Obituary is coming back to RTÉ One. John Byrne set off to the show’s filming location in Donegal to catch up with the black dramedy’s star turn, Siobhán Cullen.
November in Ballyshannon, county Donegal. It’s lovely. Some nice-looking retail and coffee options rather than ‘for sale’ signs. It’s busy too, and far from the sleepy rural town I’d imagined. Modern Ireland is far from perfect but it’s clearly prosperous.
Crossing the River Erne and heading up the hill past the statue of local lad and rock legend Rory Gallagher, there’s a fork in the road that - if you swing to the left - leads up to where the Kilraven newspaper offices are set.
In case you don’t know, Kilraven is the fictional Irish town in a show created and written by Ray Lawlor called Obituary, where Elvira Clancy earns a living from killing. She’s a freelance journalist who compiles obituaries for the local broadsheet, so it’s in her interests to eliminate locals.
The opening season of Obituary had an impressive body count, and the new run of the show is just as coffin-friendly, though the first corpse isn’t caused by Elvira, who’s played with Wednesday Addams-like morbidity by Siobhán Cullen.
This time around, she’s faced with her father Ward’s sudden death. As if that’s not enough to deal with, Elvira’s got a chaotic new editor in Vivienne Birch, played by Walsh Sisters star Máiréad Tyers, a terrific addition to the cast.
As we arrive at the set, a scene involving Cullen and Tyers is being shot. It's a torturously slow process, with several takes and many minor adjustments.
You have to admire the actors going through their lines again and again. Take seven hits the spot and they move on. Well, sort of. It’s the same dialogue as before, only now it’s being filmed from a different angle.
Martyrs to the cause and no mistake.
There’s a porcelain lion on the editor’s desk that keeps getting moved around as it’s right in the shot. Reminds me of the talking plastic lion in Wonderfalls, the cult US show from the great Bryan Fuller that’s a distant cousin of Obituary.
What’s really striking is Siobhán Cullen’s face as we watch the filming in the next room. In preparation for a close up, she’s got a glorious smile – but when the call for ‘action!’ comes, her face effectively closes down as she transforms into Elvira. Eerie!
When the scene concludes, Siobhán joins us for a chat about the show, and that radiant twinkle returns. She’s clearly good at this acting lark, as the real Siobhán Cullen is nothing like Elvira. For starters, her enthusiasm is infectious.
"Vivienne’s a new addition and we’re so excited seeing her on the page," she says, when asked about Máiréad Tyers’ arrival as Elvira’s new editor. "So many amazing one-liners and Ray’s description of her were just so brilliant. And then just seeing Máiréad - amazingly – bringing her to life was just so exciting.
"It’s kind of magic seeing a character like that entering the world of Kilraven," she adds. "And especially I find in our scenes together there’s such a stark contrast. Elvira and Vivienne are so different. Even visibly, in how we look and how we dress. I’m really enjoying our scenes together.
"They're a lot of fun and there's an inherent conflict because they operate in such different ways. It’s great." There’s that smile again. "Elvira can be very contained and restrained, and often appears to take up as little space as she can, and blend in.
"Vivienne is larger than life, enters a room and puts her cowboy boots on the table. It’s incredible."
As for Elvira, she’s now in a much darker place than last time out. And last time out, she went on a killing spree.
With the demise of her dad, she’s rather rudderless – and then there’s the matter of her boyfriend and work colleague, Emerson, played by Ronan Raftery. Siobhán sets the scene.
"The first time we see Elvira in season two, she's at Ward’s funeral. Unfortunately, her dad has died, which leaves Elvira in a very unstable and uncertain position. By the end of season one they’d become really close – so close, Elvira was able to confide in him and share what she’s been up to.
"So not only has she lost her dad, she’s lost her confidante, and her moral compass. A lot of the people she chose to murder were based on her dad’s opinions. She’s kind of a bit at sea, for many reasons.
"When we meet her in season two she’s kind of floundering a little bit, unsure of what to do. She’s looking for a new home – potentially with Emerson. They’ve moved in together. She feels willing to share but is wondering if Emerson is the guy for it. If he can handle the truth."
