Mia Waterhouse

Cork sisters Megan and Shannon Haly tell Mia Waterhouse about their new play and how it redefines what it means to be in your twenties.

Sisters Megan (27) and Shannon (25) Haly have jumped into the world of writing and acting with their self-written play Cortisol. The piece explores the common misconception that your twenties are the best years of your life. From friendships, sexuality, to growing up and leaving home, the play explores a whole range of issues that affect everyone in their twenties through one character - Sam.

The pair set out to explain the common misconception about your twenties, and that they come with lots of ups but also a lot of downs. When I sat down to speak to the Cork sisters, both in their twenties, about Cortisol, it had to be on a Zoom call, as all of us were oceans apart. Megan is living in London, while sister Shannon has been living in New York, both studying acting. Despite the distance, they come together each week by video call to work together on their play.

“Cortisol was just what we were both feeling then, and what we’re still feeling now,” said Shannon. Shannon asked her friends how they were feeling about their twenties. “It was all loneliness, ‘what the hell am I doing with my life?’ Everyone else feels like they’re having the best time – or else we’re told that we should be having the best time, but it doesn’t necessarily feel like that. Then we were like ‘ok so both of us are feeling this strongly.’ Every single one of our friends replied with what we were feeling. They were confused, scared and proved our point that it’s not as like happy-go-lucky as people tell you,”added Shannon.

When deciding on a name for the play, the pair came across the word Cortisol which is known as the stress hormone. “Because the play is about the realisties of your twenties, for us that comes with stress, so it felt fitting,” said Megan.

Writing the play during Covid came as a blessing to the sisters, as they had to both move back home to Clogheen, Cork. The move made the two get the draft of the play done and also ended up changing the storyline from having multiple characters to only having one character in the end. “We thought that if we touched upon loads of different people’s stories then we’d be able to get everyone to relate, because we’re getting a bit of everybody in there, but actually it was so interesting because the opposite happened where it was less relatable having multiple characters,” Shannon explained.

The sister’s Irish upbringing is felt throughout the story, from Sam’s very Irish grandmother to her having her first Holy Communion. Sam’s character coming out as queer also reflects Shannon’s own personal experiences. “Certain things like I’m gay, and I never knew until I moved to America when I was 21. I’d never seen two women together, so I didn’t ever know that that was kind of something possible for me,” she said.

“And it’s not that it doesn’t exist in Ireland – it’s just we’re still getting there,” she said.

With only 18 months between the sisters, they only became closer when they were older – especially after realising they both had a passion for acting. Then when the two started to write together, it made them think this is something they can do as a team.

Shannon was part of the theatre company ‘Origin Theatre’ run by Cork man Mick Mellamphy, in New York. She told him all about herself and her sisters play Cortisol, and he got them to perform it in front of an audience for the first time. “We weren’t ready at all, Cortisol wasn’t even finished being written. We just thought let’s not be so scared and be so precious with it, let’s just go for it,” Shannon explained. “So, our first ever reading was in New York and we were terrified and thought no one would show up but we sold 140 tickets. We thought none of the Irish humour would land but it did, and people found it funnier than we’d even intended it to be,” said Megan.

In an industry where it takes a lot of hard work to ‘make it’ the Cork sisters used the power of social media to get their names out there. Their TikTok page has continued to become more popular. “I remember at the start Shannon was like ‘let’s make a TikTok’ and I was like ‘I have no idea how to use this app.’ But now we both love it and find it a great way to connect,” explained Megan. Looking to the future, the sisters are looking into getting their play fully produced and brought to the stage in Dublin and Cork. It’s been nearly three years since they first started to write the play, so both now feel this is the right time to let everybody see it. “We’re also now in the process of writing Cortisol into a TV show so that’s something we have in the pipeline,” Megan added. While still working on their play together, Shannon is also writing a separate show herself that will be going into production in February 2024 in New York. As for the future of Cortisol the pair are waiting to hear back about funding which will determine where the play goes but are hopeful for it to go into full production sometime this year.

For more information and where to find the sisters find them their TikTok page, @cortisolplay