Q&A: Anna Tolputt, Rep Actor

My first creation production was the online Witch of Edmonton a couple of years ago.  My favourite moment is when one of the actresses accidentally fell backwards through her greenscreen, mid speech.  She was in a beautifully elegant Edwardian drawing room at the time which sort of crumpled to reveal a pot plant and a white wall.  It made my night.  It is only my second best falling over anecdote though. The first was when a friend of mine was on a long tour and she was so bored she fell over on stage FROM A STATIONERY POSITION.  She literally just forgot to keep standing up.  I find these things beautifully relatable.   I think you can easily fall in love with someone just because they fall over a lot.  This is very lucky because Emily is playing Beatrice.

My first acting role was playing a fairy aged 6 in a production of midsummer night’s dream for an open air Shakespeare festival.  I was with my dad and he obviously felt he needed to keep me occupied so he suggested I test everyone on their lines.  I took this second role very seriously and was ferocious about it to the point where people were terrified when they saw me coming at them with a script.  After a while I didn’t need the script because I’d learnt everyone else’s lines anyway. I would ambush them on dark nights. It was all lights in trees and poetry and the smell of mosquito repellant.  I think I decided then that there was pretty much no reason to do anything else.  I didn’t think I’d do acting as a job – just that I’d carry on doing it.  Forever.  And nothing else.

What does it mean to be part of a rep company?

I love being part of a rep company.  I mean seriously, thank goodness Creation hired me because all my frustrated theatrical ambitions were being channelled into my children’s birthday parties.  I’d be turfing the whole inside of the house and we’d find bugs for months afterwards.  Or I’d scream at my children on their actual birthdays:  “Out of my way!!  Can’t you see I’m in birthday TECH WEEK.”  They’ll miss it now it’s gone though.  They’ll be lucky to get a cake this year.

This is a bad question to ask me now because I suffer from a really serious form of Oxford summer sentimentalism.  When it’s like this I find it impossible to do anything other than gurn at people and say “Just. Look.  I mean – TREES!  FLOWERS!”  And occasionally I name them.  “Wisteria.  Rose.” Like I am audio describing Oxford. It’s best to give me a wide berth at this time of year.  I love the river best.  Everything about it especially swimming in it.

I’m playing Benedick.  It’s a good part for me because I get to laugh at other people for being short.