Siobhán clearly relished returning to the world of Obituary. Ask any actor about their favourite kind of character, and the answer is pretty universal: the interesting and ambiguous ones.
Elvira is a classic anti-hero. You know what she's doing is wrong, but you can’t help rooting for her. Dexter, anybody?
"What’s really cool about playing Elvira is that she’s such a skewed and morally questionable character," she says. "But, for herself, it’s very clear. In season one she sets out a very clear set of rules."
For example?
"She won’t mess with children. She won’t kill kids unless they’re really bad. She’ll only kill people she deems as bad. So, she has a set of rules which will get stretched this season, for sure, and some allowances may have to be made.
"It's complex and it’s layered – and they’re the best people to play," she adds, smiling again. "It’s brilliant to play a character like that, because I know what she’s thinking. I can see the badness."
In tandem with all of that, new editor Vivienne seems set to destroy their relationship by putting Emerson and Elvira at odds over a new promotion.
"She very much sets them up in competition with each other – which is brilliant for us to play," says Siobhán. "It’s far more interesting to see a couple at odds with each other, and especially as they each have a secret against each other.
"They know something that the other doesn’t, and that’s far more interesting to play, rather than everything being nice and happy."
As well as the quirky plot and the superb cast, another plus for Obituary is its setting. Ballyshannon it may be, but it could be any town, anywhere. Unless you knew it was Ballyshannon, you'd have a job figuring it out.
As one of the show’s crew pointed out, "Part of the town’s appeal as a location for Obituary was the lack of chain stores. We’ve even had to cover up the statue of Rory Gallagher as it would immediately identify Ballyshannon."
Siobhan, though, insists: "It feels like a very Irish show, so to see it received globally is incredibly satisfying, and a testament to Ray’s writing," she says. "It’s kind of universal. It lands no matter if you’re watching in Spain, or the States, or the UK."
One thing’s for sure, Siobhan is clearly a fan of her adopted home. When Obituary is being filmed, everyone involved is dotted around the area for the duration. She enjoys the chill factor of laidback life in Donegal.
"It's so peaceful and quiet here," she says. "We're having a lovely time doing it. So to see it fly and have a life elsewhere, and abroad, in different territories, it’s kind of mad. But it’s brilliant.
"People are glad to see you, rather than rolling their eyes," she adds. "They’ve been so welcoming and so generous. And it’s great to get back together and to see what happens to our characters as well."
So many shows – some great ones as well as not so good – never get a chance of a second season, and for a variety of reasons. Low viewing figures, rising costs, cast unavailability, arguments on a show’s direction – you name it, it can happen.
Siobhan Cullen smiles again when asked how she felt when a second run was greenlit. "It definitely felt at the end of season one that there was unfinished business. And we all wanted to get a second swing at it. And it’s been so lovely coming back. The welcome here in Donegal has been lovely.
"After one season you’re always left thinking, ‘I wonder what would happen and what was in Ray’s mind if we were to go again’. So the fact that we got to see this second season is brilliant.
"When we left season one, she kind of makes an oath that she’s committed to this lifestyle, so I knew he (writer Ray Lawlor) would be all in with her. There’ll always be twists and turns that we never would have expected, but in terms of her appetite for murder, he’s definitely delivered on that front."
And although Siobhan’s personality is much different to Elvira, she does have one trait that wouldn’t be considered strange if it was associated with her character.
It was reported previously that one of her hobbies was visiting graveyards to look at headstones. And yep, she’s still a fan of what most folk would consider a morbid activity.
"I love it," she insists. "I live in London and there are some amazing cemeteries open to the public. And one of my favourite walks is to walk through a cemetery. It’s amazing! It’s just like a history lesson.
"You get little slices of lives and stories. I love walking through cemeteries."
Of course, she has a favourite. Two, even.
"Highgate Cemtery. I’ve seen Karl Marx’s grave. And there’s another one, Abney Park cemetery. That’s my favourite. It’s so beautiful."
Deadly.
Obituary returns on Tuesday October 14 at 10.15pm on RTÉ One
