‘Derby people are wonderful and they really support their own – it’s just lovely’
Based on a true story, The Croft looks set to thrill. VICKY EDWARDS spoke to star Gwen Taylor and director Philip Franks
GWEN Taylor is a bit marvellous. Not only does her biog span several pages and include TV work on favourite shows such as Coronation Street, Heartbeat, A Bit Of A Do and Duty Free, but she also has film appearances including The Lady In The Van and Monty Python’s Life Of Brian to her credit. Oh, and let’s not forget her numerous roles on stage and the fact that she has won several awards.
But almost as remarkable as her career is the fact that at the age of 80 she is still living life at a lively pace, embracing a weekly touring schedule that would daunt younger actors.
“I am thriving on it. I love to work and I love a challenge,” she says.
“Although,” she amends, “my husband comes with me and we do stay in hotels these days. I did ‘digs’ for years, but now I like an en suite and a comfy bed.”
The challenge in question is a new play by Ali Miles, The Croft.
Described by director Philip Franks as “a thriller with romance and secrets at its heart”, The Croft is based on a true story.
The lives of three women from different eras in the remote Scottish Highlands village of Coillie Ghille are intertwined by the croft’s dark history.
In the 1880s, Enid, the last person left in the village, takes in the Laird’s pregnant daughter, Eilene.
In 2005, Ruth occupies the croft, which she and her husband Tom bought as a holiday home and where Ruth has her affair with a local man.
In the present day, Ruth’s daughter, Laura returns with her friend Suzanne after her mother’s death and together they discover the terrifying truth that lurks within the
croft.
“It is so exciting,” Gwen enthuses. “I just think of this as real trailblazing – my character blazes a trail for the two ladies that appear later in the play. Her courage is amazing. She is resilient and a survivor; a really strong female character. That really appealed to me when I first read the play.
“People love a good thriller, be it a book, a film or a play, but I think a stage production is different because of the involvement an audience feels and those moments when people jump as one. It is a mix of anticipation, live performance and fantastic storytelling – and this is a great story. You’ll be trying to guess what might happen but the action may not go the way you think it will,” she teases.
“The other thing about a thriller is that you have to work out if you believe in all the characters or if you think they are telling lies. People like the intrigue.”
Gwen is looking forward to being on the road again.
“The tour goes everywhere – what am I going to do in Perth when I have to speak with a Scottish accent?” she says, throwing her hands up in mock horror.
She is especially looking forward to Derby.
“Derby is my home town and it is just a joy to go back there. Derby people are wonderful and they really support their own. I meet people I was at school with and it’s just lovely.
“I was also able to tick flying off my bucket list in Derby, as I did panto there a couple of years ago and I had to fly!”
Gwen declines to provide any specific spoilers for the play but describes the outcome as “very satisfying”.
“My character’s trailblazing pays off against all the odds, but The Croft is the link to it all.
“I have a great belief in bricks and mortar inhaling and keeping emotional happenings in the stone. I think that explains sometimes the feeling you get when you walk in somewhere. Buildings big and small take in trauma and love. When we first walked into our house in London I said to my husband that I felt that the house had been some sort of harbour for people. Later we found some letters that explained that the owners had taken in Jewish people during the war. Harbour was the word I used and that is what it was; a harbour.”
Director and actor Philip Franks has one of the most understated programme biogs I have ever read. Barely spanning two paragraphs, for an award-winner whose credits span film, theatre, TV and radio, he is certainly a modest chap.
Philip talks eagerly about The Croft. Jumping straight in, he explains that the play’s roots are in the highland clearances; the forced evictions of numerous tenants in the Scottish Highlands and Islands between 1750 and 1860.
“It’s a thriller, it’s a love story and it’s a ghost story in about equal measure,” he tells me. “Three time schemes are intertwined and the furthest back is the aftermath of the highland clearances. Enid is clinging on to her home and facing a lot of pressure from outsiders. In the second story, a woman who is facing death and coming to terms with the break-up of her marriage, is trying to work out how much to tell her daughter. In the present day, we have a love story with conflict and difficulty. The third woman is the cog for the other stories coming back to life.”
Philip adds: “If I were pitching it as a movie, I would say that it is Daphne Du Maurier meets The Weir. It’s not a clockwork thriller and it’s not boring! Things will make you jump, make you laugh and make you cry.”
The concept of a house retaining secrets, trauma and emotion is an interesting theory to ponder. Does Philip buy into it?
“It is something that I can absolutely relate to. Although I have never experienced it personally, whether it is buying a house or walking into a National Trust property, places do have a ‘feel’ about them, especially when something of great emotional significance that is unresolved has happened. That a landscape contains an emotional charge is unarguable.”
Time-slip in storytelling is almost as old as storytelling itself. Unfolding across three generations, The Croft uses the same mechanism. It’s an effective method and one that Philip is familiar with.
“I was obsessed with Alan Garner’s young adult novel The Owl Service which deals with a similar territory.
“The television play The Stone Tape, which was about creating a sacred spot, is another good example.”
One aspect of the play that Philip is particularly keen to discuss is the three strong female characters at its heart.
“Am I pleased? Absolutely! The strong female characters are in tune with now and will resonate with audiences, I am sure. This is the moment we are in; it is really good to see a new piece led by three women.
“I am very interested in Lucy [Lucy Doyle plays the youngest of the three women]. I taught her at drama school and her first professional job was with Vanessa Redgrave and she got wonderful reviews. I think she’s really remarkable.”
With Caroline Harker (best known as Celia in BBC’s Middlemarch and WPC Hazel Wallace in ITV’s A Touch Of Frost) and Gwen Taylor, Philip has a hunch that the combination is going to be dramatically impressive.
“Gwen, at 80, is amazing. It will be wonderful to see the experience that she and Caroline will bring to the piece, and then there’s Lucy who is just sparkling with life.
“Expect to be swept up in an exciting and romantic story that will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up,” he promises. “It’s about relationships. Whether people admit it or not, we are all interested in relationships.”
The show runs from Monday, January 27, until Saturday, February 1, at Derby Theatre. Tickets: derbytheatre.co.uk, 01332 593939, from £20.