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SINÉAD CUSACK HONORARY DOCTOR OF LETTERS WATERFRONT HALL CEREMONY, JULY 5, 2002 Address by Professor Séamus Mac Mathúna CHANCELLOR Sinéad Cusack is an outstanding actress of stage and screen, a winner of numerous nominations and awards for her theatrical performances, and Associate Artist and Board Member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. She is the doyenne of one of Ireland’s and Britain’s most distinguished acting dynasties – The Cusack Family. Her father was the prodigiously gifted actor, director and writer Cyril Cusack, who, in 1982, received the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters from the New University of Ulster. Sinéad, then, follows in her father’s footsteps here today and builds on a significant Cusack tradition. All the family are involved in the theatre and the Arts. Her sisters are the talented actresses Sorcha, Niamh and Catherine, Paul is a television producer and director of current affairs, and Pádraig is Head of Planning at the 1 Royal National Theatre. One of Sinéad’s many memorable performances was a family affair alongside Sorcha and Niamh as Masha in Adrian Noble’s production of ‘The Three Sisters’ - a harrowingly powerful portrayal of terrifying and ferocious discontent and a harbinger of other great performances to come. Born in Dalkey, Co. Dublin, Sinéad had a memorable childhood peopled by artists of different kinds including actors, directors, writers and painters. As a young girl she met many famous actors, including, for example, the inimitable James Cagney who made a very strong impression on her. She attended the prestigious Irishmedium Scoil Lorcáin and is in the position of bestriding the two principal cultural and linguistic traditions of the island. Although Sinéad had a range of theatrical experiences during her school years, it was not until she started University College Dublin that she decided to become a classical actress. Her father, who had set an impossibly high standard for those in the family wishing to enter the acting profession, pointedly advised the young aspiring actress against such a career move. Notwithstanding this, unknown to her parents, she auditioned for the Abbey Theatre and was accepted. A consummate professional, Sinéad has given a succession of truly remarkable performances over the years in the most challenging of classical and theatrical roles and it is by virtue of her own ability and determination that she has reached the highest rank in her chosen field. 2 The extent of her repertoire is most impressive, her major credits and achievements bearing comparison with the accomplishments of the best in the acting profession. She has, for example, played all the great Shakespearean heroines including – Desdemona (‘Othello’), Kate (‘The Taming of the Shrew’), Portia (‘The Merchant of Venice’), Beatrice (‘Much Ado about Nothing’), Lady Macbeth (The Scottish Play), and, currently, at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford Upon Avon, Cleopatra in ‘Antony and Cleopatra’. While Sinéad’s beautifully open - some would say angelic - features are justly renowned and stand her in good stead in playing charming and loveable characters, there is much more to her than meets the eye. There are other persona behind the veil who enable her to portray a wide range of types including strong-willed, passionate, cruel, even monstrous characters. As the Royal Shakespeare Society director Terry Hands remarked, there is an ‘unpredictable and dangerous’ side to her. These facets of her multi-talented personality are not only reflected in her Shakespearean roles but also in the manner in which she has excelled in a range of great Irish dramatic roles, such as the extremely challenging and demanding part of Grace in Brian Friel’s ‘The Faith Healer’, Pegeen Mike in ‘The Playboy of the Western World’ and Minnie in ‘The Shadow of a Gunman’. She was deservedly awarded the 1998 Evening Standard Award and the Critics Drama Award for Best Actress for her mightily powerful and stunning performance as 3 Mai O’Hara in Sebastian Barry’s ‘Our Lady of Sligo’ directed by the excellent Max Stafford Clark. Her portrayal of the outrageous tirades of the bitterly disappointed, bedridden, dying 53 year old alcoholic is superb. As the critic Charles Isherwood remarks: ‘Cusack makes Mai’s truculence and antagonism appealing by emphasizing her mordant humor and the disappointments from which her anger springs. It’s a fully imagined and movingly realized performance; Cusack feels Mai’s anguish down to her fingertips, and the audience receives it from her in moments that blaze with fury and humor and pathos.’ As early as 1969, Sinéad began her film and television career when she starred in the MGM Production of ‘Alfred the Great’. This was followed by the all-star 20th Century Fox Production of ‘David Copperfield’ in which she played the part of Emily. She has appeared in more than 20 films alongside icons of stage and screen such as Peter Sellers, Alec Guinness, Laurence Olivier, Ralph Richardson, Wendy Hiller and Jeremy Irons. She has also appeared with great Irish actors such as her father Cyril Cusack, Donal McCann and Niall Toibín. Her credits include ‘Hoffman’ with Peter Sellers, ‘The Last Remake of Beau Geste’ with Marty Feldman, Franco Zeffirelli’s ‘The Sparrow’ and ‘Waterland’ with Jeremy Irons. She also starred with Jeremy Irons in Bernardo Bertolucci’s beautifully-filmed ‘Stealing Beauty’. Sinéad has been married to the great British and Hollywood star and actor, Jeremy Irons, since 1978 and they have two sons, Sam and Max. Her television work includes a number of mini-series such as ‘Oliver’s Travels’, with Alan Bates, which is 4 both humorous and poignant, and the very enjoyable ‘Have Your Cake and Eat It’. She appeared as herself in ‘Playing Shakespeare’ and has had important roles in other productions such as ‘Tales from Hollywood’ and ‘Cyrano de Bergerac’ in which she successfully transferred her role of Roxanne from stage to screen. Her gift for humour and comedy is reflected in this role as it is in ‘Oliver’s Travels’ and in her portrayal of Beatrice in ‘Much Ado about Nothing’ and Celia in ‘As you Like It’. Ms. Cusack is not only a great actress, she is a major influence on the affairs of one of Britain’s unique theatrical institutions, the Royal Shakespeare Company. She became a member of the Ensemble in the nineteen seventies and it was there she learned her trade: not surprisingly perhaps, she is very loyal to the Company. As a member of the Board during the recent traumatic period of change, she has played a pivotal role in defending the institution against its critics while simultaneously arguing for change and radical reform. She appeared before the Select Commons Committee on the subject and made a decisively strong impression. She abhors social exclusivity and has attempted to be loyal to both tradition and innovation in the interests of the Company and of theatre in general. In conclusion, Sinéad Cusack is an actress of depth and vision who has successfully played the most challenging of theatrical roles on the great stages of the world – London, Paris, Vienna, Berlin, New York and Los Angeles. She continues to not only stretch herself personally as an actress but also to play a major role in 5 cultural and theatrical affairs. She is a credit to her profession, her family and her country. CHANCELLOR, in the name of the Senate, I present SINÉAD CUSACK for the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters. 6