Amy Molloy(I)
- Actress
Amy Molloy was born and raised in Belfast, N.Ireland.
She moved to London to pursue her acting career, after achieving a LAMDA (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts) Diploma with Distinction.
She spent time in NYC to study at AADA (American Academy of Dramatic Arts) and upon receiving Dance and Drama Award funding, for excellence, she completed her training in London.
Since graduating, Molloy has worked extensively across theaters in Ireland (for all Irelands major producers, including the Abbey, Gate and Gaiety theatres, the award-winning, internationally renowned Druid, Pan Pan and Prime Cut Productions) as well as theaters across the UK and in New York City, including the historic Public Theater NYC and the BAM Harvey theatre NYC (in the hugely successful "John Gabriel Borkman", with the late Alan Rickman, Fiona Shaw and Lindsay Duncan).
As well as performing in the National Theatre London, on the Olivier stage in the classic play TRANSLATIONS with Ciaran Hinds and in the historic Royal Court Theatre in the play CYPRUS AVENUE opposite Stephen Rea.
She had the great pleasure of being mentored by Alan Rickman who described her as, "a great courageous young talent". (Ref. Edinburgh Fringe 2015 reviews and articles).
She can be seen as Holliday Graingers younger sister, Jean, in feature film ANIMALS, which premiered at SUNDANCE 2019, also starring Alia Shawcat. The film won a BIFA for best debut screenwriter, Emma Jane Unsworth.
Amy was considered for an AACTA award for Best Supporting actress, for her role as Jean.
VARIETY review noted "..tamed wild child Jean (an excellent Amy Molloy)".
THE TELEGRAPH review "a very good Amy Molloy, as Jean".
BBC Four and BBC IPlayer, also aired the award-winning play CYPRUS AVENUE, starring Oscar nominee Stephen Rea, in which Molloy originated the role of Julie, his daughter, (airdate, September 15th 2019) A groundbreaking, dark comedy, which examines the impact, madness and trauma of sectarianism and national identity.
The critically acclaimed play was performed to great success at London's historic Royal Court Theatre, as well as Ireland's Abbey Theater, Public Theater NYC and MAC Belfast from 2016-2018 returning to the Royal Court main stage in 2019.
It was listed in the top 50 plays of the 21st century (GUARDIAN).
Short film BOUND, in which Molloy stars as a mother fighting for justice for her baby, from the Irish Church and baby homes in the 1940s, enjoyed a premiere at Irelands largest film festival in Cork and at NYC's Chelsea Film Festival.
Amy's performance in BOUND earned her a nomination for BEST ACTOR in a female role at the RICHARD HARRIS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2020 and got a SPECIAL MENTION at the Cork film Festival awards 2019, with one juror remarking,
"Amy Molloy was incredible and if there was a best actor award for the shorts I feel she deserves it"
FILM IRELAND review remarked,
"..it is Amy Molloy's powerful performance as Rosie that carries the film, perfectly conveying both the heartache and determination of the young mother and her speech to her son..is heartbreaking.."
Short film HOMEGIRL (in which Molloy plays Charlie opposite Aysha Kala) is also making an impact in 18 plus festivals, particularly on the LGBTQ festival scene.
2021 saw Molloy perform (for a third time in a solo play), in THIS IS PARADISE at Traverse theatre for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The performance garnered 5 star praise from THE SCOTSMAN as well as 4 stars from THE GUARDIAN and other theatre critics. Describing her performance as "captivating" (THE SKINNY) , "excellent, centred and robust with a dry eloquence" (THE GUARDIAN), an "exceptional Amy Molloy gives a bravura, emotionally dexterous and deeply moving performance that captivates" (THE NATIONAL), spellbinding "played with a fierce, fragile strength and subtlety by a superb Amy Molloy" (THE SCOTSMAN).
She also helped dramaturg and develop the play with her input, during its development stage. It won the POPCORN New Writing Award at that years Fringe for the writer, with THE SCOTSMAN describing it as a "hugely powerful record of the human price of conflict and the depth of the healing work that needs to be done"
Molloy has also performed in the one woman play COTTON FINGERS at EdFringe 2019, winning a LUSTRUM award for her "exceptional" and "profoundly moving, nuanced" solo performance.
Her performance of the play was recorded by Audible UK for "Best Of The Fest" along with Richard Blackwood's play and 3 other plays, picked from thousands of shows. (Reviews for her performance can be read below.)
