Siún O’Kane

Siún is a performer, writer and theatre maker. Musical theatre was her introduction to the creative scene but she now draws from all kinds of varying disciplines to create her work.

We first met through workshops in Dance Ireland and then truly bonded when we were both going through the chaos of Scene and Heard Festival cycle this year fantasised about .

Bedroom performances of The Spice Girls as a kid is where she began to think that maybe she had an inner performer. But it was when she first saw Wicked in London that she was truly hooked.

‘‘I remember so well sitting in the audience and just being blown away. Something in my head clicked in that moment as I was like this is it, this is what I want to do. I loved the idea of the storytelling, the singing, dancing and acting, I loved the theatrics of it, I loved how big it was, I loved how bold it was. I loved the flying witch in the middle of it, I was just obsessed with every aspect of it and also going to a big grand theatre, I hadn’t been to something like that before and I think that was something that stuck in my head as this is it. I didn’t know at that age what ‘it’ was but I knew I loved musical theatre.’’

It solidified to her that she wanted to be a performer but it was still slightly foggy as to whether she was leaning more towards dancing, acting or singing. Musical theatre then seemed like the perfect pathway to be able to encompass all three. When she was in transition year she was faced with the fact that there were no places to study musical theatre in Ireland which prompted her to start a ‘money jar,’ knowing it would be expensive having to go to the UK to study.

‘‘I decided I’m going to make this happen. I feel like for a lot of people it’s not that they don’t want to do it or that they’re not talented enough it’s just financing. So many amazing performers I know chose a different career because financially, logistically it wasn’t going to work out for them. There’s such a conversation, over in the UK anyway, of how performing arts colleges or acting colleges or dance colleges, like they’re not financially viable for a lot of middle and lower class performers. So it’s just this upper class tier of a career which is just really unfair because we’re knocking out so many amazing performers purely from a financial standpoint.’’

A well as the financial obstacles there just isn’t the system, resources or understanding in the Irish education system of the training steps for makers. You’re forced to carve your own way and ask your own questions from an early age, as as a sector there’s so much mystery around it.

‘‘When I was going over for auditions I had these colleges and professors on such a high pedestal. I was like ‘you say jump, I’ll say how high,’ and I was literally throwing myself into these auditions because it’s such an investment, you pay to travel there, you pay to stay the night before somewhere. Say for me I was auditioning for a lot of places in London so it wasn’t cheap. It feels like even before you step into this audition room, you feel like so much is riding on this. It’s not just the thing of ‘oh I didn’t get it, I’ll apply next year.’ Because in my head at that age, I was like if I don’t get it the first year I’m old, I’ll never make it. But there’s just so much pressure going into those rooms anyway.’’

Siún spent one year in a preparation course in Cork after her Leaving Cert where they helped you put your UCAS form together and actually make it possible for you to go away. Having to move away also acted as a stepping stone for what the experience would be the following year. When she then travelled to Kent to study she immediately felt as if she was stepping into the set of ‘Fame,’ and was mesmerised with the idea of dancing every day.

‘‘The atmosphere was motivating because we were all spurring each other on. But then I found there were certain points where that competitive nature really crept in. I felt that maybe from the faculty as well there was some ‘treat this as an audition, these aren’t your friends, they’re coming from your role.’ And suddenly the mood just shifts and we’re like enemies. It was a really odd experience, like I don’t think that anybody who does maybe a standard college course, I’m sure they have other things but you would never look at your college course people like you’re my enemy - there can only be one brunette.’’

‘‘I feel like there’s something about doing a course that your body is the tool. So say if I was studying law, my brain is the tool but what I’m putting on paper I can leave behind. Whereas say you’re doing a dance class and a comment is made about your body it’s so much harder to drop that. There’s something a lot more personal and intimate when you’re working in a course and in a career that your body is the tool that gets you employed.’’

Coming back to Ireland she felt like she needed a break as she had been so immersed in that intense college bubble. It allowed her to check in and ask herself - do I still like this? How do I see myself going forward now? She was wrestling with the idea of moving back to England to nurture the working and personal relationships she’d been building or to start afresh in Ireland where she was a stranger to the artistic scene. But staying in Ireland and having that break gave her the space to figure out what she wanted as an artist.

‘‘I got Emergence with Dance Ireland and Noise Moves Youth Festival which was a really nice introduction into dance again and choreographing and having those mentors to guide you again. Since then it’s just playing with dance and playing with theatre and seeing what takes my fancy.’’

