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Chapter 1: What are the themes explored in Katriona O'Sullivan's memoir Hungry?
Welcome back to the Women's Podcast. I'm Roisin Ingle. Well, I hope you're listening out somewhere on a beach, you know, in not very many clothes, just managing to get some relaxing time in this unbelievable weather. I mean, everyone's complaining that they can't sleep and stuff like that, but isn't it gorgeous? Everyone's so happy. So hope you're enjoying it wherever you are.
If you want to get in touch with us, we're on social at IT Women's Podcast or you can email us thewomenspodcast at irishtimes.com. Tell us what you think of this episode or anything else you want us to cover. We love hearing from you. Later on, we're going to be hearing from the author of New Memoir Hungry, the brilliant academic Katrina O'Sullivan.
So the gastric band took me down to 83 kg, which is within my BMI healthy range. It's the lightest I've ever been. I don't think I was that when I was born, to be honest, because I've always been a sturdy girl. And I'm very proud of that, actually. But I reached the goal and I wasn't happy.
Chapter 2: How does Katriona O'Sullivan's journey reflect societal pressures on body image?
I wasn't happy. Like the same thoughts, the same every time I looked in the mirror. Oh, my God, I've got an overhang. Oh, my God, my legs are too fat. Like the rhetoric changed. around what's wrong with me I hadn't healed what was wrong with me what was wrong with me was my relationship with my body it wasn't my body what was wrong with me was my relationship with my body
That was Katrina O'Sullivan there. And we're going to hear more from her later on. But first, the other night I went to see Oklahoma in the Borgosh Energy Theatre. That's Oklahoma with an exclamation mark. It's one of those old school musicals. It's a Rodgers and Hammerstein one. And I have to tell you, it was absolutely incredible. I hadn't seen it for 100 years.
And this is a fully homegrown production of an Irish musical choreographed by the brilliant David Bulger of Cushcame Fane.
Chapter 3: What role does therapy play in Katriona's healing process?
And it really is a classic musical. It actually won a Pulitzer Prize back in the 1940s when it was performed on Broadway. And just to remind you a bit about the story, it's set in farm country outside the town of Claremore. in Indian Territory in 1906. And it tells the story of farm girl Laurie Williams and her courtship by two rival suitors.
There's cowboy Curly MacLean and the sinister and quite frightening farmhound, Judd Fry. There's also another romance between a bit of a madcap cowboy, Will Parker, and his fiance, Ado Annie. She's the one who sings that famous song, Can't Say No. I'm just a girl who can't say no. Yeah, I don't think they're going to be calling for me anytime soon.
And other songs you might know are Oh, What a Beautiful Morning and People Will Say We're in Love. The original Broadway production opened in 1943 and it was a huge hit. It ran for something like 2000 performances. It was award winning revivals followed national tours, and it actually was an Oscar winning 1955 film adaptation as well.
And you might have seen it in schools because it's a really popular choice for school and community productions.
Chapter 4: How does Katriona's experience with body image evolve after motherhood?
Today we're joined by two stars of this new Irish production, Molly Logan, who stars as Aunt Eller, and Rachel Gogan, who stars as Ado Annie. And the musical is showing until Sunday, July 5th. But they came in and talked to me just for a brief chat about their performances and about this really brilliant musical, Oklahoma. Yeehaw! Thank you very much for coming in. Oklahoma!
Exclamation mark at the end has to be put in. Tell us about it, first of all, about the story. For people who don't know, because it's quite an old school musical, isn't it?
Yeah, there's not a bad song in it. You'll know every single... I always think the overture, to start off with the overture, is incredibly moving, beautiful and uplifting. But yeah, it's basically... Two young lovers that don't want to completely commit to each other, but there's a bit of teasing from Curly to try and get Laurie on his side.
And then there's the two comical love interests, which Rachel here, Edoani and Will Parker, which bring a lot of light and humour. And about the world.
Chapter 5: What insights does Katriona offer about the impact of diet culture?
