One of the stars of Derry Girls has spoken of her excitement as she gears up to bring a Christmas play for adults to Belfast.
Tara Lynne O'Neill is well-known for playing Ma Mary on the Channel 4 show set in Northern Ireland, which finished earlier this year.
But over the years, Tara Lynne has also been a regular feature in the theatre, including her most recent play Rough Girls, as well as a number of Christmas pantomimes throughout the years.
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This year, she's bringing a Christmas play for adults, On The Shelf, back to The MAC for a string of shows with friend, actor, and co-writer Chris Robinson. The play had a sold-out run back in 2018, with the same demand already growing for this year's shows.
Tara Lynne and Chris said the idea for the play came to them around six years ago. The pair have been friends for years, and had always did a pantomime around Christmas.
They began to wonder what adults were doing around the festive period, as most events tend to be aimed at children. They set out to write a Christmas play for adults, with On The Shelf being the finished product.
Speaking to Belfast Live, Tara Lynne said: "People are busy worrying about the children at Christmas, but you have to treat yourself as well and spend some time with your friends. What is Christmas if not time to spend with friends?
"Around six years ago we originally wrote On the Shelf and it was basically typecast. It was a 40-something year old woman, who goes home at Christmas and a 6 foot 3 elf appears to her. We didn't have to think about it very hard, we just cast ourselves.
"It's a single woman's Nightmare Before Christmas. I play a character called Paula who's just got dumped on Christmas Eve by her partner, her mum and dad are off in Benidorm on holiday, and she's alone at Christmas.
"Chris Robinson is hilariously funny, and stick him in an elf costume, his sheer height makes it funny. A bit like the elf on the shelf, this elf might be tall and cute, but he's also up to mischief."
Tara Lynne said the show comes in at an hour in length, something they did on purpose to make sure people could fit it into their Christmas celebrations.
"We know people traditionally go for Christmas dinner with their work colleagues, and we thought, why not go see the show then go for dinner? Then we decided to do another show later on so people can go have their dinner, then come and see the show," she explained.
"We all know what work do's are like, you have very little to talk about. If you go to see the show, then go for your dinner after, at least you have something to talk about and there'll be no awkward silences.
"We're doing two shows a night. If you come to the later one, be prepared, because people have had their dinner and a few glasses of wine, and it is Belfast after all. That's what I love about a Belfast audience, they love to join in and get involved."
Tara Lynne said she can't wait to be back in Belfast city centre at Christmas, and that she's looking forward to being joined on stage by Chris, after her recent theatre productions saw her taking to the stage in one-woman shows.
She added she's excited to play for a Belfast crowd again after a tough few years for everyone.
"The great thing about theatre, and especially in Belfast, is you know instantly if something is or isn't working. If it's not working, then you work out how to make it work," Tara Lynne said.
"I love a Belfast audience because they do join in. This isn't a pantomime, but it does have moments in it where we ask the audience to engage.
"It's Belfast, everybody's up for it. It'll be great to be in the city centre, at Christmas, after the past couple of years that we've all had. I know this year feels like it's just getting worse, but we're out of the pandemic, we can go out and there are things to do that don't cost a fortune."
Although Derry Girls has now ended after three seasons, the character of Ma Mary is still one that Tara Lynne is well-known for. She said after years of playing the character on screen, she sees them almost as one.
She added: "Because we did three seasons of it, there's so much of me in her now, so people don't tend to recognise me until I open my mouth then they go 'oh!'
"She is me, and that's the thing, every part you play you bring a part of you to it. But luckily I don't have to shout at people anymore."
Tara Lynne said Derry Girls was "so special to be part of" and she's amazed at how popular its become around the globe, something she didn't expect due to how distinctly Northern Irish the show is.
As well as this, she said it's helped put the talents of Northern Ireland's actors and screen crew on a platform for the world to see.
"It's one of those shows from here that had I not been in it, I would've broken my heart. It's just went off around the world and people hold it close to their hearts, nobody could ever predict that," she said.
"It's also allowed our voices and accent to be heard all across the world, and yes, my brother in America has to watch it with subtitles, but even the fact people listen to it. Growing up, you very rarely heard our accent on the telly.
"It would've possibly been a weatherman or Jim McDonald on Coronation Street, but you wouldn't have heard it in a comedy. But it's all changing, and it's great to be part of that change.
"It's a rare thing to take off around the world because it feels so particular to here. When I read it I knew it was hilariously funny, I literally couldn't stop laughing.
"I knew it would be big in Northern Ireland, but I had no idea it was going to be big in the likes of Mexico, who would've known? It's totally weird to think there's some family sitting in Mexico laughing about a pair of leggings.
"In the way Game of Thrones put us in the limelight for our production values and what we can achieve, Derry Girls has shone a light on the whole country and its actors. There's an abundance of talent here who choose to stay here and make a living.
"Even when you look at this Christmas, there's The Waterfront, the Opera House, the Lyric, The MAC - we're all entertaining the whole country over Christmas.
"We've missed entertaining people, but people missed that too. You realise just how important the arts is to a place. For a small population, we're quite a talented bunch. I think Derry Girls definitely shone a light on that."
On The Shelf will be playing at The MAC in Belfast from December 9 to December 23. More information and tickets can be found by clicking here.
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