Olwen Fouere on caring for her terminally ill husband: 'He can barely move, he can't tell that leg to step. He has no control over his bodily functions anymore. I have to feed him'

Olwen Fouéré took the role of The Shee in Marina Carr's play The Boy at a moment when she was declining most theatre work. Her husband, David Heap, received a diagnosis of corticobasal syndrome this year, a progressive and incurable condition. She was offered several plays in England and locally but turned them down to avoid extended time away from her partner. Rehearsals occurred in a small room at the Liberties' Digital Hub. The combination of a demanding role and intense caregiving responsibilities shaped her professional choices and availability.

"This year, Olwen and her husband, David Heap, announced he had been diagnosed with corticobasal syndrome. It is incurable"

"The role of The Shee in ­Marina Carr's new play The Boy came to actress Olwen Fouéré at a time when she was turning down most ­theatre work."

""I don't know if you've read about my partner being very ill," she says to me. We're sitting in a small room within a rehearsal space at the Liberties' Digital Hub. "I'd been offered three or four different plays in England and here, and I just turned them all down because I thought I can't take that time out unless I absolutely, absolutely have to do that show.""

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