All About Manchester

Who's the mummy?

How do you get a theatre audience in the noughties to care about a highly incompetent mother in the fifties? The Royal Exchange Theatre has found the answer to this question in the form of Manchester actress Sally Lindsay. The 35-year-old bubbly blonde, who became a household name as Shelly Unwin in Coronation Street, has been cast in the role of roving mother Helen in Shelagh Delaney's iconic Salford drama A Taste of Honey. Appealing to the audience's sense of empathy as Helen may not be easy, but the actress tells All About Manchester she will give it her best shot.

Since leaving Coronation Street in 2006 you have concentrated on work in the theatre. Is this something you've always wanted to do or has it been hard to find TV work after such a high-profile role?

I've done lots of bits and bobs on TV, including Scallywagga for BBC 3. So I'm still very much interested in working on TV, but theatre has offered me so many diverse parts. In television they want you to be what you were successful in, so they want me to play a different version of Shelly, which is fine; I don't mind that, I love Shelly. But in theatre I played a Bosnian Olympic pole-vaulter in Eurobeat, I played a stroppy old aristocrat in Much Ado About Nothing and I'm now playing a Salford mother in A Taste of Honey.

This is your debut at the Royal Exchange Theatre. How did it come about?

When I left Coronation Street, director Jo Combes asked me if I'd be interested in playing at the Royal Exchange. I said of course I would. It's a magical place and I've always loved it - when I was younger I used to queue up for front row seats every Friday morning before college to see the new production. When A Taste of Honey came along, Jo thought I'd be good for the part of the mother. And I felt that I'd come to a point in my life when I was ready for it. I've done most other things.

How is this theatre different from other theatres you've played in?

It's a pure theatre in the round so it's physically massively different. It's also a very personal space. There is almost no line between audience and performer, so everyone can get completely absorbed in the experience.

Doesn't the intimacy of the space frighten you at all?

I actually like it. Television is like that anyway, because the camera is so close to you that you have nowhere to hide. So the Royal Exchange is a mixture between traditional theatre and a cinematic/televisual style.

This will also be your first time acting in Manchester since you left Coronation Street. How do you feel about performing in your home town?

I love it. I know the stakes are a bit higher because everybody I know will be watching and that's quite scary. But it also makes me work harder and try to get it right and be proud of something that I'll perform for the people I love most in the world in the town I love most in the world. I was over the moon when I got this role.

In A Taste of Honey you play Helen, who is basically a crude, horrible mother. What attracted you to this role?

I've always been a fan of A Taste of Honey. It is such an important play. I think it was the first time that people on stage actually looked like normal people. Before that, plays did not deal with working class people or address social issues; there was nothing gritty on stage. So it helped to revolutionise British theatre and it had an impact on TV, too. I don't think Coronation Street could have happened without it and I don't think gritty northern drama could have happened without it.

On a character level, it's very interesting playing Helen so the audience don't hate her.

Has this role presented any new challenges for you?

Yes, because I've never really played a mother before, so it's taught me a lot about the mother-daughter relationship. My mum is fantastic, so I think about what she would do and do the opposite for Helen. My mum has always been very encouraging and supportive. Helen is completely opposite. She doesn't put her daughter, Jo, down but she is indifferent. She thinks she's doing alright just putting food on the table. She had Jo when she was in her early 20s but she was very naive and she just never was any good at it. Women are supposed to have the natural ability to be mothers, aren't we? But what if you just can't do it?

Is there more to Helen than meets the eye?

Totally. Helen is a complex character. She's a survivor and she drags her daughter along with her as best she can. I think something that is overlooked about this character is that she is vulnerable and she is just trying her best on her value system, which is not a very good one but it's the only one she's got.

Do you think you'll be able to get any sympathy from the audience as Helen?

I'll try to. I'll probably end up splitting the audience.

The play was very controversial when it first opened 50 years ago, but is it still relevant today?

Absolutely. Teenage pregnancy is still looked down on; yes you get benefits now, but it's still not accepted. Our attitude towards interracial relationships has changed, but has it changed as much as we like to think it has? And the subject of motherhood is always relevant. How are you expected to be as a mother? I mean, you've got to be everything now. You've got to be a career woman and an amazing mother and a great laugh when you go out for dinner with friends. It's not easy, and because Helen does it so badly, it becomes relevant.

Are you changing your appearance for this role?

Yes, I'll have a 50s bobby haircut. But I think I'll still be blonde. Helen would have been, really.

Tell us a bit about the other cast members.

Jodie McNee, who plays my daughter Jo, is a fantastic girl and a cracking actress. Paul Popplewell, who plays my lover, is hilarious. And this gorgeous actor, Adam Gillen, who plays Geof - he was born for this part, he is so talented. Marcel McCalla plays Jimmie and he is another great actor. I think the casting is phenomenal. I'm very honoured to be working with these people. And Jo Combes has directed some very successful productions; in fact she's never had a duff one yet.

What's in the pipeline for you after A Taste of Honey?

On Christmas Day the Wallace and Gromit film comes out on BBC 1 and I play Piella Bakewell, which is very exciting because I've not done animation before. After that, we start filming the next series of Scallywagga.

A Taste of Honey runs from Nov 12 to Dec 6 at the Royal Exchange. For more information visit www.royalexchange.co.uk.

Digital Edition

Corrie - the play

Free beauty products

Aspiring entrepreneur?

Who's the mummy?