Cathy Murphy on Acting

British actress Cathy Murphy provides perspective on her craft of acting and the art of performing in plays, movies, and television productions. From her education at the Sylvia Young Theatre School to working on Allan Clarke’s Made in Britain, Stars of the Roller Skate Disco, Doctor Who, EastEnders, Holby City, Family Affairs, The Phantom of the Opera, Shameless, Extras, About A Boy, Misery, Two Woman, Once A Catholic and many more.

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Transcript

Roy Sharples: 0:09

Hello, I'm Roy Sharples, and welcome to the unknown origins podcast series, the purpose of which is to provide inspirational conversations with creative industry personalities on entrepreneurship, pop culture, art, music, film and fashion. Today's topic is acting for which I have the pleasure of speaking with British actress Cathy Murphy. From the Sylvia young theatre school to Alan Clark's made in Britain, stars of the roller skate disco Doctor Who EastEnders Holby City, family affairs, the Phantom of the Opera, shameless extras about a boy misery to woman. Once a Catholic and many more, Kathy provides perspective on her craft of acting, and the art of performing employees, movies and television productions. Hello, and welcome, Kathy, what inspired and attracted you to be an actress in the first place?

Cathy Murphy: 1:10

Um, well, it's a silly thing to say. But I did just fall into it. And I wanted to be a swimmer. I think he's just when for Essex and my dad was there are many other jobs but one of his Jobs was a swimming coach. So I wanted to be a swimmer. And, and that's the kind of path I was going. And then when I was about eight, nine, I was very shy, believe it or not, and, and I was sort of advised. And the parents were advised it to the drama classes might be good for self confidence, and blah, blah, blah. So I went to Sylvia young, and he younguns stage go, which is now but when she first started, that's how old I am. And that's how long ago it was that when it first when we first went there, it was in a church hall. And it was just, you know, I think Nick Berry was there at the time and Francis Rafale her daughter, and there was very few of us so we went to this some sort of, you know, church hall and drama classes, and it kind of led from there because I was very small. I still am. I was very young looking for my age and and stuff. So I started to get work playing people younger than me quite a lot. And I just started to love it. I just started to earn. I think that's the case with a lot of actors that they're predominantly quite shy, believe it or not. And so when they're kind of hiding behind someone else, it's easier to be more confident, which is what I found when I was younger. And so I just sort of fell into it. Really. I just started to really like I liked it. I liked being someone else. I liked play acting. I just enjoyed it and I hate I don't hate saying I was good at it, but but I got a lot of work. So yeah, I was doing something right. So it's kind of just fell into it. Really?

Roy Sharples: 2:57

What does being an actress mean to you?

Cathy Murphy: 3:02

What does it mean to me and I still all these years later, I still really enjoy it. I still love pretending to be somebody else. Because it is a job that you never really grow up in.

Roy Sharples: 3:19

starter pack as well.

Cathy Murphy: 3:21

Yeah, it's brilliant because you get to be you get to explore parts that you get to do things that you wouldn't do in real life and behave in ways braver maybe than you would be more empathetic or Yeah, yeah, it's um yeah, I still like being an actor. I still do like being an actor all these years later, and stuff so yes, it is it's very therapeutic is great experience

Roy Sharples: 3:49

looking at your portfolio of work it's so diverse you know, like Doctor Who Holby City extras and hurryin Paul shameless EastEnders surreal talking towards your, your adoptability as an actress, as well. How easy is that for you to? Or how difficult is it for you to get into the character?

Cathy Murphy: 4:15

Relative? It depends on it depends on the part you've got to go for it. You've got to you know, you really have to go for it. You can't hold back. And it's quite I find it relatively easy to sort of fall into the character really are just dumb. And most of the time, you'd only be casting something that they thought you were right for anyway, is when you get a real challenge or and B years ago for a radio thing having to play in Congress that show which is bizarre. Please don't ask me to do the accent. It was hard enough at the time. And but that was a real challenge when you're pushed out of your comfort zone. It's a real challenge. Or you know, a few years ago I did the play of misery. Playing the Kathy Bates and that was really out of my comfort zone a because she was American and be because she was mad as a hatter. And, but I loved it. I was one of my favorite parts. I really love doing something that was so removed from me certainly like to think she was sectioned as we speak. And yeah, it is relatively easy to do to do most of the parts I get, but but some of them are more challenging than others like that.

