PROCLAIMED as the theatrical performance of the past year, Northern Ireland audiences will this evening be able to watch live Billie Piper's fearless portrayal of a young woman driven to commit a horrific crime by her terrible longing for motherhood.
National Theatre Live will beam Yerma, by Federico Garcia Lorca, from London's Young Vic to 2,500 cinemas in 60 countries, including a number of venues across the north and south of Ireland.
Piper plays Her, a nameless women desperate to have a child, in this version of the Spanish playwright’s poetic tragedy, adapted and directed by acclaimed Australian director Simon Stone.
Instead of being set in early 20th century Catholic rural Spain, the main characters inhabit a chic, cosmopolitan London, where people are fussy about designer furnishings, the brand of Champagne they drink and social media rules. But confidence crumbles amid continuous rounds of IVF and spiralling debt.
Playing the role of the main character's on-stage mother Helen is Scottish actress Maureen Beattie. The 64-year-old is a veteran of the stage, as well as being well known for her role as Sandra Nicholl in medical drama Casualty in the early 90s and the Doctor Who Christmas Special in 2014.
She describes her character of Helen, the indifferent mother who drifts in and out of her daughter's livfe as "a bit of a monster", although also being "uncomfortably funny".
Although she had a very close relationship with her own mother – former model-turned showbiz agency boss, Kitty Lamont – Beattie did find inspiration for the role from her. "My mother was a businesswoman and also bringing up four children. Like my mother my character is an academic who works very hard and is struggling to balance her career desire with her raising her children."
Beattie was born in Bundoran, while her entertainer dad, Johnny Beattie, was doing summer season at a local theatre. It's a place she still feels a connection with.
"When doing touring theatre in Ireland I always try to hire a car and stand on the beach and let the wind blow through my hair. I do feel a certain electricity as I stand there starring at the boarding house I stayed in as a newborn."
Those who have seen this staging of Yerma have reported spine-tingling electricity as they watch the dramatic events unfold before them and Beattie says being part of the production is the best experience she has had in both her professional and real life.
"It's such a beautiful play and part. It's just been a fabulous experience to work with these amazing people."
Reflecting on the four-week rehearsal process back in 2016, Beattie describes it as being "extraordinary" and completely different.
"There was no script when we arrived on the first day of rehearsal. We talked about the play and our own life experiences, before Simon would start to write up whole scenes. Then we sat around in a circle and said the lines to one another, rather than acting. It was quite scary, because all the things you are used to doing go out the window. But Simon wanted us to be in the moment."
The drama takes place within a glass box on stage, giving the effect of a goldfish bowl. It is a set Beattie finds unique, but highly effective.
"I've never acted with a barrier between me and the audience before, but it actually magnifies emotions and as we are miked, you can just whisper rather than worry about projecting your voice and the audience hears everything," she explains.
Beattie is full of praise for her co-star Billie Piper and goes as far as saying she is the reason for the play's success.
"It's a really fantastic company and a wonderfully well-written piece staged in an extraordinary way, but Billie Piper's performance is the best performance I've ever seen a woman give on stage and the number one reason why people are so astonished by this performance."
While all the cast are emotionally drained after each show, the harrowing story particularly takes it's toll upon Piper. "She cracks herself open every single night. It's amazing to watch."
:: Yerma will be broadcast live to cinemas from The Young Vic at 7pm tonight as part of National Theatre Live. To find your nearest cinema visit ntlive.nationaltheatre.org.uk/productions/ntlout22-yerma