‘‘Now I feel like I’m in a different chapter this year with actually creating my own stuff. Because I had this perception leaving college that I would leave, get an agent, book a cruise, finish the cruise, book Off West End, book West End and that would just be my career trajectory. Then my life took a 180 turn and I found myself in Ireland and I was like okay there is no West End here, how do I survive? So I was booking a job here and there but it wasn’t that consistency that I need as a creative.’’

This led her to create her own work as that seemed to be the best way to take on the roles she wanted. She found that a lot of artists in Ireland make their own work as it’s crucial in sustaining yourself as an artist, that you can’t be reliant on continuously booking external roles.

She’s drawn to a range of themes such as how trauma lives in the body with her latest piece White-Knuckled and she’s currently focusing on augmented reality and clubbing. She envisions each idea through the lens of theatre, dance and musical theatre.

‘‘I’m a simple human. I feel my most creative when I’ve had like eight hours of sleep, I’m hydrated and I’m eating three good meals a day. I feel really creative when I’m at home with my family and in my childhood bedroom, when I’m relaxed and my cup is full.’’

‘‘I had a mini break for like financial stuff, I needed to get my finances in order. In those two years and I had all these ideas and I was a crazy woman jotting them down and this year I’m trying to get it out without forcing it. I feel a times like I’m playing catchup for lost time. I’ve been doing the Artist’s Way, where they talk about - we create this well of images so it’s so important in life that we refill. We can keep making stuff but unless we take time to consume stuff like going to a gallery or enjoying music without thinking how can I create something out of this experience. That’s when people usually get their writer’s block.’’

But this year she’s back with a bang and set out determined to make her own work. She’d be toying with an idea and decided to take the leap and apply for Scene and Heard Festival 2025. In the application form there was a space to write the group name that was producing the show and in the spur of the moment she wrote Hidden and Forbidden. She wanted it to feel to others that she was working from a base that was bigger than just herself. She definitely felt the impact of that as working under that name people were more eager to work with her. In turn it’s led her to be able to create the community she’d been craving.

‘‘I started Hidden and Forbidden randomly on a whim because I wanted to fill out the Scene and Heard application and it just looked more impressive. I got it so I thought fuck it, Hidden and Forbidden is doing a show guys! I also think for me going through that whole process of creating my first show and realising what it takes, cause it was really just a baptism of fire. I was kind of like what am I doing? How have they allowed me to do this show?’’

‘‘I’ve always loved communities, I used to do this thing called Pancake Tuesdays when I was in London. Every Tuesday I would bring everyone from the course to my house and it’d make everyone pancakes and tea. We’d just sit and have these artistic chats and I love that stuff. And when I came back to Ireland I just couldn’t find that. So I think Hidden and Forbidden is my new Pancake Tuesdays kind of thing, where I just want to kind of connect with other artists and creatives from all disciplines and kind of just get that database. Because there’s so much I want to create and I can’t do it by myself and it’s just going to be boring if it’s just me onstage every time too.’’

She wants to create a space that people can go to to find the artist or maker they’re looking for, to connect the field as a whole. Also by starting her equivalent of a book club for plays called Pastries, Plays and Pints open to actors, directors and writers. Every month she sends out a play and then at then meet for pastries and cheeky pints after to discuss it. It’s platforms like this that make it possible to re-enter the Irish scene if you’ve been studying abroad or have taken a break.

It acts as a way to connect different creatives but also implements ways of keeping yourself aware of what material is our there. As it’s imperative to be continuously upskilling yourself as a maker as well.

‘‘I feel like the dream for Hidden and Forbidden is that it’s an established collective and it operates without me as well, it’s fully functioning with its own board members, own setup and own team. It has these monthly meetups that welcomes new artists into the database and continues to foster community within the arts at a really entry level way, you don’t pay membership to, you just rock up, it’s super casual. That it churns out not just theatre pieces but film pieces, immersive pieces. I want it to be just like this beautiful fashion house. I feel like all this stuff is just brimming in me and all that’s stopping me is funding and connections - that’s it. I have all the time and energy to pour into this, it’s just the financing it and finding the right people to help support the vision.’’

And for when she’s 80, 90 or 100 she’d want to be able to describe her career for the Notes for her Future Memoir as……..

Pleasurable Vivid Whole

Siún can be found on instagram @siunokane

Hidden and Forbidden can be found on instagram @hiddenandforbiddencollective

Photos by Owen Clarke, YellowBelly Photography and Lee Robinson