Roy Sharples: 5:32

Going through that process as a human you know, like that discovery and then transformation into someone else for a period of time. That must be a fascinating journey.

Cathy Murphy: 5:43

Yes, yeah. Is isn't you have to be careful not to take it home with you, especially when you've got a partner and children. It's not really fair to do that. And yeah, it is. It's very fascinating. As I say, some characters are more fascinating than others, the more removed they are from you the more interesting they are to play. And and yeah, yes, it is to think like them to sound like them to walk like them. To be them is, is interesting. It Yeah,

Roy Sharples: 6:12

it's good fun. So what kind of methods and tools and techniques Do you use within your creative process,

Cathy Murphy: 6:19

all the time, you sort of work with a director that you're working with, I mean, to be honest with something, you know, like Holby City or EastEnders, you get very little time, very little time. I mean, you meet the director in value, you're doing it. And when you're doing a play, the process is very, very different and or job that has a little bit more rehearsal time. And that's a really, that's really interesting. And that's real fun. And if you have a nice long rehearsal period, you can get to explore it more. But But in general, I'm not method I'm not a method actor. So I just think if the script is well written, and and just turn up an act, you know what I mean? Be prepared, always be prepared. Always be on time. Know your stuff. And, but but I don't as such, you know, and sometimes it can be down to costume or the way you walk or the way you hold yourself that can add to a character. I know that sounds odd. But if you even put high heels on or have you know, hair back in a ponytail, or you know what I mean, it's it isn't, but I'm not I'm definitely not a method actress that got I remember going to Astana Spassky class when I was really young and kind of so excited about, oh, it's amazing, this method. It's brilliant, and going for a costume really sort of old school casting director. So I said, so what would happen? And if you're in the West End, and you were playing a psychopath, would you be psychopathic for the whole run? And there and then was my answer was like, Well, actually, no, of course, I would just be silly. No, I wouldn't. And it's, I love that story of Dustin Hoffman. And I think it's Lois Olivier. When they were doing the rain, man, so the Rain Man

Roy Sharples: 8:03

Madison.

Cathy Murphy: 8:06

Yeah. And, and Dustin Hoffman apparently is was was at the time a very method actor and was really into it, you know. And, and Lawrence Lee, I just said to him one day, you know, have you ever heard of acting is such a wonderful book. But I get that, you know, just just just just do it. And then, and then and I'm not I'm not knocking people that I really know. I think he's, I think, you know, fairplay good for you to do that. I just, I can't imagine coming home to my partner into my children attending, I would say Kathy Bates or it would soon be knocked out. They wouldn't allow me that indulgence. Really? Yeah, I tend to work when I go to work and I paid for it. And I come home I don't

Roy Sharples: 8:55

like Billy Connolly said something quite similar about comedy where, you know, being a comedian, a professional comedian is you've got to be able to do it to order right so when someone comes in and asks you to say something funny, you just can you just fall into it. It's just something you know, it's not a case of all the stars need to be aligned and I need to be signing a certain piece and and a certain beam of light needs to hit me that can be on top of my game. It's just you do it to order and I guess you can transcend that to any profession Really? On the creative arts.

Cathy Murphy: 9:28

Yeah, exactly. Oh, yeah. I love Billy Connolly. I met him I did not meet him I wish I did. I saw him we're in the same hotel in Manchester and he's such a lovely energy. I mean you know when you think you know someone I would go Hi don't don't don't know you're just really not just you are Billy Connolly. And he was so lovely. It just really warm energy about him and afters. I kicked myself but then thought no, he's actually having his breakfast. He really doesn't need you to go up and you know, be funny.

