To be or not to be an actress

i Love tamsin greig, hilarious as the mum in Friday night Dinners, terrific in green Wing, episodes and on the stage. She is the sort of person who signs round- robin letters to the guardian, is a vegetarian and a ‘supporter’ of the NHS (who isn’t?), but i still like her because she is a fine comic actress — or is she?

tamsin, complete with black pageboy wig, is starring as a female malvolio (malvolia) in twelfth night at the national theatre. yet not everyone agrees this progressive, gender fluid production is such a terrific idea. our own Quentin letts hilariously decided that she looked like ‘a cross between Richard iii and campaigning lawyer gareth Peirce’, while the man from the Daily telegraph complained that this was ‘the death of the great male lead’.

tamsin responded by saying that he would have ‘not dared to say anything if it had been a black man playing malvolio’. that must have been a joke, right?

She also criticised descriptions of her as a ‘comedy actress’, and an ‘androgynous star’ — even though she is an actress noted for playing comedic parts and is now a star playing a role androgynously.

like many of her peers, tamsin feels that being called an actress rather than an actor is sexist and demeaning. yet over the years she has never minded being nominated for various gender specific awards, including Best Actress in a Comedy awards, Best TV Comedy Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress in a Play.

in 2007, she actually won the laurence olivier Award for Best Actress and was so excited when she went onstage to accept it she said: ‘i think i’ve just done a wee. thank you very much, i am so blessed.’ So is she actress or not?

but only when it suits madame.