After a three and a half year run on Emmerdale was came to a close with a fictional car crash, actress Louise Marwood started to design a real life car crash of her own – spiralling into addition. Now, inspired by her experiences, she has written Rita Lynn – a comic cautionary tale of addiction, toxic relationships and pretending to be someone you are not.
Ex-dancer and addict Imogen stumbles into the life of a wealthy, depressed housewife and assumes the alter ego of Rita Lynn – a super confident life coach with unorthodox methods.
Louise Marwood is best known for her years as Chrissie White in Emmerdale, but her television credits also include Coronation Street, The Bill, Hollyoaks: Let Loose, and Waking the Dead. She trained on a scholarship at the Oxford School of Drama, was a member of sketch show Comedy Bitch, as both a writer and performer, and has written a pilot for TV entitled Shovel.
Rita Lynn is showing at The Turbine Theatre from the 23rd – 27th January. Get your tickets here.
How are preparations going for Rita Lynn?
The preparations are going as well as they can, hahaha – I have ADHD so trying to write the finished draft, get all the prep done, whilst doing all the promotion has been a huge challenge. Fun though. We are hitting up the recording studio to record a few more voices this week and then its back into the rehearsal room with a new draft – my favourite place to be!
What are the benefits and drawbacks of making work that connects to you personally like this?
The benefits are numerous because I know all the layers of the characters and the story inside out. I lived and breathed it and my soul is in these pages. Saying that, reliving it is hard and triggering. I am very new in recovery so its quite a bold move to talk about my drug of choice so much and in some ways glamorise it, the way she does. Until it all goes horribly wrong of course. Us addicts are always the last to get the memo that our lives are out of control. But while she is still in love with it, it is hard to play. I am certainly not and I know the ending!
Does there come a point where you snap into actor mode and just treat the script like any other part you might be performing?
There is a point where I have to separate myself (for my sanity) and do what is best for the show as a whole. It always comes back to the story and the message that we are trying to get across.
Who are you working with to make the show?
I am working with the wonderful Nick Bagnall, a fabulous director. I have known him for years but we only recently came back into contact. We excite each other creatively. And that is a wonderful rehearsal room to be in.
What do you hope audiences might take away from the piece?
I am hoping the audience will realise the suffering that most addicts endure. It is not always clear to people on the outside why a person would inflict that much pain and misery on themselves and those around them. I am hoping this show will shine a light on it. I don’t hold back.