Roy Sharples: 10:00

You've done a whole bunch of different accents and hold on. I was gonna ask you like, let's do it in Scottish, the whole of the podcast. No.

Cathy Murphy: 10:10

No to a Scottish person. I do I love accents. I find a really I just I find it really exciting but and there's a whole it's physical absence I had a brilliant voice coach. And I remember going up for something from Yorkshire and Part A Yorkshire woman. And I love like she was saying this is very much my accent that the London accent my accent is very much like two trains and let the two drains doesn't make any sense. What I meant was it choo train doors closing. Yeah, so I will go I got a little of an I do do that. It's very hot. No, but but. and stuff. And she was saying about the York show. And she makes it physical. So it's it she was saying Yorkshire is like going to places forwarding coming through places back in a day. Or, again, the American, you know, to the nose and nasal and I find I could because I never went to drama school. So I never had that whole thing of I mean, drama school is improper. You know, I didn't go to Central or RADA or anything. AndI would love to have done much more at you know, classes in classes on absence because I find them fascinating. I find that fascinating. My children are always accusing me of mimicking when I'm telling the story. They say don't do the person's accent mom. I just won't do and I don't even know I'm doing it. I'm telling that story. I have to put the person's Yeah, I just find it fascinating when people speak

Roy Sharples: 11:44

is fascinating, isn't it? I think it's even more so. And I know I'm going to be biased here in the UK but I mean you can go like an hour north east west and south is a different dialect that's a different accent and even cities like and I know my friends in Liverpool and Manchester will hate me for saying this but the virtually the seas are almost joined on together really right but their accents and culture is so different. So different.

Cathy Murphy: 12:11

So and it's the same when when people sort of you know it's say someone will say do a generic London accent What do you mean but you know north south east work East West Essex Essex borders every they're all different. You know my accents East London with with with Essex on is not quite The Only Way Is Essex, but it's not far off. And oh yeah, I just find acid accents. Fascinating. And they change when you're doing an accent your whole body. You change. Yeah, you know? Yeah, it's exciting. It's nerve wracking. But doing accents is really exciting. I love it.

Roy Sharples: 12:50

Yeah. Is that your favorite part of acting? Is the voice part of it?

Cathy Murphy: 12:55

Um, no, yes. And no, I mean, it's part of it. I like that. It's some it's the different characters that I like, being I like being different different people and, and, and I like their emotions. And I like I like it conveying their emotions and, and yeah, it's just I just like being different people is great fun. Yeah,

Roy Sharples: 13:26

absolutely. So out of all of the diversity of roles that you can have done which one sticks with you the most in terms of being the most fulfilling?

Cathy Murphy: 13:36

And I I love doing theater and I mean, obviously at the moment very very little theaters being done and God knows what's going to happen to our industry feeds doing through but but I really be to really excites me, I do a lot of TV. I've done an awful lot TV, that theater is a thing that really really gets me going. It's just it's just so exciting. And and something that I did about 10 years ago is a theater near me called the Stratford theatre roads. It's just beautiful. It's like a tiny little opera house. And it's just it's such a hub of East London, you know, it's just buzzing, it's always buzzing and it's really community LED is amazing. And they did um, Martina Cole, do an adaption of one of her books. Sorry, one of her books was adapted into a play called to women. And I played one of the women. And it was just such a journey. I mean, you know, by by the end of the first act, this poor woman was really down beaten woman. She'd been raped by a father raped by a husband on a wedding night a daughter had been raped, she's murdered her husband, that was just the end of the first half. You know, rom com. And it was just, it was so physical. Yeah, I think I was on stage for the whole lot. But one thing that I wasn't on stage for, to the point that they kept me in the same outfit the whole way through it. Because you just, you know, the audience had to suspend their belief just just keep me in the same outfit cuz I didn't have time to do costume changes. And and at the time my girls were four or five and so there was all of that going on with them at home and all and you know as in being a mom and coming home and not been able to sleep till two in the morning because I was so wired up from doing this play but still getting off the school run and, and stuff. But I found the whole of that really challenging and re and what was so lovely about doing that particularly was was that was it because it's Martina Cole, because she's so. So well read in so many people, Rita, and a lot of working class people read her and a lot of them. Sorry, that sounds derogatory, just not not mental at all. But it brought a lot of people into the theater, like it was a really lovely little cleaner at my at my high school, my children's school, and she said, I'm coming with my, my husband, and I go into your place tonight. We've never seen we've never been to the theater, which was amazing. And I saw her a few days afterwards, she said, Oh, my husband was the idiot who was standing up giving innovation at the end. And that really meant something, you know, I just think that was so it was really lovely to see people who wouldn't normally go to beta going to the theater for a play like that. And and they would shout out and never know theater like it. They were you know, they would get really involved really involve the audience or like some sort of theater that was sort of Oh, it was just such a brilliant, so I'm really fond of that. And I really like the part it was such a lovely stretch. You know, she she was all so many different things, his character and she was ultimately lovely. And a lovely soul, you know, that had a horrible life. And it was a really lovely thing to play. And so that was probably one of my favorite themes. Really, it's really hard because I've done lots of things that I really like and lots of people that I've been really privileged to work with, you know, like Steven Poliakoff recently. And Alan Clark, when I was younger, I was just everything. And so sometimes it's not necessarily the part is the privilege of working with these people. That's also amazing.

