By Conor O’Neill
CultureCrush Headquarters was all of a buzz when East Belfast poet, singer and brilliant human being Alice McCullough agreed to an interview just before her next two shows that will see her perform her ‘Free As a Word’ body of work which combines both poetry and song. In her show with Eastside Arts Festival she is accompanied by John Moriarty on guitar, and her show in the Féile also features singer/songwriter John McGurgan. After that Alice heads off to share her poems, songs and stories at the Edinburgh Fringe. Alice holds a special place in the history of this website as she was the first interviewee way back in 2018. Here, Alice speaks honestly about life and art. Interested? Read on.
Photo courtesy of Noel Thompson
CC: How proud are you to feature in the Eastside Arts Festival? It’s your home turf after all, surely that means a lot?
Alice McCullough: ‘It does mean a lot, and it’s been a long time coming. I’ve done lots of bits & pieces in the Eastside Arts Festival over the years, including several versions of my ‘Earth to Alice’ show (one of which was as a bus tour) but it’s been the guts of a decade since I did a full show with Eastside. This year is a particularly special ‘bucket list’ moment for me, as it’s the first time I am performing my own show in the Féile too. I have been involved with the Féile on several productions and community arts projects over the years, so I’m really thrilled to finally be performing in both the East and West this Summer. To get to perform on these two sides of the city means even more, and I am hoping that in the new year I will expand into performing across more areas I haven’t explored yet. But of course, I have lived in East Belfast for over 40 years and grew up here, so yes, it is very special to get to perform on my home turf.
CC: I missed your May shows. Are these events featuring the same content or are there changes?
Alice McCullough; ‘Each show I do is different. There is a core collection of new poems and songs which I premiered at The Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival back in May, but I always add in new pieces and different surprises for every show I do. For example, for both of my upcoming shows I have a different musical guest. For the Eastside Arts Festival in Belmont Bowling Club on 26th July, my guest is John Moriarty, an absolutely magical performer, writer and musician who I have been collaborating with for some time, and my show in the Féile on 3rd August will be an outdoor ‘Alice Fresco’ evening event at the Bog Meadows Nature Reserve with musical guest John McGurgan, a very soulful singer-songwriter who I’m really excited to work with. As for my Edinburgh Fringe show, who knows what exciting new pieces and guests I will be adding in for that! You’ll have to come and see!’
Photo courtesy of Eastside Arts Festival Belfast
CC: How’s your current outlook on life?
Alice McCullough: ‘Good. I’m profoundly grateful to be at this stage of things – to be in what feels to me a process of reclaiming my career and a phenomenal return to form for me. I feel like I am circling back to who I was twelve years ago when I first started performing professionally – that same confidence and joy. But now I have this new collection of work, and I feel I have fine-tuned my voice – I am particularly excited about the songs, and how my singing voice has broken through to a new level. After so many years of struggling with my mental health, it feels amazing to return to doing what I love and getting on stage again feeling stronger and more ready than ever to share and connect with people.’
CC: Who are you reading at the moment? What’s inspiring you?
Alice McCullough: ‘The book I’ve been most excited to get my hands on recently is Moyra Donaldson’s The Thirteenth Moon. Her poems take my breath away. I also have old favourites that I return to regularly – books that are like a comfort blanket, such as The Wind In The Willows and Jonathan Livingston Seagull. I read them when I am anxious. I love learning the words too. I could do a whole show of passages of literature I have learnt by heart. I find the whole process of learning poetry in particular so calming and edifying. But honestly lately I’ve been listening more than reading. Music is informing my work more and more, and, of course, spoken word. I saw Abby Oliveira perform recently at The Duncairn, and she was an absolute knock-out.
CC: I read that Stephen Fry was very complimentary on your work. What/how does it feel to have a luminary such as Fry describing your work as ‘sensational’?
Alice McCullough: ‘I was delighted. It was the day of my film premiere that he tweeted about my film. This was four years ago. I was about to head off to perform my own show for the first time at The Edinburgh Fringe. It felt very supportive and kind of him. I have received positive feedback from a number of my heroes over the years, including those I have been lucky enough to share a stage with, such as Kevin McAleer, Lemn Sissay, Katherine Ryan and Simon Callow, to name a few, but it always startles me when I receive praise – not least the unexpected praise of Michael Longley, and I have yet to receive a higher claim to fame than Van Morrison sharing my poem on his website! Yes, I love Stephen Fry, but growing up in East Belfast listening to Van is a big part of who I am. His work to this day informs my poetry and you can see his influence in my poems and songs – I’m a die hard Van fan ‘til the day I die, so a nod in my direction from him is always going to mean the world.’
