September 2016

East life
A class actress
Denise Gough talks to LoveEast Arts Crusaders Angie and
Edie about acting, Hackney... and vegetables
As mum to three privileged kids in a borough
where 41 per cent of children live in poverty, my
arts crusade was born out of a passionate belief
in the power of education, the arts and culture to
create opportunities and brighten futures, writes
Angie Gough.
According to Arts Council England, participation in
cultural activities can "raise self-esteem, increase
life chances and raise aspirations".
My totally #artskicking sister, Olivier awardwinning
actress Denise Gough, is a case in point
and this month she’s given an exclusive interview
to Edie (8) for the readers of LoveEast magazine.
Whoop!
In our massive family (11 siblings, two parents,
one income, many bunkbeds…) there was much
competition for attention and the amateur
dramatics seemed to increase in direct proportion
to the expanding number of kids in the
household. There were endless fights over who
got the pick of the fancy dress box, our favourite
being a full length white dress with a petticoat and
teeny blue flowers that had belonged to our aunty
Shelley. There was a fabulous red floral number
too, but Zita (the eldest girl) had dibs on it, so we
knew better than to argue ;)
Later, when Aideen, Kelly and Ciara were tiddlers,
I remember coming home from uni and Dad and
Denise would have them putting on “concerts”.
They’d appear down the stairs and we all had to
watch as one or other of the brothers obliged as
some type of male lead, usually in a musical. It
wasn’t exactly The Sound of Music in our semi-d in
the west of Ireland but even then the girls got the
best roles and the family troupe paved the way
for not just Denise’s acting career but Kelly’s, too.
At school, Denise was up on the stage every
chance she got and her passion for acting got
her through some challenging times. When she
landed her scholarship to ALRA (The Academy of
Live and Recorded Arts) it was testament to her
grit, determination and talent. She says she’d be
a teacher if she wasn’t an actress, but really, there
is no other career for D, she’s a thespian to the
core, always has been.
She’s proof of how a #KickUpTheArts is good for
you and I’m dead proud to be knocking around
this brilliant borough with her.
Over to you Edie…
Edie: Good morning dahling, shall we begin?
Denise: Why certainly dahling, let’s do this thing
(eats muesli).
E: Did you always want to be an actress?
D: Yes I did. Always, even when I was younger
than you (see above ;)).
LOVEEAST SEPTEMBER 2016 7