Change on the horizon for actress Eva Birthistle following her return to North West Regional College

Actress Eva Birthistle talks to Eimear McGovern about how she discovered her passion for acting, moving to Derry as a teenager and her exciting new writing project.

It’s a time of transition for Eva Birthistle, who was back last Thursday in her old stomping ground of the North West Regional College for the Best in Further Education Awards ceremony.

Born in Dublin, Eva moved to Derry aged fourteen with her family.

She said this was a period of huge change that would ultimately have a big effect on her life.

“It was a bit of an eye opener when we moved here because I didn’t know a whole lot about Derry. The move happened during a very formative time in my life when I was very conscious of my identity. When I moved to the north, it was all about identity as well but for very different, political reasons,” she said.

“I went to Foyle College initially and then to the tech so I really felt like I saw both sides of the city.”

When Eva decided to start her course at the tech, it was the first time the course had been run.

She said this meant they were ‘guinea pigs’ and had a special experience with the teachers, who were also having their first experience running the course.

“Derry is such a musical city and it was a very musical course because of that. I’m not remotely musical but I had an amazing time learning from those that were. I had a brilliant acting teacher who sadly passed away not that long ago, and he taught me so much.”

That teacher was Gordon Fulton, a man Eva said was the one who inspired her to become an actress.

“It was because of him that I decided that acting was the route I wanted to go instead of backstage work or set design. It was the first time that I felt I was actually kind of good at something and he encouraged that,” she said.

“The tech is the whole reason my career started. It’s lovely to be here celebrating the young people in further education. I also feel like it’s good for them to see me and how my career has gone because it’s because of the tech that I got into acting.”

Eva later went on to Dublin to study in the Gaiety School of Acting before making the move to London.

At the time, Eva said she felt she had to leave Derry to pursue her dreams but that is no longer the case.

“Derry Girls is being shot here now, you have The Fall and Game of Thrones and there’s so much going on in Belfast.

“Here in Derry, I think people on courses like the one I did would have every reason to stay. If you’ve done your training here it seems a shame to take your skills everywhere, although when you’re young it’s natural to want to explore,” she said.

Now an IFTA winner, Eva starred in Oscar-nominated Brooklyn and was seen in Waking the Dead, Nightwatching and the BAFTA award winning Five Daughters.

Most recently, she starred in the BBC/Netflix production of The Last Kingdom.

Any future acting projects are currently on hold as she awaits the arrival of her second child, a girl, in September. For now, Eva has turned her eye towards acting and directing, with a project currently in the works with the Irish Film Board.

“It’s a feature film called Little Pictures that I started to write when I was pregnant with my first child. We’re hopefully going into production next year and I’ll direct it as well. It’s a psychological drama thriller set in Ireland and it’s about obsession and loneliness and mothers and daughters. I’ve wanted to direct for years and I’ve fallen in love with writing. I’ve been acting for over twenty years and I feel like it’s time for a change,” she said.

Eva is also writing for two TV projects.

On top of that, she still has the time to plan a move to Dublin with her acupuncturist partner Ross and toddler son Jesse.

“I think as a new writer/director, Dublin would be an exciting place for me to be but the driving force behind a move would really be family, especially with my son being young.”

The London-based actress and writer said she comes back to Derry to see her parents around once a year, but usually meets her family in Dublin where her brother lives.

“I was overdue a trip so I’m delighted to be here,” she said.

“I lived in Dublin, then Derry and now I’ve been in London for sixteen years so I feel like a bit of a nomad. Now that I have my own family, I see London as my home for the moment,” she said.

Although Eva said London has given her so many opportunities, she finds the city tricky to navigate with a young child and the current political situation.

“With Brexit looming large, you have to think what does that mean for us and for our family. I don’t want to be too negative, the young turnout at the election says a lot about the change that is possible,” she said.

When asked what she took from her teenage years in Derry, Eva said she learned a lot she doesn’t feel she would have encountered elsewhere.

“I learnt a lot about tolerance, getting to know people and being empathetic. That was a time when people picked sides and beliefs and didn’t integrate a lot. I met some people at Foyle College that went out of their way to accept me and who I was and from that I got to understand different sides of the community.

“What I took from that was that you should always take the time to get to know people and I like to think I’ve carried that with me through my life.”