feature starring Sean Penn and Frances McDormand which premiered in Cannes in 2011 along side The Other Side of Sleep. Sam recently appeared in a guest lead (Frankie) in Jack Taylor, a new TV series starring Iain Glen and produced by Magma Films/RTL and recently aired on TV3 and in season one of The Borgias, directed by Neil Jordan for Showtime. He has recently completed a post production project (Dream House) with Jim Sheridan and recently shot the role of Davy in Two Hearts, a short film written and directed by Darren Thornton. He has since wrapped shooting on season three of RAW (Octagon/RTE) in a leading role (Philip) which will air on RTE in early 2012. He most recently wrapped in a leading role (Conor) in What Richard Did, a new feature film directed by Lenny Abrahamson, due for release in 2012
Olwen Fouere | Maggie
Olwen Fouéré is best known for her extensive work in theatre in Ireland, but has also worked in the UK, France and internationally. Recent stage work include her solo performance of Sodome, My Love, her own translation of Sodome, Ma Douce by Laurent Gaudé, produced in Dublin by Rough Magic in association with TheEmergencyRoom, for which she received the award for Best Actress at the 2011 Irish Times Theatre Awards. She has just returned from a six month world tour with the Abbey Theatre production of Terminus by Mark O’Rowe.
Other recent productions include the French stage adaptation of two books by Roddy Doyle – Paula Spencer, la femme qui se cognait dans les portes, directed by Michel Abécassis in several French theatres including the Bouffes du Nord in Paris, and The Bull and The Rite of Spring with Fabulous Beast (Barbican Theatre and English National Opera). Fouéré was artistic director of Ireland’s leading avant garde company – Operating Theatre – from 1980-2008. A documentary of a year in her life – Theatre in the Flesh directed by Dara McCluskey – was produced for RTE’s Arts Lives series in 2005. She has received many awards and nominations including Irish Times/ESB Best Actress (2011,2006, 2000 and 1999), Dublin Theatre Festival Best Actor 2003, and the Dublin Theatre Festival Samuel Beckett Award in 1998.
Recent films include the Cannes 2011 Selection This Must Be The Place by Paolo Sorrentino and The Other Side of Sleep by Rebecca Daly.
Gina Moxley | Francie
Gina Moxley was born in Cork where she studied painting at the Crawford School of Art. Her plays inculde Danti-Dan (Dublin, The Project/London, Hampstead Theatre, 1994, Rough Magic Theatre Company); and Dog House, which was specially commissioned for the BT National Connections Scheme for young people. Danti-Dan is included in The Dazzling Dark: New Irish Plays, selected and edited by Frank McGuinness (London, Faber & Faber, 1996).
She has appeared in numerous plays, including Sebastian Barry’s Boss Grady’s Boys and Prayers for Sherkin (Dublin, The Peacock Stage, Abbey Theatre); Declan Hughes’ I Can’t Get Started; Digging for Fire(Dublin, The Project/London, Bush Theatre, for Rough Magic); and Stitch That (New York, Irish Arts Theatre); and in a solo performance in Jacqueline Harpman’s Mistress of Silence. In her role as Jocasta, she has toured internationally in Oedipus Loves You, with Pan Theatre. She is often involved in Corcadorca productions, performing in plays such as Woyzeck and MedEia.
Her numerous television credits include Lapsed Catholics for Channel 4 and RTÉ; the six-part RTÉ drama series Molloy; and the Irish-Australian mini-series Act of Betrayal, starring Elliot Gould. She has appeared in many feature films, including The Butcher Boy and Hear My Song, and has had lead roles in Snakes and Ladders, and The Sun, the Moon and the Stars. She won the Stewart Parker Trust Award for new writers in 1996 and also a literature bursary from the Irish Arts Council.
Vicky Joyce | Donna
Vicky Joyce was discovered through an open casting process in Athlone. Director Rebecca Daly had set out from the beginning to mix professional actors with non-professional actors from the midlands in order to blend performance level with an authenticity from the region. She said of Vicky ”With no previous acting experience Vicky’s natural presence and soulfulness made casting her an easy decision for us. She is also a gifted singer which is connected somehow with her natural facility for a really honest kind of acting I think.”
Speaking about her experience, Vicky said “It was an amazing experience which I’ll never forget and I couldn’t have asked for better people to work with throughout my first feature film. From cast to crew, they are all amazing people.”