Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Anna Russell Martin
character Anais Hendricks in the National Theatre of Scotland’s production of The Panopticon.
It has been adapted from the debut novel of the same name by its award-winning author, Jenni Fagan – and has its world premiere with a preview performance at Platform in Glasgow on Friday, before beginning a 10-date run at the Traverse theatre in Edinburgh six days later.
Anna told the Advertiser: “It’s brilliant and a dream part for me, which I feel very privileged to be playing.
“My character, Anais, is a young girl and just a total firecracker; she’s been let down by every adult in her life, is in the care system and gets into trouble with the police, and we see the journey she’s taken on.
“It’s a gift of a part and I’m looking forward to seeing people’s reaction – there are several points where I talk to the audience and I’m looking forward to seeing what they make of her and how people respond.
“At the moment it’s a lot of work as we get ready for the first performance, so it’s long days of rehearsing and then being back home re-reading the script; it’s brilliant and will have a good pay-off as it’s really exciting to get up and show people this story.”
Now aged 21, Anna first began performing at the age of three when she attended Janis Ridley’s dance school in Coatbridge, then going on to join drama and singing groups in Kirkintilloch and Glasgow.
She attended St Patrick’s Primary and St Andrew’s High, before moving to specialist performance school Knightswood Secondary in Glasgow from fourth year onwards to study musical theatre.
Last year she graduated from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, which she represented at the prestigious Premio Nazionale delle Arti in Rome; she then joined a graduate scheme with the Citizens’ Theatre and has also appeared on stage at the Tron and Traverse theatres and at Oran Mor.
Anna said: “I started dancing when I was little, and then my teacher asked if I’d ever thought about acting – I think I enjoyed the facial expressions more than the movements!
“In primary school we did a show called Panto Pandemonium, where I played a witch and loved dressing up and having green make-up, and another Christmas show called Whoops-a-daisy Angel, and just loved performing from day one. school.
She added of the preparations for the production: “I’ve also been on a few posters, which is really cool – my family and friends have been texting saying they’ve seen them!
“It’s amazing and quite surreal to see a big poster with my face on it up in Queen Street in Glasgow; it’s really exciting to have got to this stage.”
The National Theatre of Scotland production is supported by Malin Group, whose sponsorship has also been awarded match funding from Arts & Business Scotland’s Culture and Business Fund Scotland.