Photo courtesy of Tremaine Gregg
CC: How is the planning for your run at the upcoming shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival coming along?
Alice McCullough: ‘Good. I have a love affair with The Edinburgh Fringe that goes way back to my early 20’s when I first queued up to meet my literary heroes at the Edinburgh Book Festival. In the years that followed, I performed in a musical, improv workshops, poetry slams.. I did stand-up for kids on a double decker bus.. you name it. At one point I even judged and presented an award. But this will be my very first time performing a full run of my own show. I did a run of ‘Earth to Alice’ at the Fringe four years ago, as I already mentioned, for which I was nominated for awards and enjoyed immensely, but that was only an 8-day run. This year I am doing the whole thing – 23 shows in a row! It’s another bucket-list moment. I am still in the process of fundraising to cover my accommodation and expenses – I am lucky to have incredible supporters and friends who donated to my Edinburgh Fringe JustGiving page last time I did my show at the Fringe. It would not have been possible without their generous contributions. Fingers crossed I can make it again this time, with a little help! I guess I should try and plug my JustGiving page here – Go on, invest in the Arts – you know it makes sense! Seriously though, I never forget those who have supported me. It means the world. I literally couldn’t do this without that financial reinforcement coming from good people who believe in investing in artists.
‘It’s no secret that I have struggled over the years. My mental health issues had me in such a state of exhaustion, with my career punctuated by hospital stays. I know how demanding the Fringe can be, so I don’t take the decision lightly, but I finally feel well enough and able to do a full run. Saying that, it will be fairly low-key. My show is in the ‘Free Fringe’ – in other words, I am doing it on a shoestring. I am my own producer, director, marketing manager – the lot. But I hope I have learned after all these years how to take it in my stride, enjoy the ride, and not worry about how others do it. I am confident in my work, and I’ll be thrilled just to be there. I never truly wanted my name in lights – I just want to be part of things and have a place at the table with my peers. The Fringe is always a dream for me, no matter how I’m involved. I just love it. I missed it completely this past two years, because I didn’t have the money to go and didn’t feel able/well enough. Now I’m determined to seize the opportunity and make the most of it.’
CC: One more question: What are the dangers for an artist to rely/lean on outside affirmations/criticism?
Alice McCullough: ‘It is a minefield for anyone in the Arts/the entertainment industry that is potentially catastrophic. I have learnt that the hard way. I have already mentioned the positive feedback I have received, and although much of it was unexpected, I admit that I have sought out approval, and I have hinged my worth on that at times. But the biggest learning curve for me was the dark underbelly of it all – the negative feedback. At a certain point many years ago, I received a number of pieces of hate mail. One was an email of complaint from someone in my audience. It was sent to the festival and then forwarded on to me. Another was a lengthy email from a fellow poet who did not approve of my words. Both absolutely floored me. I felt so thrown off my horse. My poetry can provoke strong emotions in people. The feedback can’t always be positive. It was a tough lesson to learn that this is part of the job. Once you get to a certain level in the industry, you must expect trolls and be prepared for that. After years of struggling with writers block and feeling unable to sustain a position in the spotlight, I finally feel ready to face it all again, prepared that not everyone will like me and not everyone will necessarily appreciate what I have to say. I wish so much love to anyone else out there trying to follow their dream and share their voice up against the highs and lows of it all. Keep writing, keep performing – the world needs fearless artists with authentic stories. Listen to that inner voice that knows you can do this. What matters is your voice, your truth. The antidote to all the noise, good or bad, is a community you can fall back on – friends and allies you can trust. Pull good people close and keep going.’
‘Earth to Alice – Free As A Word’ at the Belmont Bowling Club, Sunday 26th July tickets here:
https://strandartscentre.com/strand-theatre-belfast/film/2011/earth-to-alice-free-as-a-word
‘Alice Fresco’ at The Bog Meadows Nature Reserve, Monday 3rd August tickets here: https://events.humanitix.com/alice-fresco-at-bog-meadows-an-evening-of-poetry-and-song-with-alice-mccullough
If you’d like to support Alice with taking her show to The Edinburgh Fringe, you can donate to her JustGiving Page here: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/aliceedinburgh
More info on the Edinburgh show here: https://freefringe.org.uk/shows/sexy-nerd-spoken-word/
Photo courtesy of The Strand Belfast
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