Interview: Claire Sweeney now tackles her dream role
Soap star, daytime TV presenter and West End Musical hit, Claire Sweeney now tackles her dream role. We talk to her as she plays Rita in Willy Russell’s Educating Rita at the Theatre Royal Brighton
Is the title role in Educating Rita one that you had hoped to play?
“Yes, from the time I was a teenager I dreamed of playing the part of Rita, so much so that it was my audition piece for drama school when I was 17.”
As a real Liverpudlian does it make it easier for you to play Rita?
“Absolutely, not having to worry about the accent or dialect means that I can just do it in my voice and focus on the truth of the character.”
“I relate to Rita so much, our lives have so many similarities”
Are there any parallels in your own life to Rita’s life?
“So many, I relate to Rita so much, our lives have so many similarities – the whole thing of being from a rough and ready background and wanting to improve life really struck a chord with me.”
As an actress, how do you deal with the fact that the role is so strongly linked to another actress?
“When people think of Rita they think of Julie Walters because of the film but actually the film and play are incredibly different, the play is a two hander for starters so the characters are much more intense. I hope once people see the play and my performance they will see a different Rita.”
After a fairly conventional stage education, you spent many years starring in a major soap. After Brookside did you find it hard to be taken seriously as an actress?
“The first thing I did after Brookside was Clocking Off, which was an award-winning drama. It was great for me, but to be honest I wasn’t looking for a serious drama or Shakespeare, I really wanted to do a big musical.”
You have had huge success as a musical theatre star with both Chicago and Tell Me On A Sunday amongst others. Is it massively different playing a straight drama?
“I find drama more physically exhausting in comparison to musical theatre. In a musical you have the swell of the orchestra to guide you but with a drama you can’t take your eye off the ball for a second. You have to have absolute focus and concentration all of the time and that’s very intense.”
In Chicago you played Roxie Hart, a role that demands not only a great voice but also some very demanding dancing too, did that come easy?
“Dancing has never come easy to me. I find it takes a lot of hard work to be able to marry the dancing to the singing and acting but with perseverance and effort I manage to pull it off.”
Tell Me On A Sunday is equally demanding vocally, how did you deal with holding the stage alone for that and with the music which is by no means easy?
“I had the same director for TMOAS as for Educating Rita, Tamara Harvey, and she is fantastic to work with which helps. To be honest I found TMOAS quite easy as it was within my comfort zone whereas Educating Rita is not.”
When will we next see you in an all singing all dancing role again?
“Christmas, I’ve got a lovely musical project coming up which I can’t say more about right now but I’m really looking forward to it. Educating Rita is very finely written, a balance of comedy and thoughtful drama.”
Is it hard to maintain that poignancy and still get the laughs?
“I think the trick is not to ever play it for the laughs. Some days you get them, some days you don’t, but if you play it with total honesty and be truthful to the character then you get it right.”
What was the first Willy Russell play that you saw?
“Breezeblock Park was the first play and Blood Brothers was the first musical. My mum used to bring me to see plays at the Liverpool Empire all the time growing up but those Willy Russell’s were the first and seeing those plays made me fall in love with theatre, so Willy Russell is the reason I wanted to have a career on the stage.”
We sense you are a bit of a giggler? Is that true?
“On stage, not at all. I’m not one of those actors who pulls the Saturday matinee pranks back stage. I play it straight to the end every time, you have to.”
So how do you cope each night working opposite Matthew Kelly who has such an easy way of making people laugh?
“On this show we are actually both incredibly serious as the show needs total and absolute concentration all the way through.”
Where is your favorite place to play?
“Liverpool of course, it’s my home and the Empire is where I discovered my love of theatre and Willy Russell.”
How do you wind down after a performance?
“A lovely glass of hot milk.”
Educating Rita, Monday 16–Saturday 21 July
Theatre Royal Brighton
Box office 08448 717 650
www.atgtickets.com/brighton