Roy Sharples: 17:14

Alan Clark, he directed made in Britain.

Cathy Murphy: 17:16

He did met him. I just I love that man. I absolutely. He was when we were talking earlier. And you asked what, you know what, how how I got into acting was through you know, being shy, but then I worked quite a bit and my second proper job, proper proper job was with Alan Alan Clark. And I just thought he was amazing. But I did like two lines of made in Britain. And I was so nervous that I went up to him. So excuse me, and how do I say more lines. And he was so sweet. I stopped the hustle because he was limited. He went I'll come to you down and and then about two years later, he I played the lead in something that he did a play for today called gem stars. The rotor state disco was notorious for that. He would see someone do a really tiny part in something and then the next time he had a really nice vehicle, he'd remember the manouse them. So in the next thing I did with him, I played the lead and I he was so inspirational. And I think I learned everything, everything from him everything that he was just my hero,

Roy Sharples: 18:27

other people that you've worked with and collaborated with through the years, are there any key standouts there in terms of ones that really inspired you and really raised the bar in terms of their craft.

Cathy Murphy: 18:39

And Alan Clark was was definitely I mean, he, you know, I was 16 when I worked with him, so it's very young and very impressionable. And, and he really taught me I mean, I'm still such a stickler for time. I can't bear laziness. Sorry, I find the lateness really shoddy. And and that was him. You know, if you were like 10 minutes late for his rehearsal, he was not pleased about that. And he'd make it very, very known that he wasn't pleased. And also when I went up for his job starts early stages go It was the very first time that ever used handheld cameras. And that it was a big new thing, a big new thing to play for today for the BBC, and they were going to have these new handheld cameras, but it was all entirely set on rollerskates all of it all the young actors had to be on rollerskates and when I went for the audition, you know, little 16 year old a bit cocky, and he sort of said, Can you roller skate? And well, we're not quite figure of a bit. Yeah, yeah, I can. Then I had a recall and that the recall it was at the BBC. He handed me a pair of skates which show me now I couldn't I couldn't I couldn't skate. I bullshitting I couldn't say. But he was just saying like, Don't lie. Don't lie. I got a feeling he couldn't stay don't lie because we're going to get your practice anyway. We're going to get someone to teach you and actually lead you through and legislation Teach me taught me how To roll escape, but again, a valuable lesson because it was so you don't need to lie. Why did you know and but lots of little things like that, and he really worked to the bone in a good way. And he worked you to you, you know, while you're working with him, you're working and you're lucky to be working. And not just, he was just, you know, I remember once my dad dropped me off to work, I didn't realize again being young that really a dad should really come into rehearsal, but he was very sweet. And he let my dad come in. And he said to my dad, I love her, but she can't be directed. And I remember thinking, Oh, god, that's a huge compliment. I can't be directed. I've got my own mind. And my dad said, No, that's not a compliment. That's actually really not a compliment. What he's saying is you need to be directed. And once again, I learned from that age of 16, of course, needs to be directed. He's a director, he knows so much more than I do. I need to listen. I don't know everything I know very little. So you know, not to be late to it to not lie. And to and to Akash my brain, not relate not to lie and to and to learn to be directed with three things he taught me and that invaluable if they're served me well. And but equally recently, about two years ago, what was the real Poliakoff or that was just fascinating. Yeah. That was just real fun, really good, fun. And I he's a genius. He's an absolute genius. And I spent most of it watching him, because he's just, he comes to work, he absolutely knows what he's going to do. He knows every single shot that he's going to do. And and and I just one word he's really doing. I'm not sure many people would call him endearing, because he's a real perfectionist, but I found it really endearing. And, and I love, you know, Rennie writers and other directors that I've worked with. And Parco is just lovely. really lovely man, really lovely man. And, and, and it's just just lovely to chill. I've realized I spoke a lot about men, because when I was growing up, it was predominantly men, and be really nice to work with some inspirational women, it's more women that it was needed, isn't it?

