The living room in the Auckland home of actor and mum-of-two Morgana O’Reilly is the typical dwelling of a family with two children under six.
Kids’ toys are scattered on the floor, film scripts cover the table, kids artwork is hanging on the wall, along with clothes that are waiting to be folded. But amongst the domestic chaos Morgana, 37, shares with director husband Peter Salmon, and their two children, Luna, six, and Ziggy, three, a certain golden statue casually sits in the corner.
It’s not a family antique but an International Emmy Award, the prestigious statue that Morgana and her husband won last year for their Covid-themed TV show INSiDE, a low-budget project that
was filmed in their home during lockdown.
“It’s so shiny. It’s so beautiful,” Morgana says, as she picks up the golden gong and grips it in her hands. “We are so proud because the show was such a labour of love. It’s one thing to make a $50-million show and win a bunch of awards, but it’s another when you have this tiny show that you make in your home, relying on a lot of favours.”
Morgana won an Emmy for her TV show INSiDE
For Morgana, who has graced our screens on shows like Neighbours and Mean Mums, having an Emmy in the home is a recognition of the hard work she and Peter have put in to realise their dreams. But it’s also a reminder of how hectic her life has become juggling her time as an actress and a writer with being a hands-on mother.
“It’s hard,” she admits. “There’s an element of being creative when you have to be a little selfish. You have to take time to just sit with your art and it’s mostly not paid. When you’re taking time away from your children that is unpaid, there’s a level of guilt that comes with that.”
Despite their young age, Morgana says Luna and Ziggy are embracing being raised in a home full of creativity, and in an environment that encourages their own artistic abilities.
In the wild with husband Peter and kids Ziggy (left) and Luna
“Their creativity is so innocent and pure,” she enthuses. “I learn so much from my own children and sometimes they inspire me.”
Morgana is currently taking a break from TV work and is instead focusing on her one-woman theatre show Stories About My Body, a deeply personal account of Morgana’s relationship with her body. The source material is taken directly from Morgana’s diaries that she has written and kept since she was 12.
“Going through adolescence, my weight went up and down, and that made me really conscious,” she shares. “I could see how the world responded to me when my weight was down. I got wrapped up in
my sense of worth.
“Now I can be articulate about it. I know what I need to do to keep those demon voices at bay, by trying to unpack why I had these internalised opinions about my body, and how we as a society view and think about women’s bodies.”
‘Good food and moving your body keep the demons at bay’
The theatre piece also covers Morgana’s birth stories and how her body changed during pregnancy. Morgana even plays some video footage of the homebirth of one of her babies during the show.
“I love giving birth,” she tells. “I’m really good at making babies and then birthing them. I wanted to include the video because I wanted to show that it’s an awesome experience to have babies and unstitch the fear of giving birth.
“What motherhood has offered me is that it has broadened the spectrum of what is easy and what is difficult. Nobody has made me angrier in my life than my children, but nobody has made me happier either. A good day of parenting is when I’ve been able to meet my children’s hard moments with compassion and joy.”
During her show, Morgana has dissected her relationship with her body, through adolescence and childbirth, and has learned to love her body. She says she will teach her own children to embrace their bodies and encourage them to live a healthy life.
“If one of them comes to me lamenting their body, I will tell them that their body is not ‘wrong’, it never will be. But if their brain is ganging up on them and telling them it is, then there are tools they can use to hush those internal bullies. Good food and moving your body keep the demons at bay. It’s a daily dance with yourself to find peace.”
Stories About My Body is on at Q Theatre Loft in Auckland from November 30 to December 3. Book at qtheatre.co.nz, and Circa Theatre in Wellington from March 15 to 25. Book at circa.co.nz
