ELECTRIC: An Interview with Ali Hardiman

ELECTRIC: An Interview with Ali Hardiman

April 26, 2019

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H. R. Gibs

Playwright, actor, self-professed funny lady, Ali Hardiman answers the phone with a cheery disposition. She is on her way up to Belfast for the 3 night run of her debut play ELECTRIC in the Lyric Theatre. After which she'll be heading down to Kerry and then onwards and upwards to Brighton for the rest of the UK leg of the tour.

Hardiman grew up in Dublin and fresh out of school launched into a 4 year degree at UCD studying modern languages, where she spent most of her free time involved with the drama society. So much time, in fact, that following her first year she waved goodbye to all ideas of a BA in languages, throwing caution to the wind with an epiphany that rang out clear in her mind - she wasn’t passionate about a languages degree, what she truly wanted to do was study acting. Much to her surprise, Hardiman’s parents supported her decision to delve wholeheartedly into the world of theatre as she enrolled in the Gaiety Theatre for a 2 year course and then went on to study at Bow Street Academy the following year. Despite this rather impressive selection of almae matres, Hardiman credits her skills to “learning through life and on the job - in TV, film and theatre".

ELECTRIC is Hardiman’s first fully fledged written piece that has taken flight. “I have so much more experience with acting than with writing” Hardiman admits, going on to note the Gaiety’s ‘Manifesto’ programme as giving her the first taste of writing by providing opportunity to draw up and perform. This allowed Hardiman and her classmates to create believable short extracts and mini-scripts in a nurturing environment, rich with feedback and encouragement. Today she writes from her own experience, drawing from her real life and characters to create scripts where she sees herself represented in the overly Americanised and Anglicised world of media. “I think it’s the sign of a good writer to use imagination to create a world that is not theirs and I hope to do that one day, however I also think it’s important to write about my experiences in the world”, as a fellow Irish woman she knows how difficult it is to fit yourself on stage and screen. Derry Girls, naturally, is mentioned, along with the nuanced difference between the humour of Northern and southern Ireland which still manages to translate easily across the border. In feeling judged for her background and seeing how her friendship with those from alternative backgrounds to herself were judged by outsiders, Hardiman felt compelled to write what she knew and thus, ELECTRIC was born.

Directed by Claire Maguire, ELECTRIC tells the story of 2 young girls “from either side of the track who unexpectedly find each other during Irish music festival Electric Picnic”. This princess and pauper-esque story has a paralleled and more serious “commentary on the class divide in Ireland” whilst still being a “kind of whirlwind Romeo and Juliet story of modern times. Two worlds collide” and shake up the “judgments the girls have towards each other and of the others around them”. Hardiman relies on her own experience explicitly here as a veteran attender of Electric Picnic, she has been to the music festival 4 times. The last time she visited, the skeleton of her debut was already taking shape. EP, although small when compared to other music festivals still homes 50,000 people for that weekend in August, with some people travelling from as far afield as mainland Europe. “There’s just so many types of people there, you know? People from all different walks of life - people in onesies, people barefoot and wearing shorts and those in brand new welly boots”. It was the perfect setting for Hardiman’s vision and with each theatre turned into a portable music festival - rigged with bunting, flowers and glitter, it is the set and the costumes of layered with rain jackets and patterned leggings that helps create the atmosphere of music festival craziness onstage.

And of course, soundtrack is of the upmost importance for this particular story.

All music in ELECTRIC is the original composed handiwork of Hardiman’s brother Sam, making this something a a family effort. Much like the festivals themselves, the stage is always never silent, with always a faraway crowd chanting or speaker blaring, the noise, music or otherwise is a permanent fixture. “[Sam] was so good at creating exactly what I wanted even when I gave him even the vaguest description without eloquence or knowing the technical terms” Hardiman praises her sibling and the variety of instrumentals he is able to create from his keyboard - ranging all the way from the tranquil setting of the hippy-tent to the techno forest rave.

The overall experience for Hardiman was “more stressful than imagined, I mean, I knew it would be hard work” but having to adapt to a new stage every few days made sure that the task of performance never became an easy feat. But it is rewarding as well, overwhelmingly so, to see the reality of “having people respond to the words you’ve written”. She notes the strangeness of having different areas respond in different ways and the various regions in Ireland reacting to different funny moments - “even putting it on in different areas in Dublin triggers different responses which is wild considering it’s a Dublin based play - I’m apprehensive to see how Belfast responds”. It is a fact widely known that despite the subjectivity of humour it is something the Irish are most certainly known for and something the entire island is able to bond over. There is a specific brand of humour from this part of the world which laughs in the face of hardship or the slightly morbid.  

Despite comedy generally being seen as one of the most challenging genres to write, Hardiman approaches the script with ease, allowing it to be flexible and something of a living body which adapts to the characteristics of both director Maguire and the other actors. “Different takes can be funny in different ways” Hardiman assures, “and just because it’s different from the original doesn’t make it wrong. The play is developing constantly and it’s becoming something of a group effort as we continue on tour”.

 This woman is one who is passionate about comedy and passionate about funny women, listing the likes of Ruth Jones, Sharon Morgan, Kristen Wiig (“Bridesmaids is my favourite film”), Tine Fey and Derry’s own Lisa McGee as her comedic influences. Easygoing with the humour and always open to new ideas, Hardiman remains staunchly Irish, noting that the specific Irishness of her play is capital ‘I’ important. “We eat up American and English TV all the time, so it’s important to show what is real to us as Irish people”. The use of local language and real Irish phrasing is unrelenting with a small glossary being provided to UK audiences to help dissect more specific idioms. “The play is location specific, it’s universal themes against a backdrop of specific colloquialisms”. The only way to make people aware of Irish nuances is expose them to them, without shame or head hanging or watering anything down.  

After watching the play myself I can say that ELECTRIC is probably the perfect name for this one act piece - the writing is fast-paced and funny and fills up the stage despite the minimalist 2 person cast and set of the Naughton Studio. There is something alive in Hardiman's writing, in her performance and the performance of cast-mate Ericka Roe; something which takes over their entire bodies and allows a whole story to be told in full over the 55 minute performance. This is good theatre that backs the theory of the Irish being a story-telling people in their core and supports the mantra that good writing is the backbone of theatre. If this is her debut, Hardiman may well be the name to watch in contemporary Irish Theatre. 

ELECTRIC runs in the Lyric Theatre 25th April - 27th April.

By H.R Gibs