Stage: A Timeless Talent
Andrew Kay meets Benidorm star Sheila Reid during rehearsals for Nichola McAuliffe’s Edinburgh Festival hit Maurice’s Jubilee
Sheila Reid has been a busy actress for most of her career but recently she has become best known for her extraordinary portrayal of Madge, the mother from hell in ITV’s hit comedy Benidorm. I’ve just sat through a brief run through of the opening of Nichola McAuliffe’s hit play Maurice’s Jubilee at the Pleasance Theatre in Islington and the team break for lunch. I make my way to the front so I can grab the chance to talk to the tiny Ms Reid before anyone else gets a chance.
Opening questions in this situation can make or break an interview but I go in both feet first: “I’m glad to see you’re not really orange.” You can gauge how far you can go with a question like this, and fortunately for me her eyes sparkle and she laughs. “God no, not orange, that is awful, I have to lie in a bath of dye every day of shooting Benidorm to get to be that colour. I like your moustache by the way, can I touch it?” Touché Ms Reid…
Were you expecting Benidorm to be so popular?
“No, but we knew it was good and very funny.”
But it must be awful filming in the winter when even Benidorm is cold…
“I’m lucky, I am the only member of the cast who has never had to go into that cold pool, if I did there would be a horrible oily orange slick. This year we will be filming in summer, but I’m still not going in the pool!”
We were lucky to see the scope of your acting skills at Christmas when you played a very sad and emotionally demanding role in BBC’s Call The Midwife…
“Yes, it was a lovely part and one I really enjoyed.”
Have you always been lucky in getting work?
“When I was young I was always cast way below my real age because I was so tiny, I could play children’s roles way past my teens. Then I was very lucky to work with Laurence Olivier at The National Theatre. He was quite the most remarkable actor and director. He would be talking with you quite seriously and then he would just drift off, not to sleep but deep in thought. You could sense how his mind would work from those conversations.”
Did the work continue?
“No, like most female actors the roles dry up when you hit a certain age, and having played below mine for so long I was suddenly being cast in roles far older than I was.”
How did you get the part in Maurice’s Jubilee?
“Nichola sent me the script directly. I read it and I have to say I was hooked, it didn’t read like a script, It was like reading a story. I gave it to my husband to read and he said exactly the same. Of course I said yes, it’s a great script and a great role.”
What is it like acting alongside the author? [McAuliffe is also in the play].
“It’s fascinating and I have to say she is very calm and very generous to work with. There are great moments when our brilliant young director Hannah Eidinow, who is brilliant, and Nichola, are totally in tune, achieving good things by being rather quiet and still.”
McAuliffe is a great stage presence. She was stunning in The Lady In The Van…
“Yes, and she is a such a good writer too, creating these great parts for people like me and for Julian Glover. It’s a strong cast and working with Julian and Nichola is a delight.”
We only saw part of the opening scene and it has some great and very funny lines, especially for you, but I sense that this comedy has a dark side too…
“Yes, it takes an unexpected turn but I’m not going to spoil that for you.”
After this, what do you have lined up?
“Well, there is a new series of Benidorm to do and after that, I’m not sure. So more orange dye and fake fry ups for me; Madge loves her greasy breakfasts and fags but I’m a vegetarian non smoker so it’s herbal cigarettes and the crew have to make special vegetarian plates of greasy food that look like the real thing.”
And you do get a rest in a way, running about on all those mobility scooters…
“Yes, it will be a surprise for theatre audiences to see that I can actually walk.”
My time is up, someone else is gagging to talk to this tiny bundle of fun with the figure and energy of a teenager, or at least the ability to convey that. Nichola McAuliffe’s play received excellent press notices in Edinburgh, reminding us that she is a theatrical force to be taken seriously. In this play we not only get to see her perform, alongside the talents of Sheila Reid and Julian Glover but also experience her writing skills.
Maurice’s Jubilee, Theatre Royal Brighton Tuesday 26 February–Saturday 2 March. Box office 08448 717 650, www.atgtickets.com/brighton
