I’d a lot of fun talking to the lovely Una Culkin from The News Letter about my favourite art, artists and my life in the arts. Have a snoop if you fancy knowing what I did to keep myself entertained during lockdown...

Maeve Diamond - Accent Coach - Lockdown Loves .jpg

Maeve on Stevie Wonder, Patti Smith and Moonlight Sonata

Having been a part of Oscar and Golden Globe nominated projects, Portstewart woman Maeve Diamond has enjoyed the opportunity to work with some of her idols.

A voice, accent and dialect coach for actors in film, TV and theatre, she has helped shaped the sound of productions which range from the BBC, ITV and Apple TV to London’s West End and full blown feature films.

Maeve’s recent projects include Venice Film Festival selection Miss Marx and The Phantom of the Opera UK & Ireland Tour - the latter was sadly shut down due to coronavirus restrictions.

Here, Maeve answers our questions:

Q. What is your favourite song/album and why?

A. Oh goodness, I’m a bit music obsessed so choosing is pretty much impossible! In the early days of lockdown my partner and I played A LOT of Stevie Wonder. A great vodka martini and Songs in Key of Life can work ‘Wonders’ for lifting the mood when you’re confined to a small, garden-less, inner city flat during a global pandemic

Q. What is your favourite film and why?

A. It’s a Wonderful Life has always been a firm favourite of mine. I watch it at least once a year, usually at Christmas with my dad, as we have done pretty much every year since I was tiny tot. It might be over 70 years old but its message is timeless. “No man is a failure who has friends.” It’s a hug in movie form. I cry every time.

Q. What is your favourite piece of classical music and why?

A. Probably that famous first movement of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata. I know it might seem a bit of melancholic choice to some but I don’t find it so. It’s just one of those rare, mesmerising pieces of music that completely transports you. Hearing it always takes me back to growing up in Portstewart where my brother, a very talented musician, was always filling the house with gorgeous piano.

Q. Who is your favourite artist and why?

A. My instant response to this is Patti Smith. There are few artists whose lives, work and outlook have inspired me like hers and her books are the only ones that I’ve re-read. I saw her live a couple of years ago and came away wishing I was able to bottle up her essence so I could hand it out to all the little girls I meet, saying “THIS is Girl Power!”In terms of visual art, Georgia O’Keefe inspires me in a similar way to Patti and Van Gogh will always hold a special place in my heart too. Loving Vincent was one of the most special projects I’ve worked on. It was the world’s first hand painted feature film! Every frame was lovingly and painstakingly hand painted in the style of Van Gogh.The shoot was all done on green screen so we really had no idea what it was going to look like (or even if it was going to work!) until we saw it in on the big screen. Directors Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman’s vision and determination to pull off something like that puts them up there in my favourite artists category too. I can’t see a Van Gogh without smiling to myself now.

Q. What is your favourite play and why?

A. Anna Deavere Smith’s plays are definitely up there somewhere. She is a pioneer of a type of documentary theatre that really pushes the boundaries of both acting and play making. I’ve been obsessed with her work for years so was delighted to finally see her do her thing in the flesh when she brought Notes from the Field to London a couple of years ago. She uses recorded interviews to create her one woman plays in which she takes on the physicality, voices, accents, speech patterns and idiosyncrasies of hugely diverse ranges of characters. The technical mastery of her transformations is awesome but it’s her ability to transform audiences that I love most about her work. It moves you, challenges you and really stays with you.

Q. What is your favourite musical and why?

A. Girl from the North Country. I am HUGE Dylan fan. I was filled with dread when I found out they were making a Bob Dylan musical, then I found out Conor McPherson was writing and relaxed. McPherson’s storytelling meets one of the greatest songwriters of all time? Yes, please! I was fortunate enough to see the original cast production at the Old Vic. It didn’t disappoint. The new arrangements and contexts of the songs makes you appreciate the lyrics in a completely new way. It took my breath away. Do yourself a favour and listen to Sheila Atim singing Tight Connection to My Heart. You won’t regret it.

Q. What is your most special moment in the arts and why?

A. Oooof I think this is toughest question! Every so often I get those ‘pinch me’ moments when I let myself really catch where I am, who I’m with and what I’m doing and think, “Wow, sixteen year old Maeve would die to be here doing this.”I’ve worked with so many inspiring creatives and actors, including some of my idols, which has felt pretty special and the thrill of hearing of Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for a project I was part of was pretty magic too.But it always comes back to the click moments for me. It doesn’t matter if it’s a West End or Am Dram production, feature film or fringe play, or even, as it often is, just me and an actor working as a pair to get the right accent for something, I love being part of a team that’s working toward the same creative vision. And that moment when it clicks? When it all comes together and actually works? That’s gold. It doesn’t get much more special than that.

Q. What ‘classic’ just doesn’t do it for you?

A. Up until recently I would have said Jane Austen’s Emma. I’ve always found her so unlikeable! Then I watched Autumn de Wilde’s adaptation. I don’t know whether it was de Wilde’s joyful handling, Anya Taylor-Joy’s pitch-perfect performance or that fact that I’m now a couple of decades older than when I read the book but I suddenly realised how young and clueless Emma is. I guess that’s why we all loved and forgave Alicia Silverstone’s Cher in the aptly named 90s classic. I mean we all still love Clueless, right?

Q. What have you been reading/watching/listening to/revisiting during the Coronavirus period?

A. As well as dancing to Stevie in my living room, I’ve a been doing a lot of reading. I run a local book club here in Bethnal Green and we’ve managed to keep up our monthly meetings via Zoom which has been rather lovely as it’s enabled people from further afield to join - even some NI based!It’s been such a comfort during the last few months. Recently we read and loved Bernadine Evaristo’s Girl, Woman, Other and Kiley Reid’s Such a Fun Age had me gasping, laughing and certainly left me thinking.I’ve been reading a lot of anti-racism books too, including Reni Eddo-Lodge’s Why I Am No Longer Talking to White People About Race and Akala’s Natives and it’s been both eye opening and heart breaking to say the least. I really hope that the momentum and growing awareness around these issues turns out to be a lasting silver lining of an incredibly difficult time.And Michaela Coel’s incredible drama I May Destroy You, which aired on BBC One during lockdown, is one of the bravest and most powerful pieces of television I have ever seen. Bold, beautiful, challenging and uncompromising - isn’t that what art is all about?