TGt Meets... a Cast member of the play Sh*t-faced Shakespeare

Meet our latest TGt Meets... a cast member of the play Sh*t Faced Shakespeare! The smash-hit, internationally acclaimed, award-winning, multi sell-out fringe phenomenon is finally off on a UK tour with their version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and are performing at The Wyvern Theatre on the 12th of November!

Is this your first time performing in Swindon at the Wyvern Theatre?

It is! It's the first time we've taken the show on the road, so we're getting to see some amazing theatres.

How are you preparing for this performance on the 12th of November?

Sobriety (well at least for that night’s drunk). The rest of us will be taking it in turns to get sozzlewd for Shakespeare in the shows leading up to Swindon.

What can people expect from this show?

Menage a trois's, rabid badgers and Ghosts (and that was just last night’s show). Oh and of course, some actual classical theatre thrown in for good measure.

Have you always been into performing arts?

Yes. I graduated in 2004 and have been performing in Theatre, Film and TV for the past 15 years.

Who are your three inspirations?

Oh that's a tricky one. I'd have to say for comedy writing/performing it's Matthew Holness. Garth Marenghi is still, hands down, my favourite TV show of all time.

In terms of acting, Sam Rockwell has to be my favourite. He's got this effortless charm in his performances that I admire.

And in terms of Director/Producer, it's probably Roger Coreman. He's managed to make more films than anyone else and brought so many amazing artists up through the ranks.

I could write another 10 names for each of these answers, but these are definitely my top three...maybe...probably.

What persuaded you to pursue a career in performing arts?

As a teenager I had a lot more excess energy than most and was always wanting to create the ideas I had in my head. When I went to a drama group with a friend at 15 it clicked that I was in the right place to help with both of those things.

Do you get nervous when performing? If so, what do you do to help calm your nerves?

With other plays and TV, most definitely. Opening night especially.

But with Sh!tfaced, not really as much. It's strange because the idea of both Shakespearean text and improv used to terrify me. But once you realise that with a drunk involved it's all going to go wrong, so therefore nothing can go wrong, it takes

the pressure off and you just have so much fun playing with the cast and coming up with new storylines on the go.

What’s been your most funniest moment within your performing career?

That definitely is a hard one, so much happens in every single show.

I think it's probably from the West End, when we were performing 'Much Ado about Nothing'.

The drunk actress playing Hero (Beth-Louise Priestley) decided 15mins into the show that she was in love with the villain instead of me. This resulted in us swapping characters (I knew none of his lines, he knew all of mine) and costumes (I'm almost a foot taller than him). I was both absolutely loving it and in sheer panic. Fortunately the audience was on my side and cheered every mistake I made, right to the end.

See what's on at The Wyvern Theatre HERE!