Five Questions With: Andrée Bernard

Picture: Kate Scott

TV and stage star ANDRÉE BERNARD’s first play, What (is) a Woman, with nine original songs, will run at London’s Arcola Theatre from 23 April to 4 May 2024.

What (is) a Woman, set over four decades, is a woman’s story of love, laughter and those invited along for the ride. This brand-new play takes us on a thrilling, hilarious and familiar journey that resonates with every single gender.

Here actress-writer-composer-singer Andrée tells Jeremy Chapman what it’s about and who she has written it for. It’s the latest instalment in Musical Theatre Review’s interview series Five Questions With…  

Opening soon at the Arcola Theatre on the London Fringe is something very close to your heart, Andrée – all your own work, What (is) a Woman, a play with songs. You wrote it and you’re the sole performer, as actress and singer. All this multitasking. Do tell us what’s going on!

There’s a lot of pre-production going on right now, arrangements for the score, lighting design, etc. I wrote the piece originally as a play. Loving film and how evocative film scores can be, I wanted the play to be underscored throughout which then evolved into adding the songs that come out of the scenes. Through readings and a workshop What (is) a Woman gained its own unique identity. I wrote the play I wanted to see and ultimately wanted to be in.

We go into rehearsals soon, so right now Michael [Strassen], the director, is working with Zoé Ritchie, our lighting designer, on design; Dan Looseley, our musical director, and I are working on score tweaks; and choreographer Lucie Pankhurst is creating the movement and dance within the piece. Costume fittings, artwork design and the start of press and PR are all filling time right now.

I understand you are playing all the male roles too. What is your play saying and why is it so relevant at this particular time?

Playing the various men is an opportunity for a female perspective on male traits. Writing and performing those characters from a very different standpoint adds a different and often amusing take on human foibles. Ultimately, the play is about people, love, relationships, loss, growing up and learning lessons. I didn’t want the play to be exclusively feminine, so a diverse ‘cast’ of characters, being played by a woman, has been a challenging but exciting way to include men within the story. 

I don’t want women to become invisible, especially as they get older and What (is) a Woman tackles that in a comedic and honest way. 

In a time where we’re embracing, brilliantly, anyone being anything they wish to be, I am unashamedly proud to be a woman and wanted the writing to reflect that as well as appreciate how times are changing. The more the play has been worked on, the more we realise the messages within the play are more pertinent now than ever.

You are principally known as a TV actress for shows like Hollyoaks, Holby City and, unforgettably, as Nervous Nerys in Only Fools and Horses – so is this your first venture into writing a show?

Yes, this is my first venture writing a full-scale show. I’ve been writing and composing for a while but, honestly, it took until now to have the confidence to stage a full production. It also was due do a lot of support and encouragement from some amazing people I deeply respect. Once I started the process, I just couldn’t stop… writing has proved to be such a joy and the ultimate creative outlet. Ultimately, the play gained its own momentum and once we gained American backing and the support of Mehmet Ergen, artistic director of the Arcola Theatre, we’re delighted to now embark on this production.

Have you composed the nine songs as well as written the script? I saw you sing beautifully in a workshop of Mike Read’s new musical City of Dreams in Esher last year but not everyone knows you as a singer. Tell us about your musical theatre career. I know you played Lois Lane in Kiss Me, Kate at the Old Vic, Cassie in A Chorus Line was another – and didn’t you make your debut with the great Frankie Howerd in A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum at Chichester?

Thank you for your kind words about City of Dreams. I actually started in musicals and have always loved them. Still do. My debut was actually in The Magic Castle at the Cambridge Theatre when I was 17, there was a stint at Hornchurch (Cabaret and The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole) and then, yes, I did a season at Chichester Festival Theatre, which included working with Frankie Howerd in Funny Thing; this was all while I was a teenager. My ‘break’ came while working at the RSC and being cast as Lois Lane in Kiss Me, Kate which I did at both the Old Vic and Savoy Theatre, a total joy and, to this day, one of my all time favourites.

I’ve been fortunate to work a lot within TV and film but always found myself itching to get back on stage every so often, so I have managed to intersperse TV shows with musicals, like Cassie in A Chorus Line, Gertrude Lawrence in Buchanan and Sheila in Hair in the West End. 

The passion of musicals is infectious and being able to use all three disciplines, acting, singing and dancing puts me in my happy place. That’s very much part of how What (is) a Woman came about and I’m so excited to be able to do all three things again. It feels like things have come full circle in a really good way.

With such a classy director as Michael Strassen you’re well on the way to success already. How did that come about and have you worked with him before? Do you have you any plans to take What (is) a Woman anywhere else?

I’ve respected Michael’s work for years. His imagination seems infinite and everything he directs is elevated to another level. I’ve known him for years and we always hoped to work together. When he said “I have to direct this play”, it was the perfect time and the perfect project for us to join forces. I’m beyond thrilled to have him as director. I trust his instincts. Plus, he calls a spade a shovel and gets results. Handing the artistic reins over to him is exciting. He is also passionate about women and it’s brilliant having his perspective on the piece. 

We recently worked together at The Other Palace on New Stuff with Kerry Ellis which was actually the first time we’ve worked together. Oh, and he’s an awesome human to boot.

This is the premiere London run of the show but we very much hope it will get picked up and transfer. That would be amazing, London, UK, abroad…. The joy with new work is, this is the start and we hope it’s just that, the first chapter on a journey with this new play. Ultimately, it comes down to audience reaction and we hope audiences will love What (is) a Woman and have a terrific night out.

It’s written very much as a theatre play (and will sit beautifully with in the Arcola Theatre), who knows what further incarnations could bring!

Andrée Bernard is a critically acclaimed TV, film and theatre actress. Her TV Series credits include: Hollyoaks, Only Fools and Horses, Doctor Who, Poirot, The Brittas Empire and Holby City. Her West End theatre includes: Sheila in Hair (Old Vic), Lois Lane in the RSC’s Kiss Me, Kate (Old Vic and Savoy) and Eve in 6 Actors in Search of a Director (Charing Cross Theatre). Other theatre highlights include: Steven Berkoff’s The Actor’s Lament (Edinburgh and UK tour), Side By Side By Sondheim (Toronto) and Cassie in A Chorus Line (Derby Playhouse). What (is) A Woman marks Andrée’s debut as a writer and composer for the stage.