CARRICKFERGUS-born Clare McMahon has already shared an on-stage kiss with Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe, but after seven years studying and working in London, the newly-wed is relishing the creative opportunities Belfast presents as she prepares to star in her first self-penned drama Shakespeare's Women.
Four hundred years in the making and just in time for Shakespeare's birthday, 28-year-old McMahon breathes new life into Shakespeare's various heroines and tragic characters in a modern examination of the relationships between men and women as she asks: Can one woman’s advice stop another doing something stupid?
Bitten by the acting bug as a child when she entered speech and drama festivals, McMahon's ambition was fuelled by her time Belfast's Rainbow Factory School of Performing Arts – which has been the launchpad of a number of successful actors including Martin McCann and Drew Dillon.
"I love storytelling. As humans telling stories to one another is how we learn, heal and inspire. Theatre is a way of completely dipping yourself into another world and sharing a story with audiences," says McMahon, who went on to train at the prestigious Central Drama School in London.
She returned to Belfast two years ago and as well as starring in a number of productions, has explored other creative outlets.
"In London you have to work so hard to pay your rent, so you rely solely on getting acting jobs and don't have much time to be creative. Here you can afford to teach, write, be employed to act by other theatre companies and also create new work," says McMahon, who also runs Tiny Actors, working with primary school children in north Down and south Antrim.
While not quite on the scale of the Reduced Shakespeare Company's abridged performances, McMahon has packed in 15 females and two males – Hamlet and Mark Anthony – into Shakespeare's Women.
It's "a story I wanted to tell", the actress, whose ambition is to play every woman Shakespeare wrote, says. "I've played Juliet, Hermia and Desdemona – this play will get a few more done. Shakespeare wrote a real plethora of female characters – old, young, pathetic, tragic, ambitious – all in the thralls of love. I wondered what might happen if they met for a chat and what they could learn from each other?"
Fusing modern comedy and drama with classical verse, McMahon and fellow local actor Siobhan Kelly portray Juliet and Ophelia as the central protagonists.
"Juliet and Ophelia are left in limbo in this waiting area after their death. They are trying to figure out their demise and decide to move on, or move back. They discuss and play various others throughout, but essential it's two young girls relishing the escapism. Ophelia doesn't have much control in Hamlet, so when she plays Cleopatra she is experiencing what it's like to be a woman in control."
So what can today's modern women learn from Shakespeare's women's mistakes? "Definitely don't kill yourself because of a man," McMahon laughs. "Ophelia kills herself because she is so heartbroken when Hamlet goes off the rails and the relationship falls apart. She meets Juliet who kills herself happily in this tragic moment of love. What they would probably say to each other is that there is life after Romeo and Hamlet.
"We've all had relationships that didn't go well. You have to accept what happened and learn for it and apply it to the next person you date. Women need to take control and not be victims. Much of this comes with maturity and hopefully you can find a relationship where you aren't bullied or taken for granted and where you make yourself better by being with them."
Last summer McMahon married her own Romeo – fellow actor Benjamin Gould. Ironically, the pair shared their first kiss as 16-year-olds when they played the lead roles in Romeo and Juliet at the Rainbow Project. They have worked together on three previous occasions and for the first time Benjamin is directing her in Shakespeare's Women.
"He's a real Shakespeare buff so he keeps me on my toes. As long as he know's I'm the boss," laughs McMahon, who has always likened herself to Juliet.
"I love the character. She's smart, verbose and strong-willed. But I'm now as I approach my 30s I'm leaving her behind and am drawn to the strong, fiery Portia in Julius Caesar."
In the same week as her own show, McMahon also stars in Punched Canvas's production Turtle by James Johnson which, like Shakespeare's Women, is being staged at new Belfast arts venue The Barracks.
In this "powerful tale about three women, two murders and a turtle" she plays the role of alcoholic sister Polly.
"The Barracks is totally what Belfast needs. The arts cuts have meant that a lot of work is being shelved and they are putting on big plays that can be banked but there also needs to be a chance for new artists to explore their work. How would Connor McPherson or Martin McDonagh have got so successful if they hadn't put on their own show when they were in their 20s? We can't all be Martin McDonagh, but we can try," McMahon says.
While she will continue to write, McMahon hopes to fulfil her 99-year-old grandmother's wish to see her perform on the stage of Dublin's Abbey Theatre. Also on her bucket list are London's Shakespeare's Globe, Royal Shakespeare Theatre and the National Theatre.
"As an actor you have to keep working and keep learning. I hope I'm still around when I'm 80 appearing in King Lear," she says.
And how were those snogs with Daniel Radcliffe? "I barely had time to get nervous. I had just had a coffee and sandwich so I borrowed the costume girl's toothbrush," says McMahon, who got 30 minutes notice to appear on stage of the Noel Coward Theatre in London's West End in 2014, when she was understudying the role of Helen in McDonagh's The Cripple of Inishmaan.
"Daniel is a lovely guy, very down-to-earth and he congratulated me on my performance."
After her week in the limelight, McMahon took the opportunity to learn the workings of a West End stage shadowing stage hands and the lighting operators.
"The West End is the epitome of professional theatre. If you want to learn how it all works, there's no better place."
Despite her busy schedule and theatrical dreams, McMahon still makes time to lend a hand behind the counter in the family business – her father's butcher's shop on Belfast's Antrim Road.
Already one of a select few as a female butcher, she says her real claim to fame is that at the age of 13 she was the youngest person in the UK to get her butcher's health and hygiene certificate.
"I can make burgers, sausages, mince beef and cut a steak," she adds.
:: Shakespeare's Women runs at The Barrack's on May 4 and 5. Turtle runs at The Barracks on May 7 and 8. For tickets and full festival programme visit www.cqaf.com.
