Our Executive Editor Kairen Kemp has been chatting to Katy Stevens who will be playing The White Witch at The Theatre Royal in The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe.
How long have you been developing the character? We started rehearsals in October, and one of the advantages of working on a lengthy project is the opportunity to develop the character over an extended period. The audience is the final member of the cast, really. The way the audience respond to you also gives you great clues to who that character may be as well.
You’ve not seen any of the previous productions is that a lot easier? Yeah, I obviously read The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe itself. But actually what I found more useful for me playing Jardis was The Magician’s Nephew, the prequel.
All the questions that you may be asking yourself about the characters in The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe are answered there. When you meet Jardis, she’s younger and more punk rock. By the time we meet her in The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe, she’s eaten the silver apple and has kind of resigned herself to immortality, but a life of misery.
When you played Tamura in Titus Andronicus you said there is sympathy that lies somewhere within all these characters who are hated by the audiences. Do you feel that with the White Witch as well? It’s hard. I find sympathy in the fact that there are laws in Narnia and a higher being than both Aslan and the White Witch, which I suppose can be compared to God. She was the Executioner Over The Seas and her job was to kill any traitors. If I can find any sympathy with her, it’s that the law has to be followed.
How has it been received so far? The audience is loving it. In fact, most nights here at The Curve, we’ve had standing ovations. It’s a beautiful, warm, and spectacular show.
It’s a long tour. A year? How do you approach that? Well, obviously it’s tiring and the schedule at times is quite relentless, but we’re all quite good at looking after ourselves. More importantly, looking after each other. Oh my God, you know, I used to put the squiggles of icing on fondant fancies for Mr. Kipling! So no, I’ll never moan about coming into work.
Theatre Royal Tues 11th – Sat 15th March (Times vary)
Visit www.atgtickets.com for tickets.
