Life lessons with Gwen Taylor
Actress Gwen Taylor (78) currently touring the country in The Importance of Being Earnest, tells Yours what’s important in her life
A decent breakfast is vital
It sets me up for the day and gives me enough energy to carry on until lunchtime. Touring is hard work but I love it. You get a different vibe each week as you play in a different town. It’s tiring but my solution to that is making sure I get enough rest and taking a 30-minute power nap whenever I get the chance.
Count your blessings
I was diagnosed with breast cancer four years ago but, touch wood, I’m fine now. I take the drug tamoxifen, which doesn’t really agree with me because it makes me blow up. I was moaning about it to a friend and she said, “Well would you rather be fat or dead?” She’s absolutely right. You’ve got to come to terms with things and be grown up about it. Health-wise, I’m actually very well.
New challenges are exciting
I’m playing Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest – a role that’s famously been played by such legends as Dame Edith Evans and Dame Judi Dench. These are big shoes to fill and I did baulk slightly to begin with. I mean, how do you say Lady Bracknell’s famous line, ‘A handbag?’ and make it your own. I think I’ve managed it, though. I’ve come at it with a different attitude. I’m getting on for 80 so if I don’t do it now, I never will.
My Duty Free regret
I very much regret not staying in touch with my Duty Free co-star Keith Barron who died last year. I kept meaning to call him and his wife Mary but I never got around to it. You know what it’s like... every morning you think, ‘Oh I must ring them’ but then the day flies by and it doesn’t happen.
My husband is my rock
I don’t know what I’d do without my lovely husband, Graham. It’s thanks to him that I can still take on a role in touring productions as he drives me from place to place and stays with me. He’s a bit like my minder! Graham’s a writer, so he can bring his work with him wherever he goes but he loves exploring new places so he’s always out and about when we arrive at a new place.
Laughter is essential!
A shared sense of humour is the quality I value most in friendship. Loyalty and trust are important but there’s nothing like having a good old giggle with friends. I have a couple of very old friends who I can have a laugh about anything with – even the cruelties of life.
Acting is part of me
I’d miss acting hugely if I were to stop. I don’t think I’d get bored as I can idle for England but it would feel like part of me was missing.