On a wet and surprisingly humid Thursday evening, the inaugural Ensemble Supper Club gathered in the private dining room of Tāmaki’s San Ray to break (incredible sourdough) bread with likeminded people, drink delicious organic wines from Grava and hear from special guest Morgana O’Reilly.

In between courses of droolworthy shared plates – woodfired mushrooms with quinoa, mascarpone and cascabel chilli (“that quinoa crumb!” someone squealed excitedly, “mushrooms never tasted so good!”) and chargrilled wagyu with caramelised butter and cognac jus – Ensemble’s Zoe and Rebecca asked Morgana questions about how she got started in her career, and how she ended up checking into The White Lotus. Guests, emboldened by delicious organic wines from Grava, soon chimed in with questions of their own.

Morgana, resplendent in custom Juliette Hogan, enthralled guests with her openness and honesty, and all came away feeling satiated in the best possible way (including finishing on chocolate and brandy mousse with salted caramel, olive oil, rosemary and hazelnuts, paired with Grava’s resiling).

“It’s so wonderful to have events like this that bring people together,” said one guest, who attended alone and made new friends. “Especially in the colder months when we’re more inclined to hibernate”.

Another treat: our guests went home with the new Emma Lewisham Sunceutical SPF Mineral Glow Serum that serves as both a hardworking tinted serum and an SPF 50 – and was responsible for Morgana’s glow. 

Highlights from our conversation with Morgana include:

Morgana credits her New Zealand agent Zara Cormack (from Johnson Laird) on her role in The White Lotus, which came at a time when she was feeling particularly burnt out by the entertainment industry.

She did a self-tape audition video, using an Aussie accent perfected by her time on Neighbours, and sent it off; feeling like the opportunity to audition was all the validation she needed. “Mike White, bless him, doesn’t do call backs,” she said, and she quickly received an expression of interest from him, followed up by an offer. 

Morgana points to all of the ghosting in the industry as being one of the most brutal things about it (as anyone who has experienced job hunting in the past year or two can likely identify with), and it’s telling that these very open and fast-rolling communications came from one of the biggest directors in the industry. 

Morgana’s longest stint in Thailand was one month; she came and went several times during filming. She acknowledged that it was hard on the core cast who remained for the seven-month duration and felt lucky like she could come in fresh. “The people in my little group…” she said discreetly (the tea at the end of that sentence remains exclusively for those who were in the room). But she also mentioned that Parker Posey will remain a lifelong friend.

Morgana grew up in a creative household (her mother is an acclaimed choreographer and her father a graphic designer) where she dreamed of joining a gypsy fair and travelling the world. She soon learnt that acting provided a similar lifestyle. 

After graduating from drama school she became one of the founding members of the Basement Theatre. Theatre is still something that she adores and she continues to write and tour theatre productions, most notably her one-woman show Stories About My Body, which she is planning for screen. Morgana begins each show running onto stage, topless (“I find boobs so funny”), and the film version she has filmed with husband, BAFTA-nominated director Peter Salmon (After The Party) saw her running over the Mayoral Dr overpass topless for no less than four takes.

Morgana also enthralled and entertained guests with another story about her body: working as a foot fetishist in NYC in 2009 after answering an ad on Craig’s List. She would earn US$20 for each 10 minutes of having her toes being sucked (a ‘nude’ toe was preferred to a polished one) but, in information that surprised no one at the table, she failed to make any money on her first night and she was “too chatty” with the suckees.

‍With thanks to Morgana O’Reilly, Emma Lewisham, Juliette Hogan, San Ray, Grava, Antipodes, Louise Rae, Dan Ahwa, Karen Ishiguro, Rebecca Smidt and Morven McAuley.