Carlow solicitor takes centre stage in one-woman show about Irish peacekeeping missions
Victoria Clarke being directed by Bryan Burroughs in the one-woman play, Requiem for a mission. She plays Amy, a UN officer returning to her post in the Middle East after a traumatic life event
A BENNEKERRY woman who once chose law over the stage is bringing a powerful one-woman show to Carlow this month.
Victoria Clarke, a solicitor at Clarke Jeffers & Co in Carlow, will star in , a 35-minute, one-woman show written by award-winning playwright and former UN captain, Gerard Humphreys.
The show, which premiered in Dublin in February, follows Amy a UN officer returning to her post in the Middle East after a traumatic life event set against the backdrop of Ireland’s withdrawal of troops from the occupied Golan Heights.
“It explores the emotional and political impact of service abroad and reflects on the duty, identity and the human cost of international service with a kind of sharp contemporary lens,” said Victoria. “It shows the Irish perspective to global peacekeeping and it’s giving the audience a powerful look at these kinds of personal stories behind the headlines.” For Victoria, the authenticity of the material was a key lure. Captain Humphreys wrote the play from lived experience, something, she felt, gave it genuine weight. “He’s lived this,” she said simply.
Victoria grew up in Bennekerry and has had a passion for performing since childhood, first developing it through Carlow stage school Spotlight and with Mary Amond’s choir Carlow Young Artists. But at a pivotal moment in her early career, she faced a choice that will resonate with anyone who has ever had to choose between two callings.
“I always loved law. My dad, Willie Clarke was a solicitor and I always knew it was going to be law or acting for me,” she said. “I got into King’s Inns at the same time I got the letter to get into the Gaiety.” She chose law and has no regrets. She practiced as a barrister before choosing to work as a solicitor in the family firm Clarke Jeffers & Co, where she now works alongside her brothers.
“I chose King’s Inns and I am so glad I did. Then, I continued doing my acting and singing in the background as a pastime.” Her parents were a formative influence on both fronts. “My dad had such a major impact on us. The acting came from my mum and the singing, and the law came from my dad.” After years away from performing, it was her own children who nudged her back. “My kids got interested in acting and they were saying ‘mummy, did you ever act?’ I thought, God, I better get back into it’.” She auditioned for a play last January, landed the lead role and won a bursary that brought her to the University of Limerick to complete a course.
“I’d also done a few courses in the Lir Academy, Dublin and I met Bryan Burroughs (the play’s director) who’s from Carlow, on one of the courses. So, we decided to work on this one-woman show and I knew an award-winning playwright who was in the army - a UN captain called Gerard Humphreys. And I know this meant a lot to him and I felt it was the time to get out and do something like this,” she explained.
Technically, this isn’t Victoria’s first one-woman play. Last October, she had the only speaking part in , an 1889 Swedish play by August Strindberg, which consists of one long, tense scene between two women â a challenge when your character is the only one talking.
Preparation for Requiem for a Mission has also been intensive. “You have to put the time in and you have to just become that character really,” she said of approaching emotionally demanding material, an approach that involves personal time, breathing exercises and deep research into the character she inhabits.
The Dublin run was a success. “It premiered in Dublin in February. We did a couple of nights and that went really, really well, so now it’s coming to Carlow on the 16 April and we’re doing two shows.”
plays at Club D’Art, Carlow on Thursday 16 April at 7pm and 8.30pm.
