S6E1: Discovering the Truth in Lies We Tell

Irish Stew Podcast

Launching Season Six, we go behind the scenes of the woman-strong Irish film Lies We Tell, a brooding tale of angels and demons, light and shadow, manners and mores, family secrets and family crimes, which The Guardian called “a tightly laced, elegantly cut gothic period drama.”

A total rethinking of Irish writer Sheridan Le Fanu’s 1864 novel Uncle Silas, the film centers on Maud Ruthyn, brilliantly portrayed by the rising young star Agnes O’Casey, great-granddaughter of the playwright, Sean O'Casey, who is trapped in the sprawling family estate Knowl (filmed at Ardgillan Castle in County Dublin) and by “the law being made and enforced by men.”
The Guardian called her delivery “as sharp as a steak knife” and Screen International wrote, “A singular performance by Agnes O’Casey gives the pretty period piece a serrated edge.”
Our episode starts with a prelude from Maedhbh Fiona Mc Cullagh, director of Washington, DC’s Solas Nua Capital Irish Film Festival, which kicks off on Feb. 29th with Lies We Tell. Then Director Lisa Mulcahy and screenwriter Elisabeth Gooch talk about how they transformed a century-and-a-half-old Gothic period drama into a compelling woman-centered story relevant to today. We learn why Elizabeth found the 1864 Maude so annoying and Lisa talks about the budget pressures that led to the film’s signature candle-lit ambiance, creating what Film Journal called “a tale of flawlessness and immersive beauty.”
Then you’ll meet Agnes O’Casey and hear about her UK upbringing, her Trinity College Dublin theatre training, her embrace of the Sean O’Casey lineage, her TV breakthrough in Ridley Road, her recent roles in films with the likes of Maggie Smith, Kathy Bates, Laura Linney, Stephen Rea, and a Cillian Murphy film yet to be released, and the challenges of being on camera in almost every scene of Lies We Tell.
Join us to meet the makers and learn the backstory of the brilliant, woman-forwards Lies We Tell.
Links:

Lies We Tell

• Website
• IMDb

Agnes O’Casey

• Wikipedia
• IMDb
• Portfolio Showreel

Lisa Mulcahy

• Website
• IMDb
• Twitter

Elisabeth Gooch

• IMDb

Maedhbh Fiona Mc Cullagh

• LinkedIn
• Twitter

Solas Nua Capital Irish Film Festival

פרקים

1. Introduction (00:00:00)

2. Maedhbh Mc Cullagh Introduces CIFF (00:03:52)

3. Introducing Lisa Mulchay and Elisabeth Gooch (00:06:27)

4. Lisa: Candlelight and Lies We Tell (00:06:33)

5. Elisabeth: Recreating Gothic Victorian Ireland (00:09:22)

6. Lisa: On Capturing Sheridan Le Fanu Tone (00:13:15)

7. Setting Lies We Tell in Ireland (00:14:54)

8. Law, Menace and Character Layers (00:19:27)

9. Economic Oppression and Powerlessness (00:22:40)

10. Reclaiming Power and the House (00:24:58)

11. Elisabeth: A Subversive Take (00:28:14)

12. Lisa: On Lead Actor: Agnes O'Casey (00:30:26)

13. Introducing Agnes O'Casey (00:34:37)

14. Playing Body Number 3 (00:35:13)

15. Choosing the O'Casey Name (00:37:36)

16. Drama School in Ireland (00:41:16)

17. Ridley Road and Dueling Identities (00:46:22)

18. The Miracle Club (00:48:57)

19. Preparing for Lies We Tell (00:52:12)

20. Every Scene Intensity (00:55:35)

21. Working with David Wilmot (00:59:53)

22. Working with Candles (01:02:12)

23. What's Next For Agnes (01:04:22)

24. John and Martin Recap (01:07:29)

25. Credits (01:08:00)