Lenny Abrahamson to introduce
Alison Oliver and Joe Alwyn
the Stars of Conversations With Friends to Fastnet Film Festival in May
During the festival, Gerard Stembridge will chat to the actors and screen clips from the series, giving a glimpse into the chemistry between the two romantic leads, Frances and Nick (Alison & Joe). They will also take part in various other events at the Festival.
After striking gold with Normal People the show's creative team have come together to adapt Sally Rooney's 2017 debut novel,
Conversations with Friends, into a 12 part series. With Normal People director Lenny Abrahamson at the helm no doubt it will be another streaming sensation and its lead actors propelled into stardom: Newcomer Alison Oliver, an alumna of Lir Academy (where Normal People's Paul Mescal also went) has been cast to play Frances. Sasha Lane (American Honey, The Miseducation of Cameron Post) will play Bobbi. Jemima Kirke (Girls) will play Melissa. And Joe Alwyn (The Favourite, Mary Queen of Scots) will play Nick.
Much like Normal People, Conversations with Friends is all about the complicated nature of modern relationships, their ambiguity, and the many forms of love and dependency. Rooney's 2017 novel follows two Dublin-based college students, Frances and her ex-girlfriend-turned-best friend, Bobbi, as they become romantically involved with an older, sophisticated married couple in their 30s.
Frances, 21, is observant, cerebral and sharp, while Bobbi is self-assured and outspoken. Having broken up three years prior, they're still inseparable, performing poetry together around Dublin. They meet Melissa, a writer, at one of their shows and start spending more time with her and her husband, Nick, a handsome but reserved actor. Their friendship with the older couple turns into flirtations, which leads to an intense secret affair that later tests the bond between Bobbi and Frances.
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