What shows or projects have you done with ETT?
Dealing with Claire at the Orange Tree
Finish the sentence: Touring is important because…
Stories aren’t just for Christmas.
Where is home for you?
I’m an anywhere, but if I had to pick a somewhere I’d say Essex or somewhere where I can see the sea.
Where is your home away from home?
Palermo, Sicily
How did you bring home with you on tour?
I take a thumb’s worth of photographs and postcards and scatter them around my digs: smiling friends; the sea; Frida Kahlo, Woolf, Ferrante; a doodled sketch of Brighton.
Which city was your favourite to visit on tour with ETT?
Well, not with ETT as I was in London, but I loved Glasgow and Eastbourne.
What gem did you discover on tour with ETT (could be a landmark/park/cafe/pub etc)?
Again, not with ETT, but I loved going down to the seaside in Chichester; watching the sunset as the tide rolled out in West Wittering: beautiful!
What are your touring essentials?
Books, promised visits from friends, sleepy tea, echinacea drops, bike for exploring, lovely cast to have a gin with.
What’s your go-to recipe whilst on tour?
Warm salad of sweet potato with kidney beans, aubergine and spinach with avocado. And banana bread.
Stories aren't just for Christmas
Brave, honest depictions of people, places and things which are funny and heartwarming, vital and moving
Which artist(s) do you most admire and why?
I love artists who create a lovely, positive environment for everyone – including themselves – to flourish and grow; they’re open, kind and talented members of a company and this combination encourages others to follow suit and, through mutual support, creates a working environment that we’re all excited to be a part of! Recent examples include: Michael Gould, Christopher Ravenscroft and Dervla Kirwan.
What music inspires you?
Peggy Seeger has got some real corkers. Check out Song of Choice or Gonna Be An Engineer. Also: Dave’s Psychodrama, Amy Winehouse and Donovan.
What piece of writing or quote inspires you?
What a great question. Notes to Self by Emile Pine and Girl, Woman, Other are wonderfully open and honest books which I loved. There are lots of inspiring bits in Frantumaglia by Ferrante about feminism and being true to yourself and I’d recommend her guardian column which has been made into a book ‘Incidental Inventions’. The Things You See Only When You Slow Down and The Tao of Pooh have also been really lovely finds that have carved out a little space during lockdown to let the brain breathe a little.
As for quotes:
Individuals and cities without love are a danger to themselves and others.
What, for you, makes a good piece of art?
Brave, honest depictions of people, places and things which are funny and heartwarming, vital and moving.
What have been your career highlights so far?
Playing Hediya in Series 3 of Top Boy for Netflix, working on Crimp’s brilliant Dealing with Clair with a fantastic team helmed by Twyman; I also loved being part of Yaël Farber’s company for Salomé at The National, touring the UK as Baby Houseman in Dirty Dancing and getting under Alia’s skin in Nahda at The Bush.
If you were cast away on a desert island, which 5 plays would you take with you and why?
Top Girls (Caryl Churchill) the first play I remember seeing that was written by a woman and celebrated women with bravery and ingenuity – it made me hopeful for the stories of the future; All’s Well (Shakespeare) whose Helena let me speak the 400 year old conflict of a strong, intelligent woman who is in love – reassuring me that so much of the human condition is consistent; Home (Nadia Fall) which hit me right in the gut as all the best theatre does; Paradise (Kate Tempest) because its brave and breaks conventions into vital, innovative yarns; Antigone (Wertenbaker’s version), my first acting gig at 21 when I learnt how special it is to be part of a theatre family.
Please can you tell us what you would say to emerging artists to encourage them to take their work on the road or join an ETT tour?
Stories aren’t just for the big hitter cities like London! The world is a book and if you don’t travel you read only a page!
Window or aisle seat?
Window
Favourite way to travel?
Bike!
If you could have any superpower, which would you choose?
I’d love to be able to speak every language!
Our industry is currently experiencing an incredibly challenging time. Do you have any recommendations for others of how to stay hopeful and creative during this time? Please feel free to add links to any projects, groups or initiatives that you’re part of or that you’d like to highlight.
Join your local mutual aid group! I’ve been getting busy with Brownswood Mutual Aid and our local initiatives, including The Hackney Book of Hope – a digital and print book of all the rainbows and messages of hope in our borough in aid of Hackney Food Bank 🙂 We’ve also been doing zoom script reading nights which have been a lovely way to keep those story telling muscles flexed!
The world is a book and if you don't travel you read only a page!
