Tell us about your play in 3 sentence.
It sounds like the Pulp album This is Hardcore, only if Jarvis Cocker had been on even more cocaine. It feels like the centre of a tornado, where sometimes you’re getting blown around all over the place, but then there are also these moments of respite where it feels peaceful, but you know that is going to end soon. It looks like a battlefield.
How do you start with a text?
I read it. And then I read it again. I’ll usually Google some things about the play or about the author or any key themes so I am familiar with the subject matter. If a previous production has been put on I might try to watch some videos, but I don’t like to know too much about other productions as I don’t want that to influence me and I want to feel like I’m making my own choices about the play. Then I’ll probably go through it again and pick out key moments and themes I feel are important and want to particularly focus on.
Tell us about yourself in 20 words.
The film Anastasia was actually based on my life, but it’s all part of a Scandinavian conspiracy.
What’s your drink?
I drink whisky at the minute because it makes me feel like I could be a writer in the 50s hanging out with Jack Kerouac and William S. Burroughs, or a noir detective. Well that’s how I think I look but I probably look like a 16 year old who doesn’t know what alcohol they like yet so order whatever they think will make them seem cool. But I do genuinely like it.
What are you up to at the minute?
I recently won Gardener of the Year at the 2014 annual Lawn Competition, but my title was taken away from me after a dispute about manure. I am also currently trapped in a lawsuit over the death of my first husband who died in suspicious circumstances while I was definitely out of the country. I keep bees.