Actress Niamh Cusack: 'Widow Quinn watches. Like a hawk. I love her fearlessness, her boldness, her wit. She is someone with nothing to lose. I think that is an incredibly liberating feeling.'

You've been playing Widow Quinn in the Old Vic's Playboy of the Western World, how did you approach the character, and what do you enjoy most about her?

John [Crowley] gave me a great note before we started: Widow Quinn is on the back foot  whereas I am a front footed kind of person. That was my starting point. The other great note came from Barbara Housemann who pointed out the punctuation in the play. So, first I looked for  the physical centre of  the character , and then I relied on and mined  the language Synge had written for her. Lastly , I tried to listen really really well to the people around me in the play. WQ watches. Like a hawk.  I love her fearlessness, her boldness, her wit. She is someone with nothing to lose. I think that is an incredibly liberating feeling.

The play is set in early 20th century Ireland, why do you think it still resonates with a modern-day audience?

I think we are all looking for myths, for heroes, for people to be bigger than they are. And as well as real heroes I think 21st century people are just as susceptible to self promoting celebrities. I 'm not sure we like to admit it, but we are just as foolish as the people in this play. or perhaps we're just cynical.... Also. At the centre of the play is a love story, a passionate love story. And that is a place we all yearn for. I think  the language reminds us of the epic nature of falling in love, the overwhelming feeling that it is.

Do you have any particular stage ambitions for next year and onwards; any role you'd really like to play?

Do you know, like most actors these days  I am grateful to be working. I would love to play Grace in Faith Healer by Brian Friel, or do a new play by someone like Marina Carr or Rebecca Lenkiewicz.

What do you think has been key to your long-running and successful career?

I love what I do. I am passionate about what I do and I work hard at it when I'm doing it. And I have been LUCKY.