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!”

Review: Holes at the Arcola Tent

Holes 
Arcola Tent
Reviewed on Monday 21st July 2014
★★★★

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? On paper Holes doesn't sound like a comedy, but Phillip Breen's production of Tom Basden's play is surprisingly funny.