Amy made a strong BBC debut in the long-running hit TV show, "CALL THE MIDWIFE", in a guest storyline in series 3 (episode 6), alongside Killian Scott. She has also worked on the 3rd series of "The Fall" for the BBC.
She has worked with BIFA award-winning director Yann Demange on the BAFTA nominated thriller "'71" with Jack O'Connell. She has also work-shopped story lines and helped with extensive character development, with the multi award-winning director/producer team, Shane Meadows and Mark Herbert (WARP films).
In 2015, she set about producing and performing in her first solo play, at the famous Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
The production "TeaSet" (written by Gina Moxley) went on to be a word of mouth success, receiving praise from top theatre critics in a festival of over 3000 shows, including Lyn Gardner's top picks, in THE GUARDIAN national newspaper.
Praise for the performance includes; ----------------
"Molloy delivers what must sit amongst the top rank of performances to be seen at the Fringe this year... captivating and compelling"
(SCOTSMAN)
"the performance shines through and by God it packs a wallop...Molloy gives a perfectly judged performance, containing the emotion until it spills over like a gush of spilled milk".
(GUARDIAN)
"Definitely one of the strongest performances at this years Fringe...the audience can visualize an entire story through her eyes".
(FRINGE GURU)
"a powerful and compelling performance as the young woman. She engages immediately with the audience and creates other characters with ease..".
(FRINGE REVIEW)
"powerful and controlled, credible and engaging...a most memorable piece of theatre".
(UK THEATRE WEB)
"brought to vivid life by Molloy...She is engaging, occasionally playing the older lady with subtle inflection, while bringing out the nuanced characterization of the protagonist. (...) Molloy is allowed to reveal her impressive acting skills, without slipping into a grand-standing performance."
(THE LIST)
"Molloy is by turns furious, distraught, and tautly watchful, with every moment conveyed with real truthfulness"
(FWORD)
"Molloy is commanding, vulnerable, versatile. A fascinating watch."
(ABSENT REVIEW)
"A tour de force performance"
(FEMALEARTS)
"Performed with incredible intensity"
(17 PERCENT)
"Molloy demonstrates beyond all doubt that she is an immensely talented performer...her intensity and commitment to the part (and) her own talents as an actor transport us anywhere the script needs us to be"
(BROADWAY BABY) ---------
More reviews for Amy Molloy's work are quoted below; ---------------------
For "Cotton Fingers" (solo show) by Rachel Tresize, 2019, at Summerhall , Edinburgh International Fringe
Her performance won a LUSTRUM AWARD
"An exceptional one women performance, courtesy of a phenomenally impressive Amy Molloy... compelling, heart rending.. all of which is beautifully conveyed by Molloy, whose tough as nails Aoifes hard exterior conceals a frightened child underneath... "Molloy ensures that even if the political isn't as powerfully engaging, the personal is made deeply so."
(ARTS REVIEW)
"...emotionally powerful...rich with vivid character..defensive and steely to start, Molloy softens and strengthens with her characters growth... a moving performance"
(THE STAGE)
"..narrating directly to us, (and at other points) reliving instances- Molloy weaves us into the complexities of the circumstances that inform Aoifes choices. A vibrant, finely tuned, multilayered performance..compelling."
(THE OBSERVER)
"Molloy's performance is profoundly moving.."
(THE INDEPENDENT)
"Played with huge warmth and empathy.. a vibrant performance"
(GUARDIAN)
"Written with understated poetry..Molloy performs it with fierce commitment"
(STAGEDOOR Lyn Gardner)
"Expertly played by Amy Molloy...an emotional piece..beautifully performed"
(BROADWAY WORLD)
"Molloy is appealing..playing a spirited, sharp-witted adolescent wrestling with a life changing decision...she embodies weariness, restlessness, fury, frustration, pain and lust."
(BRITISH THEATRE GUIDE)
"Molloy is pitch perfect as Aoife... flitting between her mother, sister and friends effortlessly, letting you know them almost as quickly as Aoife herself"
(CARDIFF ONLINE)
"performed with passion, sensitivity and wry humour by Molloy... deftly performed, walking the line between the weight of the subject matter, the politics at stake and retaining a humour of performance that pulls in and holds an audience. A multi-faceted, engaging performance."
(NATION CYMRU)
"..politically alert and emotionally resonant, credit to both the writer and Amy Molloy, who composes a young woman walking a tight rope between vulnerability and bravado. Molloy deftly uncoils Aoife's painful experience, in a captivating performance that combines subtle physicality with nuanced delivery....
