How did you get involved with The Secret Garden at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre?

I had just started my third year at drama school on the BA Acting course at Itali Conti and The Secret Garden was my first audition request on Spotlight, it ended up also being my first acting self-tape, my first in-person acting audition and my first acting job! I met the wonderful casting and creative team and had a couple of auditions/recalls at Regent’s Park OpenAir Theatre. I waited a few months and found out I got the job in March (I was over the moon!) and that I would be rehearsing and performing at Regent’s Park OpenAir Theatre instead of completing my third term at drama school. Although I am being marked on this show as my final performance and doing my dissertation alongside it to complete my degree.

What are the defining features of this particular adaptation and production?

I think this production is a fresh, thoughtful and exciting adaptation of the novel. This new adaptation by Holly Robinson and Anna Himali Howard gives more of a voice to the culture, history and political climate of India at the time the play is set and also a clearer and more thoughtful dive into the aspects of disability that are touched on in the original story. I personally have never seen or been in a play like this before. I truly believe it will be something really special and I feel so lucky to be a part of it.

Who do you play? Do you identify with them personally?

I play Martha Sowerby, a 13-year-old maid from Yorkshire. From early on in the process I had a real strong connection to the character. Both myself and Martha come from big loving families, we’re both work-driven and I believe have a similar outlook on the act of kindness. Martha is a wonderful character and although she is only 13 she has experienced a lot in her life and her journey through the play is pretty massive. 

How have you been preparing for the role?

To prepare for this role I began by reading the script many times and by researching what life was like for a maid in 1903 Yorkshire. I used that to inform my character work. I also went over the rules of the Yorkshire accent, as I am doing that accent in the play. Throughout rehearsals, we have been establishing the world of the play, learning about each other’s characters. We have had talks with Dr Priyanka Basu about the historical and political climate in Bengal around the time the play is set. Our movement director Will Dickie has taken us through many movement workshops to help create our chorus, our characters and taught us Edwardian dance. We have had QA’s with the head gardeners from Regent’s Park, and done movement classes in one of London’s secret gardens. We’ve had sessions with our accent coach, with our composers from Mishra Music, the puppetry consultant, the Intimacy coordinator, the vocal coach and lots of table work with our director and writer. I could go on and on about the preparation and learning we have done during rehearsals, I can’t believe how thorough the learning and support have been. So in a nutshell, the preparation has been a combination of working in my own time and learning from watching the other wonderful members of the cast and through the multitude of workshops, talks etc.

If you had a piece of advice for your younger self, what would it be?

This is a question I think about a lot, I wasn’t a very confident performer when I was younger and I found it really hard to put myself forward for things and would very often cancel auditions because I was so convinced I was not good enough (even drama school auditions.)

I would say to my younger self:

1. Listen to your mum and dad when they tell you that they believe in you and that you are good enough (they were right)
2. If you don’t try how can you possibly succeed? You can’t achieve your dreams if they continue to just be a dream you have to actually do it for it to happen.
3. Just because you don’t look like most actors/actresses doesn’t mean there is not space for you on the stage, your body size does not correlate to your worth,
4. And finally, your no is a gift.

Why should audiences come and see The Secret Garden?

I think this show has something for everyone. If you love the original story then this is a fresh and thoughtful take and one that respects the feel of the original whilst also being an entirely new production and if you are completely new to the story then it is the perfect opportunity to be introduced to it. The set, costumes, lighting, music, writing, direction, movement and theatre are all beautiful. An evening sat in the prettiest theatre in London surrounded by nature and exploring the story of a secret garden, what more could you want? Get your tickets!