Conversations with Aisling Bea & Aasif Mandvi of THIS WAY UP
A Q&A with creator, writer, and actress Aisling Bea and actor Aasif Mandvi. Moderated by Mara Webster SAG-AFTRA Foundation Program Manager.
This Way Up (Merman) is a comedy about moving on, moving forward and trying to find happiness. Aine, played by Irish writer & comedienne Aisling Bea, is a whip smart English-as-a-foreign language (TEFL) teacher trying to pull her life back together after a “teeny little nervous breakdown”, as her sister Shona, played by Sharon Horgan (Catastrophe), worries, not only about her younger sibling, but also about her own life choices. The TEFL school where Aine teaches brings together a room full of characters also trying to find their own hope, direction and happiness in this messy world.
Joining Bea and Horgan are Aasif Mandvi(The Daily Show, Halal in the Family) in the role of Shona’s boyfriend Vish, Tobias Menzies(The Crown, Outlander, Game Of Thrones) as Richard, father to one of Aine’s students and Indira Varma (Patrick Melrose, Luther, Game of Thrones) playing Shona’s colleague and confidante Charlotte. Chris Geere (You’re the Worst, Modern Family) also co-stars.
Happiness is a destination we all want to reach, but how we get there is never easy. This Way Upis a pin-sharp, poignant comedy which, with warmth and keen-edged wit, shows that the journey to happiness is harder for some than others.