Roy Sharples: 22:13

What do you believe are the key skills needed to be an actress?

Cathy Murphy: 22:18

And you know, what I think is number one, and I mean, I think a lot of people can act, that that's not. But what you really, really need, you need to have skin and skin like a crocodile you need to be and you have to the main thing I would say is you need to learn how to take rejection. You really do you not know something?

Roy Sharples: 22:39

Yeah.

Cathy Murphy: 22:41

But it's really strange that you can go to drama school and you can learn all sorts, you can earn accents, you can earn this, you can learn that, but you do have to learn to take rejection and not take it personally. It could be a million reasons why you haven't got a job. Because rejection is a massive part of our business. And you know, for every audition, I get this title happened, you know, and and for whatever reason, sometimes you never find out what though most of the time now you actually you don't find out why you didn't get something you just didn't. And so you have to be incredibly resilient. Not take things personally. And you have to be committed, obviously. Yeah, I say that that to me, that there that aren't quite old school because I'm quite old. That's why I'm doing this forever. But I think you need to be very disciplined. I think you need to it sounds really crazy, but I think you need to be nice. And I know that sounds really odd. But why shouldn't you be nice, but I just think our business is so tense and the shoot day you know, there's very little there's no such thing really, as a year like most jobs you go to you can have a sick day, you can call in sick, you can't really call in sick at all, in our you know, a day where you can't shoot means an awful lot of money to an awful lot of people there's an awful lot of people on a film shoot that depend on everyone being there, you know, so, so just be just be nice. Just make it a nice environment, you know, is just, I can imagine if you're a young actor, it'd be very easy to get your head turned. You know, it's very important to keep grounded. I think I was I was very lucky to have sort of very sweet Irish parents who kept me very grounded. And now I've got a husband and two daughters that keep me very grounded. I think it's really important to be grounded. I'm saying nothing about the actual art of acting because I think you can either do it or not. Yeah, for me, I think the tools that you need our skin like a rhino, just be nice. Just be kind. And, and and hardworking. Be prepared to put the hours in and be prepared to not work for a while. Plan B always have a plan B. That's what I tell my younger self have a better plan B than the one I've had.

Roy Sharples: 24:59

So that's a perfect segue into the next question as well. I'm getting predictable in my age of existence as well. You're in a time machine, you're going backward. And you you're meeting a young Kathy, what advice would you give to her based on the lessons learned to date. And I would say you met me 18,

