1. Tell us a little bit about your role

Christine is a lady who has lost her husband, and who takes her Granddaughter to have a chippie tea at a chip shop recently re-opened by her old flame, Eric. She remembers vividly their passionate time together at Morecambe when they were both teenagers, eating chips and dancing to Northern Soul.

2. What attracted you to this play?

One of the things that attracted me to this play (apart from the fantastic script) was the opportunity to play a character with whom I have quite a bit of identification! I am from Barrow-in-Furness (just over the Bay from Morecambe) and day trips there and to Blackpool were part of my teenage years. Trains ran to Morecambe and Wigan for the huge numbers of Northern Soul fans from Barrow. That music was a backdrop to my youth – just like Christine and Eric’s. (I also have a teenage granddaughter whose eyes start to glaze over when I treat her to tales of my teenage days).

3. With whom would you most like to share a chippy tea?

I would love to share a chippie tea with Alan Bennett. I know he would understand the importance of tea and bread and butter to accompany it (AND fizzy pop), and I think we’d have a great time together!

4. Who or what was your first love?

My first love was an actor in the repertory company at Her Majesty’s Theatre, Barrow when I was about 13. I adored him from afar. I remember making him a Valentine’s card with a heart-shaped doily stuck on the front. Soon after that he

left for pastures new and I was broken-hearted.

5. Where are you most looking forward to visiting on the tour?

I am excited about performing this play in all the non-theatre spaces we will be visiting, and am particularly looking forward to playing in Arnside – which is 10 minutes from where I live.

6. What do you put on your chips?

I always have lots of salt and vinegar on my chips – and quite often a good dollop of salad cream.

 

Chip Shop Chips tours from the 17th February to the 23rd of March. Book tickets here.