"..remarkable because she is as exemplary as she is unique; on her shoulders rests a collective story of trauma and grief, but she is also an emerging consciousness and the performer successfully reveals both her limitations and her tremendous potential."
(NO MORE WORK HORSE)
"Amy Molloy is outstanding as Aoife, she brings to life razor sharp writing- filled with hilarious local colloquialisms and deeply painful monologues, Amy navigates it perfectly... with humour and raw emotion."
(ALLIANCE FOR CHOICE)
For "Into The Numbers" by Christopher Chen
"Molloy is quietly impressive as American missionary, Minnie Vautrin, who believes she has witnessed the devil at work". (GUARDIAN)
"Molloy steals the show as she heartbreakingly describes her efforts to save girls from the Japanese soldiers...the tension of that scene, are when the last of the audience are shifted to the edge of their seats" (EVERYTHING THEATRE)
"A spellbinding encounter...Iris begs to know why Minnie Vautrin (Amy Molloy) committed suicide... a hair raising sequence" (INDEPENDENT)
For "Lieutenant of Inishmore" by Martin McDonagh
"The cast are all terrific, with Amy Molloy excellent as Mairead, a gun-toting teenager so seduced by the erotic pull of violence that she wants to form a terrorist splinter group, to fight for an Ireland fit for moggies." (GUARDIAN)
"The performances, though, especially from Amy Molloy as Padraic's matchingly heartless girlfriend-in-waiting, are a delight". (TELEGRAPH)
For "Kitty And Damnation" by Joseph Crilly
"Ireland, 1829, and the "kissable" Kitty Galloway (Amy Molloy) is falling over drunk with Edmund Kean...a first-rate cast and Molloy simply terrific." (THE STAGE)
"Amy Molloy is great fun as the spunky Kitty" (TIME OUT)
"Kitty may lack morals but Amy Molloy plays her with a youthful innocence that even survives strangling her sister" (BRITISH THEATRE GUIDE)
"Molloy plays the beautiful and wild lead and portrays the conventions of an anti-heroine; she is manipulative and seductive while simultaneously winning our hearts" (CAMDEN NEW JOURNAL)
For "Once A Catholic" by Mary O'Malley
"the undoubted star of the evening is Amy Molloy who is totally convincing as Father Mullarkey - a priest who eats his sausages while hearing confession so he can get to the off-licence before it closes." (HAM AND HIGH LONDON)
She moved to London to pursue her acting career, after achieving a LAMDA (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts) Diploma with Distinction.
She spent time in NYC to study at AADA (American Academy of Dramatic Arts) and upon receiving Dance and Drama Award funding, for excellence, she completed her training in London.
Since graduating, Molloy has worked extensively across theaters in Ireland (for all Irelands major producers, including the Abbey, Gate and Gaiety theatres, the award-winning, internationally renowned Druid, Pan Pan and Prime Cut Productions) as well as theaters across the UK and in New York City, including the historic Public Theater NYC and the BAM Harvey theatre NYC (in the hugely successful "John Gabriel Borkman", with the late Alan Rickman, Fiona Shaw and Lindsay Duncan).
As well as performing in the National Theatre London, on the Olivier stage in the classic play TRANSLATIONS with Ciaran Hinds and in the historic Royal Court Theatre in the play CYPRUS AVENUE opposite Stephen Rea.
She had the great pleasure of being mentored by Alan Rickman who described her as, "a great courageous young talent". (Ref. Edinburgh Fringe 2015 reviews and articles).
She can be seen as Holliday Graingers younger sister, Jean, in feature film ANIMALS, which premiered at SUNDANCE 2019, also starring Alia Shawcat. The film won a BIFA for best debut screenwriter, Emma Jane Unsworth.
Amy was considered for an AACTA award for Best Supporting actress, for her role as Jean.
VARIETY review noted "..tamed wild child Jean (an excellent Amy Molloy)".
THE TELEGRAPH review "a very good Amy Molloy, as Jean".
BBC Four and BBC IPlayer, also aired the award-winning play CYPRUS AVENUE, starring Oscar nominee Stephen Rea, in which Molloy originated the role of Julie, his daughter, (airdate, September 15th 2019) A groundbreaking, dark comedy, which examines the impact, madness and trauma of sectarianism and national identity.
The critically acclaimed play was performed to great success at London's historic Royal Court Theatre, as well as Ireland's Abbey Theater, Public Theater NYC and MAC Belfast from 2016-2018 returning to the Royal Court main stage in 2019.
It was listed in the top 50 plays of the 21st century (GUARDIAN).
