‘Being Irish,” says Alison Oliver, comes with “an undercurrent of inherited grief. An underlay of darkness that we all feel here” – she cautiously presses both palms to her stomach – “even if we can’t always explain it in words.
”Best known for starring as Frances, a self-involved poet, in the TV adaptation of Sally Rooney’s bestselling novel Conversations with Friends, 26-year-old Oliver is preparing to take the title role in a new Almeida production of Portia Coughlan by Marina Carr. We meet in a shady little park across the street from the north London theatre’s rehearsal rooms and I am struck immediately by Oliver’s birdlike quality as she perches on a bench, pecking distractedly at a bowl of salad. But as she starts to talk about the play – written by Carr, a Dubliner, in 1996 – she seems to grow in stature.
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‘Being Irish,” says Alison Oliver, comes with “an undercurrent of inherited grief. An underlay of darkness that we all feel here” – she cautiously presses both palms to her stomach – “even if we can’t always explain it in words.
”Best known for starring as Frances, a self-involved poet, in the TV adaptation of Sally Rooney’s bestselling novel Conversations with Friends, 26-year-old Oliver is preparing to take the title role in a new Almeida production of Portia Coughlan by Marina Carr. We meet in a shady little park across the street from the north London theatre’s rehearsal rooms and I am struck immediately by Oliver’s birdlike quality as she perches on a bench, pecking distractedly at a bowl of salad. But as she starts to talk about the play – written by Carr, a Dubliner, in 1996 – she seems to grow in stature.
**Read more:** [**https://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/what-to-see/alison-oliver-interview/**](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/what-to-see/alison-oliver-interview/)