Behind the camera
An award-winning theatre director, ea Sherrock famously became the youngest artistic director in British theatre when she took over the reins at London’s Southwark Playhouse in 2001, at the age of 24. Her big-screen credits include Me Before You (2016) and e Beautiful Game (2024).
Although it’s a rip-roaring comedy, Wicked Little Letters has serious topics such as misogyny and racism woven into the script. Was that a di cult balancing act? ea Sherrock: at was the hardest and most important challenge, to be honest. e minute I read the script, I laughed out loud and had no idea it was based on a true story. So I knew that the comedy would be very accessible. But when you list those themes that are not hidden but woven within the script, they are all really weighty, serious topics. So it was vital that this lm could strike the balance between both.
Did you nd it nerve-racking attending the rst previews of the lm? With a drama, audiences tend to internalise their reactions; but with a comedy, you know immediately if you have struck the right chord…
In the past, I have previewed my lms rst with US festival audiences, but our rst preview for Wicked Little Letters took place in a little cinema just outside London and it was really interesting. I felt more nervous during those 20 seconds before the lm started because I suddenly thought I don’t know how a British audience is going to react. But there was a brilliant reaction and it was such a joy. Hearing laughter, whether expected or unexpected, is like being lled with warm honey.
As a stage director, you are known for embracing the collaborative process. Is that how you approach your lm work, too?
Yes, and when you start in theatre, like me, that’s how you have to be. It’s very vulnerable standing up on stage in front of a live audience. For me, that’s the beginning of the end of it, whether you’re the actor or the writer. In that moment as a director, it’s not about you, it’s about them. So I’ve always felt that my role is to facilitate the most important people the writers and the actors. I have to bring out the best in them and make them feel comfortable, but also make them feel brave and feel bold. I consider that a real privilege.
Wicked Little Letters opens nationwide in Irish cinemas on February 23