Short film BOUND, in which Molloy stars as a mother fighting for justice for her baby, from the Irish Church and baby homes in the 1940s, enjoyed a premiere at Irelands largest film festival in Cork and at NYC's Chelsea Film Festival.
Amy's performance in BOUND earned her a nomination for BEST ACTOR in a female role at the RICHARD HARRIS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2020 and got a SPECIAL MENTION at the Cork film Festival awards 2019, with one juror remarking,
"Amy Molloy was incredible and if there was a best actor award for the shorts I feel she deserves it"
FILM IRELAND review remarked,
"..it is Amy Molloy's powerful performance as Rosie that carries the film, perfectly conveying both the heartache and determination of the young mother and her speech to her son..is heartbreaking.."
Short film HOMEGIRL (in which Molloy plays Charlie opposite Aysha Kala) is also making an impact in 18 plus festivals, particularly on the LGBTQ festival scene.
2021 saw Molloy perform (for a third time in a solo play), in THIS IS PARADISE at Traverse theatre for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The performance garnered 5 star praise from THE SCOTSMAN as well as 4 stars from THE GUARDIAN and other theatre critics. Describing her performance as "captivating" (THE SKINNY) , "excellent, centred and robust with a dry eloquence" (THE GUARDIAN), an "exceptional Amy Molloy gives a bravura, emotionally dexterous and deeply moving performance that captivates" (THE NATIONAL), spellbinding "played with a fierce, fragile strength and subtlety by a superb Amy Molloy" (THE SCOTSMAN).
She also helped dramaturg and develop the play with her input, during its development stage. It won the POPCORN New Writing Award at that years Fringe for the writer, with THE SCOTSMAN describing it as a "hugely powerful record of the human price of conflict and the depth of the healing work that needs to be done"
Molloy has also performed in the one woman play COTTON FINGERS at EdFringe 2019, winning a LUSTRUM award for her "exceptional" and "profoundly moving, nuanced" solo performance.
Her performance of the play was recorded by Audible UK for "Best Of The Fest" along with Richard Blackwood's play and 3 other plays, picked from thousands of shows. (Reviews for her performance can be read below.)
Amy made a strong BBC debut in the long-running hit TV show, "CALL THE MIDWIFE", in a guest storyline in series 3 (episode 6), alongside Killian Scott. She has also worked on the 3rd series of "The Fall" for the BBC.
She has worked with BIFA award-winning director Yann Demange on the BAFTA nominated thriller "'71" with Jack O'Connell. She has also work-shopped story lines and helped with extensive character development, with the multi award-winning director/producer team, Shane Meadows and Mark Herbert (WARP films).
In 2015, she set about producing and performing in her first solo play, at the famous Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
The production "TeaSet" (written by Gina Moxley) went on to be a word of mouth success, receiving praise from top theatre critics in a festival of over 3000 shows, including Lyn Gardner's top picks, in THE GUARDIAN national newspaper.
Praise for the performance includes; ----------------
"Molloy delivers what must sit amongst the top rank of performances to be seen at the Fringe this year... captivating and compelling"
(SCOTSMAN)
"the performance shines through and by God it packs a wallop...Molloy gives a perfectly judged performance, containing the emotion until it spills over like a gush of spilled milk".
(GUARDIAN)
"Definitely one of the strongest performances at this years Fringe...the audience can visualize an entire story through her eyes".
(FRINGE GURU)
"a powerful and compelling performance as the young woman. She engages immediately with the audience and creates other characters with ease..".
(FRINGE REVIEW)
"powerful and controlled, credible and engaging...a most memorable piece of theatre".
(UK THEATRE WEB)
"brought to vivid life by Molloy...She is engaging, occasionally playing the older lady with subtle inflection, while bringing out the nuanced characterization of the protagonist. (...) Molloy is allowed to reveal her impressive acting skills, without slipping into a grand-standing performance."
(THE LIST)
"Molloy is by turns furious, distraught, and tautly watchful, with every moment conveyed with real truthfulness"
(FWORD)
"Molloy is commanding, vulnerable, versatile. A fascinating watch."
(ABSENT REVIEW)
"A tour de force performance"
(FEMALEARTS)
"Performed with incredible intensity"
(17 PERCENT)
"Molloy demonstrates beyond all doubt that she is an immensely talented performer...her intensity and commitment to the part (and) her own talents as an actor transport us anywhere the script needs us to be"
(BROADWAY BABY) ---------
More reviews for Amy Molloy's work are quoted below; ---------------------
For "Cotton Fingers" (solo show) by Rachel Tresize, 2019, at Summerhall , Edinburgh International Fringe
Her performance won a LUSTRUM AWARD
"An exceptional one women performance, courtesy of a phenomenally impressive Amy Molloy... compelling, heart rending.. all of which is beautifully conveyed by Molloy, whose tough as nails Aoifes hard exterior conceals a frightened child underneath... "Molloy ensures that even if the political isn't as powerfully engaging, the personal is made deeply so."
