Hattie Morahan plays Rose Coyne

Who is Rose?

Rose Coyne is the mother in My Mother and Other Strangers. She’s a bit of an odd one. Rose has lived in this area whilst bringing up three children and she’s very much part of local life. She’s the primary school teacher and helps Michael run their business which is a pub and a shop. So, on one hand, she’s an insider but somehow remains an outsider always. Rose can feel very isolated in terms of her value system, or her points of view about war, about black markets and loyalties.

What attracted you to the role?

I was really struck when I first read the script by the singularity in Barry’s writing. I had never read anything that had such a strong flavour of place in a particular world and the way people spoke to one another. I was fascinated by these characters, her family and all the people in the village. It felt like we were seeing a little slither of a real life lived elsewhere. I found the story to be moving and beautiful and the more I learnt about whom was involved, I was just more and more excited to be a part of it.

What do you feel are the main themes across the series?

On the surface it might resemble a period drama about life in the forties in this particular community, but the deeper themes which I feel are marriage, how to live a life and be a happy, good person. Everybody’s struggling to know what the right thing is to do and there’s a strong moral questioning within the family. Rose and Michael are very principled, even if their principles differ. They live their lives with a sense of moral urgency and what happens when you heart goes a different way from your head.

What are Rose’s characteristics?

Rose is a really fascinating person and I really, really love her as a character. She’s one of life’s jugglers, as any working mother is really. In a sense we get little glimpses of who she might have been as a young woman, what her dreams and romantic aspirations were, and yet she’s had to slightly park that because their lives are full with three kids and it’s a busy life. I find it rather delicious that she prides herself on being this upright, moral person and yet we see her lose her way and behave at times in ways that are probably quite adolescent. I’ve tried to do full justice to that, and have the confidence and the courage of just playing that character how she is and not worrying about being judged or her losing sympathy.

How is Rose’s relationship with her husband, Michael?

Rose and Michael have a very equal footing in the relationship, which is refreshing to play. They know each other backwards, although they often differ in opinion, and have some pretty robust arguments. At the end of the day she adores him, but she gets frustrated with the fact that sometimes he is so entrenched in this world and when she diverges from that, she feels a real separation and estrangement from him. There’s a spark there and she adores him, but there are times when she is feeling a little bit restless and her soul gets starved in the marriage.

What happens when Rose meets Captain Dreyfuss?

This very dashing, American officer, Captain Ronald Dreyfuss, turns up and there’s a gradual recognition of the thought that, underneath all the formality and the day-to-day business, this man could have been her soul mate. They have a shared temperament and it knocks her for six which is devastating, because it’s not as if she doesn’t love her husband. She’s someone who would normally like to pride herself on being quite self-controlled and rational, but I don’t think she is at all.

What do you think draws her to Captain Dreyfuss?

What’s lovely about Barry’s writing is that it’s not one of those improbable love-at-first-sight situations. She’s not really looking for a distraction necessarily, but Rose and Michael are going through a difficult time. I think the tensions of the war and what’s happening in their children’s lives means she’s feeling quite isolated.

How much did you know about the history behind the series?

This was really a journey of discovery for me in terms of finding out about the period, particularly what went on in Northern Ireland. I had no idea about the American presence in Northern Ireland or quite the scale of it and what impact it had. These American camps were like university campuses. They were mini towns which had everything in them, with shops and bars. It was a brave new world. It’s the have’s and have not’s - the access the American soldiers had to things when everyone else had rations, so there was a sense of tension.

How do you hope the audience will react to it?

I would hope on first encounter the audience will be struck by the immersion into this world, the colours and the textures of these people and how they talk to one another. It may seem that their priorities are very different from our lives now but then, as you get to know it, you realise that there are some very universal themes. There is a lovely mixture of comedy, observations on awkwardness in family life, disagreements and tensions but also quite a dark heart to it. I hope audiences fall in love with the characters as much as I have.

Cast

• Rose Coyne - Hattie Morahan
• Michael Coyne - Owen McDonnell
• Captain Ron Dreyfuss - Aaron Staton
• Emma Coyne - Eileen O’Higgins
• Francis Coyne - Michael Nevin
• Voice of older Francis Coyne - Ciaran Hinds
• Ned Hanlon - Des McAleer
• Davey Hanlon - Seamus O’Hara
• Mickey Joe Hanlon - Ryan McParland
• Failey - Kerr Logan
• Barney Quinn - Gavin Drea
• Sally Quinn - Fiona O’Shaugnessy
• Ellen Quinn - Maggie Cronin
• Kettie Brady - Antonia Campbell-Hughes
• Seamie Brady - Isaac Heslip
• Doctor Black - Charles Lawson
• Andrew Black - Ruairi O’Connor
• Jemmy Fox - Frank McCafferty
• Nellie Fox - Christina Nelson
• Tillie Ziegler - Kate Phillips

Related Media Centre Links

• Production starts on My Mother And Other Strangers starring Hattie Morahan
• BBC and Northern Ireland Screen sign partnership deal

Related Web Links

• Northern Ireland Screen