Yeah, the world is... It's a heavy piece as well. Like there's a lot of darkness. There's a lot of fight and survival and hopefully relief at the end. But there's a lot, there's a roller coaster of emotions, which I think is what makes Robert Jordan Hammerstein is magic. He just, you know.
Yeah. I was reading about it and actually won a Pulitzer, which is very unusual for a musical, I think.
Absolutely. The storytelling, it's a proper story. Do you know, it's not fluffy, but it's great fun, you know.
And it was written in 1906 and I think performed it first in the 40s. So there's a kind of a, it's an interesting one because you talk about this love interest in the middle of it and she's this woman and there's these two men fighting over her essentially. But there's a sort of element of her, she's sort of like a property, an object, really just to be torn between the two.
Chapter 6: How does the discussion address the relationship between poverty and body image?
It's an interesting one to watch in this current age, isn't it?
Yeah, I play Anne Deller and she's a single lady who feels that she has a lot of control over their love and who she should go for and what she should do in life, but quite quietly doing it behind the scenes and it's not always spoken. But yeah, the women are very strong in this. I especially feel like Laurie, the portrayal that Molly Lynch is playing, she's fierce, but she's got heart.
And I just think hope is a huge, there's hope for everyone in this play and musical. It is a play. It's a play with music.
It is a play with music, with great songs, like I say. And Rachel, tell us about your character. She's quite the one, isn't she?
She is. So I'm playing Edo Annie and Edo Annie is like a woman with the brain and the desires of a modern woman. It's like the desire to explore, the desire to not settle down at the age of 18, but to see the world and to meet people.
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Chapter 7: What future projects is Katriona O'Sullivan working on?
She just has so much love in her heart that she wants to give it to everyone. And then she's in this community, like she's got this modern brain in this old school community. And unfortunately, the communities can't go on. Hey, girl, you gotta you gotta ease off. You gotta pick one boy and you gotta stick with him. She's like, why? She's saying, why do I have to do that? Who made that up?
So she's kind of like getting scolded throughout the show, but people very, like she's maybe not the brightest girl, but... It's only because she just very much follows her instinct and follows her heart. She's not worried about anything else. She's not worried about any social rules.
And she's very fortunate to be living in a community of very kind and sweet people who are here to guide her to what might be a smarter decision. Because if she was out in the wild on her own, I don't know how she'd get on.
She's so present.
Chapter 8: How can listeners apply Katriona's lessons about self-acceptance?
She always just lives in the moment. Like, you know, present. And that's whatever that comes at her, she takes.
Exactly. And I find that if I don't feel entirely present on stage when I'm playing her, I don't feel like her. You know, if I'm thinking about who's in the audience, who's watching, I wonder if they like it. Then I'm giving it like a caricature of her. But she's actually just this character. very present in the moment, sweet girl.
And if you don't play her entirely present and relaxed and following instincts and loose limbs and everything, then it doesn't work. But Edo is madly in love with two men. Yes, two funny men. Two fantastic men. Will Parker, played by Sasha Koplewski, and Ali Hakim, played by Julian, Julian Capolet. And these are two men who are very different. Will Parker is this similarly kind of dim, perhaps.
But he has all this physical prowess and he's the best at lassoing in the area. And he's a fantastic... character and a sweet person. And he's mad about Edo. But Edo's also mad about, well, she's mad about Will, but she's also mad about Ali Hakeem because he's sort of exotic.
He's this peddler character and he goes around and he's just into whatever woman's around at the moment. He's not going to be settling down. But she sings a brilliant song that everyone will know, Can't Say No. And it's basically... Yeah, about someone who can't say no, who just wants to be with loads of different people, which is kind of quite ahead of its time.
Yeah. I remember I first heard the song years ago in a concert and it was this girl singing about I can't say no. And I thought to myself, like, why can't she say no? Does she feel like she can't say no? What is this setting?
Yeah, it's because she's under pressure.
And then you're like, no, she's not under pressure at all. She doesn't want to say no. She's physically incapable of saying no because she does not want to say no. She wants to say yes to everything and anything around her.
She likes all the purdy talk. Yes!
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