(ARTS REVIEW)
"...emotionally powerful...rich with vivid character..defensive and steely to start, Molloy softens and strengthens with her characters growth... a moving performance"
(THE STAGE)
"..narrating directly to us, (and at other points) reliving instances- Molloy weaves us into the complexities of the circumstances that inform Aoifes choices. A vibrant, finely tuned, multilayered performance..compelling."
(THE OBSERVER)
"Molloy's performance is profoundly moving.."
(THE INDEPENDENT)
"Played with huge warmth and empathy.. a vibrant performance"
(GUARDIAN)
"Written with understated poetry..Molloy performs it with fierce commitment"
(STAGEDOOR Lyn Gardner)
"Expertly played by Amy Molloy...an emotional piece..beautifully performed"
(BROADWAY WORLD)
"Molloy is appealing..playing a spirited, sharp-witted adolescent wrestling with a life changing decision...she embodies weariness, restlessness, fury, frustration, pain and lust."
(BRITISH THEATRE GUIDE)
"Molloy is pitch perfect as Aoife... flitting between her mother, sister and friends effortlessly, letting you know them almost as quickly as Aoife herself"
(CARDIFF ONLINE)
"performed with passion, sensitivity and wry humour by Molloy... deftly performed, walking the line between the weight of the subject matter, the politics at stake and retaining a humour of performance that pulls in and holds an audience. A multi-faceted, engaging performance."
(NATION CYMRU)
"..politically alert and emotionally resonant, credit to both the writer and Amy Molloy, who composes a young woman walking a tight rope between vulnerability and bravado. Molloy deftly uncoils Aoife's painful experience, in a captivating performance that combines subtle physicality with nuanced delivery....
"..remarkable because she is as exemplary as she is unique; on her shoulders rests a collective story of trauma and grief, but she is also an emerging consciousness and the performer successfully reveals both her limitations and her tremendous potential."
(NO MORE WORK HORSE)
"Amy Molloy is outstanding as Aoife, she brings to life razor sharp writing- filled with hilarious local colloquialisms and deeply painful monologues, Amy navigates it perfectly... with humour and raw emotion."
(ALLIANCE FOR CHOICE)
For "Into The Numbers" by Christopher Chen
"Molloy is quietly impressive as American missionary, Minnie Vautrin, who believes she has witnessed the devil at work". (GUARDIAN)
"Molloy steals the show as she heartbreakingly describes her efforts to save girls from the Japanese soldiers...the tension of that scene, are when the last of the audience are shifted to the edge of their seats" (EVERYTHING THEATRE)
"A spellbinding encounter...Iris begs to know why Minnie Vautrin (Amy Molloy) committed suicide... a hair raising sequence" (INDEPENDENT)
For "Lieutenant of Inishmore" by Martin McDonagh
"The cast are all terrific, with Amy Molloy excellent as Mairead, a gun-toting teenager so seduced by the erotic pull of violence that she wants to form a terrorist splinter group, to fight for an Ireland fit for moggies." (GUARDIAN)
"The performances, though, especially from Amy Molloy as Padraic's matchingly heartless girlfriend-in-waiting, are a delight". (TELEGRAPH)
For "Kitty And Damnation" by Joseph Crilly
"Ireland, 1829, and the "kissable" Kitty Galloway (Amy Molloy) is falling over drunk with Edmund Kean...a first-rate cast and Molloy simply terrific." (THE STAGE)
"Amy Molloy is great fun as the spunky Kitty" (TIME OUT)
"Kitty may lack morals but Amy Molloy plays her with a youthful innocence that even survives strangling her sister" (BRITISH THEATRE GUIDE)
"Molloy plays the beautiful and wild lead and portrays the conventions of an anti-heroine; she is manipulative and seductive while simultaneously winning our hearts" (CAMDEN NEW JOURNAL)
For "Once A Catholic" by Mary O'Malley
"the undoubted star of the evening is Amy Molloy who is totally convincing as Father Mullarkey - a priest who eats his sausages while hearing confession so he can get to the off-licence before it closes." (HAM AND HIGH LONDON)