Cathy Murphy: 25:26

I would say you're not always going to work the way you're working now girlfriend. Because I didn't stop 18 1920 I just went from job to job to job, I remember how irritating I cringe now, and I think about doing the job with that people older than me and going what you do next, you're assuming that everyone had an extra. And, oh, I can still see their faces looking at me, like get that irritant away. Because I just assumed that that's how it worked, I have one job, another one lined up another one. And when you're young, you do work a lot, you do work a lot, which is why every so often I go to sixth forms or I go to colleges or people who are doing drama, right. And I say please have a plan B and I know most of them won't. Because most of them are assuming that they're going to be the one that going to make it and especially if they're young, they're going to be doing loads and they're going to be in demand. But you do get to an age where you're not in demand. And it's so important to have a plan B's or whatever that might be a fitness trainer, dog walker, whatever that might be. And if you do make money bloody invested. One thing I didn't do, I had far too much fun with my money far too much money and didn't invest it properly. You know, so just invest for the future. And, and that, you know, 18 that well was by always stirred and blah, blah. I didn't think of the future like most young people don't know, why should they they're 18. I would just say just invest a little bit more and just realize this is a really good one. But it isn't forever, you are going to get old like everyone else and have a plan B.

Roy Sharples: 27:01

So Tilton forward into the future. Kathy, what's your vision for the future of actin?

Cathy Murphy: 27:07

Got? Oh, I mean, at the moment, it's awful. But then the world is awful. It's um, it's a scary. It's just I mean, things are happening again, very, very slowly. They're happening. I mean, the one thing it's doing, you know, business is it? I don't I don't know whether social media or what's happened on late say, the last sort of five years, everything has to happen yesterday. You know, like, you'd go up for a job and you'd start filming it two days later. Yeah. And everything was so fast, fast, fast, fast. And I remember years ago, not when I went up for EastEnders for a regular character or semi regular character and went up on Thursday for it. And I was filming on Monday. And it was a real, no, oh, my God, I've got to get the children babysat, I've got to get Whoa. And I got to learn lines. And that's how fast the business has been so longer than that it was about 10 years ago. And things have been moving. So far, so fast. I mean, I've done jobs where I'm at the read through, and the second lead car actor hasn't been casting it yet. And they're gonna start filming Three days later, it's got really fast. And that's one thing about social media, just like everything has to happen. We all contactable all the time, blah, blah, blah, you know. And so to Sorry, I'm warbling rambley. But there was a point to that. I think what what's happened now is this whole thing is forced everyone to slow down. Yes. And it has to slow down. So say, if you know you're going up for a job now, because there's got to be so many checks on you and the rest of the crew, you would have like you used to have when I was first starting out, you'd get a job. And a month later, you'd start filming it. That's more like, that's what's happening now, at the moment. It's slower, everything's slower, because it has to be because it's got to be safe. And so that's what's happening in the in the interim, and what's happening about our business. I mean, I don't know how many theaters are going to survive this? You know, yeah, it is moneys for things going to become less and less and less. Because, you know, our monies, I think monies are going to become less for actors. Because we it was always a case of you know, it was becoming that money's going 20 years ago, I earned more than I did now, which is bizarre. And it was becoming that way. We just, you know, it doesn't matter. If it's not used, someone else will do it. Well, that's going to be even more so because we've all had this long time out of work. So are we going to just be grateful for doing whatever job comes our way? And the money is irrelevant? I don't know. I mean, that's not the sole reason why you do it. But obviously that helps. Yeah. And I don't know what what's going to happen. I mean, I've always just just plodding along and you know, very different focus now that I've got daughters than I did when I was younger when I was younger was all about me my career that that that stopped us As I had children that's back then, and their life and acting like a lovely side for me, is great when I get a job, but it's not my be all and end all. So for me, I just plod along and do whatever comes along, but for the actual business, it frightens me to think how many theatres might go. I don't I don't know. I mean, the, the arts and the hospitality have been really affected by COVID. So who knows?

Roy Sharples: 30:26

Yeah, I mean, I sincerely hope that none of those negative points, and none of the negative scenarios can play out any more than they have already. Because I totally believe that without the arts and culture, they are a necessity. And I think they're treated in so many countries as a nice to have. And it you know, it's one because it affects the morale of our country, I believe, you know, the performing arts or just arts in general.

