LPT: Hello Beth, we know that you’ve worked in far flung places and we wondered how your experiences in pub theatres compares?

Beth Burrows: I love a London pub theatre - they really feel like home to me now! The audiences tend to be genuinely interested in the story you’re weaving and are generally up for a good time. I love the intimacy - you really can feel when a crowd is with you, almost breathing simultaneously. There’s usually a good understanding of theatre etiquette too (which West End houses lack sometimes, sadly). I premiered my first one woman show ‘Sirens of the Silver Screen’ in Dubai. That’s a whole different kettle of fish. Whilst a number of international tours are imported, the Middle East doesn’t really have a homegrown theatre tradition. You can tell.  Some audience members just don't understand what theatre is and that there’s a performer live on stage in front of you… It’s probably not the best time to pull out your phone and start live-streaming the show on social media, complete with commentary (it’s happened!). I really appreciate the way London pub theatre goers seem to appreciate that unspoken contract with the performer that you give each other focus and share something special for a hour or two.

LPT: You have already starred in The Lady with a Dog in 2018 (White Bear Theatre and Tabard Theatre) with much critical acclaim (‘award worthy performances’ Broadway World). As an actor how will you keep it fresh?

BB: We just had our first table-read today and it’s amazing how ‘new’ it felt, even though it’s the same script as a few years ago! I really loved playing Anne because she’s made up of so many contradictions. Playing with those tensions and oppositions never gets boring and keeps things fresh I think.

LPT: Mark Giesser has modernised Chekhov’s story about infidelity, obsession and secrecy, first published in 1899. What strikes you as being particularly different to the original?

BB: Chekhov - perhaps unsurprisingly - prioritizes the male gaze; the story is seen predominantly through Damian’s eyes. Mark’s version gives the female perspective equal focus. I think this is necessary in order to understand how both these characters wind up cheating (and, crucially, how they respectively deal with that).

LPT: Please could you give a synopsis of the story from the perspective of your character.

BB: Anne is a well-to-do young lady recently married to Carl, an upright but rather insufferable aspiring politician. On paper she’s ‘doing well’, but deep down she’s discontented - in a quiet, intangible way that any woman in 1923 might be. She’s not actively seeking an escape, but when she strikes up conversation with a charming older married man whilst holidaying alone in Scotland the cracks emerge. She’s tortured by the idea of being a ‘common tart’, but feels equally compelled to continue this exciting new dalliance with Damian. All too soon she’s summoned back home to resume ‘normal’ life, but she can’t shake her summer romance. When Damian shows up in her town the danger steps up and gear and she is forced to make a choice - which man must she betray? Or is there a third way?

LPT: Intimacy – doesn’t sound like Chekhov – is there any kissing or cuddling? How do you manage that?

BB The actual intimacy on stage is minimal - one kiss and a few charged hand brushes! It’s the mid 1920s, so everything is still quite repressed. Richard (playing Damian) and I had a similar physicality on stage when we did the show last time, so it’s not awkward thankfully.

LPT: As an actor how do you capture the spirit of the age? 

BB: If I could be reborn into any decade it would actually be the 1920s. There's something really intoxicating abut the Roaring Twenties: the music, the fashion, the politics. And whilst it was still very much a man’s world, women were starting to take control of their image and identity in new, uncharted ways. As an actor I approach it with the rather ‘held’ physicality and mannerisms of the early 20th century, but a sense of wild spontaneity bubbling underneath. I played Daisy Fay in a spin off of ‘The Great Gatsby’, so I can pull on that 20s experience too.

LPT: We think you have lovely quality to your voice but as The Lady with a Dog is drama, we won’t get to hear you sing. How much does your training as a singer feed into your work as an actor? 

BB: Thank you! The voice is a single instrument, it just depends on how you want to use it. The warm up I do for musicals is not that different for plays. And I think the basics of good posture, support and diction translate from singing to speech, especially with this quite Wildean and witty script. I’ll certainly be doing a tongue twister or two before I go on each night!

LPT: In one of your reviews for the role, you were likened to Deborah Kerr from the fifties romance ‘An Affair to Remember’. Who would be your chosen role model?

BB: Ah yes, that was a lovely comparison! My role model would be Audrey Hepburn. She’s one of the three icons I explore in my first show ‘Sirens of the Silver Screen’ (sirenstheshow.com) - along with Judy Garland and Marilyn Monroe - and I just have the greatest respect for her. She was a captivating actor, of course, but also an incredible human. Fate handed her a pretty nasty start in life, but she turned it around and went on to devote her later years to UNICEF and other humanitarian projects. A bit of an angel on earth!

LPT: We’re curious to know whether a dog features at all in the play and whether your own relationship with dogs. We hope you aren’t allergic to dog hair!

BB: Alas, I had to disappoint all furry fans but there isn’t a real dog on stage. Although I would have loved that. My parents have a (rather rotund) cocker spaniel called Toby. I love him very much, but I must admit I’ve actually always wanted a Pomeranian dog. This play is the closest I’ve got to that (and that’s still not close, seeing as she’s invisible…!). 

LPT: The play has a cast of four. Will there be any surprises here? (New cast member etc.)

BB: Indeed, we have a fabulous new actor (Toby Manley) joining the company as Carl, my husband. He’s already got such a great handle on the character and some brilliant comic instincts, so I’m sure we’re in for a treat!

LPT:  You worked with Alces productions on many occasions, could you tell us how the relationship began.

BB: Our introduction was quite fortuitous – Mark and I met on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean when he and his wife Jody were on holiday. I was working on board as Assistant Cruise Director (whilst taking taking a hiatus from London) and he caught a performance of my first solo show on board. We got talking and a year later I was performing it at Upstairs at the Gatehouse. Hence, the venue has always meant a huge amount to me. Mark and I have been working on plays and musicals ever since.

LPT: Is humour an important part of the of the show. Could you give an emerging actor any advice on how to make sure the humour lands?

BB: You’ve got to play it for real. The minute you think about trying to get a laugh you’ve shot yourself in the foot. It’s about you and the other person, the truth of that relationship or moment is what’s funny. Put your attention on them and the laughs will follow. 

LPT: Finally, what are you most looking forward to sharing with audiences?

BB: I’m looking forward to walking through the moral dilemmas of the story with the audience each evening. You think you know who is in the wrong, but Chekhov (and Mark) has this way of making everyone a villain. And a hero at the same time. It’s a tale of human fallibility. I think it’s always interesting to feel out how your audience is reacting to the twists and turns each performance. It’s certainly one to debate over a drink after the show!