Woman’s Weekly New Zealand – August 05, 2019

I

t’s unsurprising that stunning

actress Morgana O’Reilly has

always felt comfortable in the

limelight. Thanks to her mum,

celebrated choreographer

Mary-Jane, she spent vast

amounts of her childhood in

dance studios and theatres.

By the tender age of eight,

she had already made her

television debut – on local

soap Shortland Street. “I was a

tap-dancingChristmaself.It was

thebestdayever!”shelaughs.

“I wasjustthrilledthatshe

wantedtobeanactressrather

thana dancer,”Mary-Jane

admits.“I oftenthoughtI might

haveendedupgoingin that

direction.Buta full-timeballet

schoolstartedin Wellington

justasI leftschoolandI got

a scholarshiptogothere,soa

dancecareerfellintoplace.”

MaryJanefoundfameasa

rapherfor

arydance

d Kiwi

to1989.

y took

e after

“People

mpanyand

ametime,”

ell,ofcourse

atall

cers.Sorry,

babywho

resting!”

is probably

herstintas

Neighbours,

e andher

nerPhil(70),

tiveand

asnota

nta career

stryin our

yingtobe

ceptedand

newthat

erwhere

uldbe

e wouldn’t

ntlyback

klandfrom

whereshe

husband,

vision

r Salmon

otenew

series

Thisgives

her a chance to spend some

time with Mary-Jane and Phil.

It also means they get extra

cuddles with their grandkids

• Luna Le Fay Nellie Reilly
  Salmon (4) and Ziggy James
  Byllee Salmon O’Reilly, who
  has just turned one.
  “I love coming home,”says
  Morgana. “Any excuse and
  I’m here. And this was such
  a cool show to film. It always
  feelsreallygoodwhenyou’re
  shootinga comedyandyou
  can’tstoplaughingwhen
  you’retryingtofilmit.”
  In theseries,Morganaplays
  a haplessbutwell-meaning
  memberofanexacting
  fundraisingcommittee.Her
  ownchildrenaren’toldenoug
  forschoolyet,buttheactress
  saysshecanrelatetothe
  pressureshercharacteris facin
  “AssoonasI gotpregnant,
  I understoodthecliqueynatu
  ofparenting.I wasdoinga
  pre-natalyogaclassandI felt
  judged.Becausethey’reyour
  childrenandyoulovethem
  morethananything,I suppose
  it doesevokesomesortof
  irrationalcompetitiveness.”
  LikeMary-Janedid,Morgana
  is savouringthetimeshegets
  tospendwithherchildrenwhile
  they’resmall.Butshe’skeeping
  herhandin career-wise,having
  filmeda coupleofepisodesfor
  AustralianTVseriesWentworth
  andsheplaysa command
  officerin thefilmBelow, which
  willdebutin theMelbourne
  FilmFestivalin August.
  “I’veoftenputtoomuch
  pressureonmyself,butjust
  beforeI hadZiggy,I went,
  ‘Relax,thistimewhilethey’re
  littlebabiesis sotemporary.’
  OftenwithLuna,I waslike,‘I
  shouldbewritingmore!’But
  youlookbackandrealiseit’s
  a manictime,andyouhaveto
  befluidin thethingsyoucan
  andcan’tdo.”
  Morganahasa goodcareer
  rolemodelin Mary-Jane,who
  continueddancinguntilthe
  ageof59.“I’veneverbeenable
  toletthatgo,”shelaughs.“I
  dida solocalledWitchBitchin
  2009.I sometimeswonderif I
  coulddoit now– a lotofit was
  doneona chair.”

Mary-Janeis still

choreographingafter

40 years– sheand

Philhavestageda

burlesqueshowfor

thelastnineyears.

“I realisedthatIn

Flagrantewasvery

connectedtothe

smart,sexy,quite

feministworkthat

I madein myearly

Limbsdays,”saysMary-Jane.

“Thisshowtakesthatfurther

andI loveit.”

She’salsorevisitinga

contemporaryversionofthe

balletGiselle, whichwillbeset

in the1920sbutretainthescore,

andsqueezesin teachingadult

balletclassesin Auckland.“I

can’tteachchildren– I’mnot

verypatient,”sheconcedes.

Morgana,whostagedher

ownshowattheEdinburgh

FilmFestivalin 2014,intendsto

createmoreofherownwork

too.“It’sa goodwaytokeep

somedignityin thisindustry.

Actingis deliciousandwriting

is sohard.Butwithacting,you

arepowerlessunlessit’syour

ownproject.” #

AmyPrebble

s

s

gh

ng.

re

MJ ll

Mary-Janefoundf

dancerandchoreogr

Limbs, a contempora

companythatwowed

audiencesfrom 1977

Butherchoreograph

a backseatfora while

Morganawasborn.“

saidI couldruna com

havea babyatthesa

saysMary-Jane.“We

Icouldn’t! I wasnota

interestedin thedan

dancers,butI hadab

wasmuchmoreinter

Morgana(33),who

mostwell-knownfor

NaomiCanningonN

says bothMary-Jane

dad,graphicdesign

wereadoring, creat

adventurous. “Itwa

stupidideatowan

in a creativeindus

home.Forme,try

anactorwasacc

normal,andIkn

I’dhavea caree

someyearswo

flushandsome

besoflush.”

Sheis curre

homein Auck

Melbourne,w

liveswithher

filmandtelev

directorPete

( 43 ), topromo

localcomedy

MeanMums.

Top:Morganaandhermum,

choreographerMary-Jane,are

in sync.Above:MorganaasJess

onMeanMums, withheryoung

co-starEddieWaspe.

‘I was not at all

interested in the

dancers. Sorry,

dancers, but I had a

baby who was much

more interesting!’

PHOTOS: JAE FREW • HAIR & MAKE-UP: SARAH O’GORMAN • STYLING: LULU WILCOX • MARY-JANE & MORGANA WEAR COUNTRY ROAD AND MAX