Cathy Murphy: 30:54

And yeah, I absolutely agree.Yeah, I and, and maybe people will realize that more when there's less of them around you know, when we when everybody I don't know what it's like in America, but certainly here, obviously, because there was a lot of repeats that happened during the lockdown an awful lot of repeat. and stuff in it just felt really strange that we weren't really seeing this new things and, and the theater and I still love going to the theater and all live performances like music, you know, you're a big Music Man and Brandon, our partners, a big music person and, and not been able to go and see things live. And it's depressing. It's sad, and I really hope it recovers. And but but in a way, I hope it does. I think you're right, I think people thought was a bit superfluous, nice to have. It's nice to have a bit of that, but they don't really do anything. There's been an awful lot of people that have made me feel in life in general. And this isn't a moan or not moaning. It's just what it is. That made me feel that what I do is not really that important, you know, and absolutely next to somebody who saves lives and, you know, an oncologist is really not important. It's really, really not, but it has some importance. Yeah, exactly.

Roy Sharples: 32:04

It's not a matter of life and death, but it's still a huge part of life. And I think as well, it helps people understand complex situations that helps communicate things in a certain way, and also helps manifest and the world around us, as well, you know, through art and through moviemaking, through television. And it brings people together as well. So yeah, and it helps progress society without sounding pretentious. But no, I think it's a necessity. I really do.

Cathy Murphy: 32:34

No, absolutely. And it can move you to do you know, I saw I Daniel, Daniel cannot film it and you forgotten the name. That's my age. I the Ken Loach film, I Daniel and I can't think of the surname I'm so terrible. But I saw that and it broke my heart and made me go the next day to a food bank and continue to do food banks, which I hadn't thought about if I'm honest, I hadn't thought about why those we're coming out of your shopping. But the film made me want to do that made me compelled to do that, you know, it does affect you arts can affect you, they really can and yeah,

Roy Sharples: 33:13

that's the thing is, is creating that emotion beyond everything else we said it's creating that emotional connection where the person in the audience will take action as a result of that. So going back to the the, the the to woman play that you can did and you were mentioning the the neighbor who can stood up and give up innovation that night, he and his wife would have been going home feeling very positive reflective on kind of what they learned and things like that.

Cathy Murphy: 33:37

Yeah, it made my day and and because my character in that, again, someone came up to me and afterwards and was had been in an abusive relationship and could really relate to it. And that just made my day. I mean that that, you know is is that I've loved lots of work I've done it feels wrong to single out one but that felt really special because I know so many people went to the theater who've never been to theater before who you know, thought it was for the middle to upper classes and it's not for them. And this was different and and it was just really lovely. And it was packed every night and if the night at a party failed to it was bizarre it was just it was fantastic. It was just great to see people who never go normally gone to theater, go to the theater, it just just was

Roy Sharples: 34:23

brilliant. The latest been learning more about your life and career and I totally under like know that you can speak through I can totally relate your personality, why you can did things and so beyond just friendship, I can understand professionally, why you did what why you were compelled to kind of do what you've done. And my goodness, what what an extraordinary life you've had.

Cathy Murphy: 34:47

Oh, thank you. Really, you know, difference is when it wasn't more of a plan. That's stupid. I'd be the next. Sharon Davis by now if it continued.I would. It was brilliant. But it's been it's been fun and I've got To meet some lovely people and I've got really protective over my, when I was younger I felt a bit embarrassed about being an actress so when people make the wrong assumption that always full of fake people and you know there's probably lots of bitching going on I would kind of like just agree or go along with it because I felt and actually that's not the case really not the case I can't encountered far more bitchiness and hostility when I've done the numerous jobs outside of acting that I've had. Yeah, you have to do when you're an actor, and real real horrors. Wow, I thought my business was meant to be quite horrible, actually. And and really awful, and that just really entertaining and good, fun and very supportive. And yeah, it's fun. It is what it is. It's fun. And it's um, that said, I don't want my daughters to do it because it is precarious. But but it's, it's for me. I've had fun and I had a good run it. It's been really nice to talk to you. Thank you

Roy Sharples: 35:57

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