Interview: Elizabeth Berrington

Elizabeth Berrington is currently starring as Marie in Tom Basden’s play Holes which has transferred to the Arcola Tent. 

Elizabeth’s stage credits include The Low Road (Royal Court), Absent Friends (Harold Pinter), Abigail’s Party (Hampstead) and The Country Wife (Sheffield Crucible). Just a few of her countless screen credits include Babylon, New Tricks, Doctor Who, Waterloo Road, The Alan Partridge Movie, In Bruges, Nanny McPhee, Vera Drake and Quills.

A plane crashes in the middle of nowhere and only four passengers survive: three work colleagues and a young girl too afraid to talk. Will they be rescued? Will they be forced to begin a new life? 

I saw Holes a few weeks ago and loved it. At first Basden’s piece appears to be a light comedy before transforming into a tremendous play about humanity. Elizabeth tells me that’s what first attracted her to the production, “It’s so cruel and so dark. Like you say, the thrill about it is that as it gets darker and darker, the comedy doesn’t really lighten up – the comedy remains. That’s the challenge of Tom’s writing; he doesn’t really let you off the hook. I think that can sometimes make an audience feel quite uncomfortable, but I am certainly enjoying it!”

Holes has transferred to London following a successful run at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival. “The play was put on in Edinburgh last year as a one act play” Elizabeth told me. “Both Mathew (Baynton) and Daniel (Rigby) have stayed with the piece and it’s just me and Sharon (Singh) who are brand new. We only had a two week rehearsal period which is very challenging. At first I was more focussed on getting the play and knowing those lines and then only more recently I’ve spent time thinking about the piece and enjoying the character.”

Mathew Baynton and Elizabeth in Holes

Elizabeth steals the show as HR manager Marie who says all the best one-liners. Poor Marie never really digests the situation and uses it as an opportunity for a well-deserved holiday. “I just love her!” Elizabeth confesses, “I suppose the interesting thing about Marie is that she’s obviously comfortable in her working environment, but what I didn’t realise at first is that really she’s an idiot [laughs]! She can function in her nine to five job but beyond that she struggles! She’s great fun to play!”

The Arcola Tent is a very unique space and perfect for Phillip Breen’s production, but Elizabeth tells me performing in the round can be tough when doing comedy, “In that respect it’s a challenge, but it is very intimate and the way the stage is lifted and elevated means I don’t think the audience miss out on anything. It makes it a very intense place to be which lends itself to the claustrophobia of the piece.” 

The venue is extremely hot and you certainly feel as if you are with the characters on the tropical island. “Wear something cool and bring a bottle of water!” Elizabeth advises. 

Basden’s writing is so clever as not only has he created a hugely thought-provoking situation, but he’s also written these four incredible contrasting characters who all bring out different things in each other. “The interesting thing is to find a situation and then turn it on its head” Elizabeth said when I asked her what she thinks is the secret of Basden’s success.

“There’s the trauma of a huge accident and then he puts these four characters together who are the last people on earth! It’s like they’re all stuck in Purgatory and all in love with the wrong person. That’s where the comedy comes from, everybody is rubbing against each other and there is constant friction.”

And finally, what would Elizabeth have to take with her to a desert island? “I would have to take means of escape really wouldn’t I? I think I would need a SatNav [laughs]! I would want no insects and a comfortable hammock… perhaps a nice sarong!”

Interviewed by Andrew Tomlins (Editor)

Holes runs at the Arcola Tent until Saturday 9th August 2014.
Please visit www.holestheplay.com for further information and tickets.

Photo Credit: Idil Sukan

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