Rhubarb 2017

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8 ST EDWARD’S rhuba rb
Pippa made her stage debut at the age of 11
in the London cast of The Lion King. She was
more interested in singing and music before St
Edward’s, but then fell in love with drama, with
her roles in school plays including Gwendolen
Fairfax in The Importance Of Being Earnest. She
graduated from RADA in 2010, has received
the Carleton Hobbs Radio Award, performed
at the National Theatre and the Royal Court
Theatre, and recently played Saibra in Doctor
Who. In 2012 she was nominated for Best
Actress at The Evening Standard Theatre
Awards, and was named one of the 1000 Most
Influential Londoners in 2012 in the category
‘Generation Next’. She sits down with her
former drama teacher, and former Director of
The North Wall, Lucy Maycock, to describe
her journey so far.
Pippa, I spent a lot of time with you
when I was Head of Drama at St
Edward’s. How would you describe
your time at School (both inside and
outside of drama lessons)?
I loved my time at Teddies. I look back on my
five years really fondly. Teddies does an excellent
job of looking after each pupil’s strength, be it
drama, or sport or the sciences. You, Lucy, were
a huge part of my Teddies life, giving me the
prospectus for RADA and encouraging me to
audition. Without this, I probably wouldn’t have!
Outside of drama lessons I was mostly found
doing sports or eyeing up expensive clothes in
Vanilla on South Parade.
How did your school experiences
shape your choices after leaving
School? Did you always plan to go
into acting?
That hadn’t always been my plan, but you
gave me the confidence to consider acting as a
profession. It became a serious option once I
had the prospectus for RADA, and even more
serious when I got in!
Since leaving drama school and acting
professionally, what has been your
most challenging role to date?
There have been a few challenging roles, but
Dorinda in The Beaux’ Stratagem that I did
in 2015 at the National Theatre was very
challenging. Restoration comedy is so hard.
What has been the most memorable
moment of your career so far?
Playing Cordelia with Derek Jacobi as King Lear
at the National Theatre in 2011.
You have worked on the stage, and
forTV and radio – how do you prepare
for these different media? Is one
more enjoyable or challenging than
the others?
I enjoy all three! Each medium requires a
different kind of discipline. Stage is probably
the hardest, doing the same thing night after
night, adjusting your body clock from the
rehearsal period to the performance period.
Remembering all your lines can be challenging,
but it’s also very enjoyable. If I’m doing a play,
I always make sure I’m off book by the
beginning of rehearsals.
Filming is great as you can always ask
to ‘go again’, and have another go at
the scene (a luxury one doesn’t have
on stage), but normally if you’re on a
big show there can be lots of waiting
around in trailers etc. Radio is a lot
of fun. There is little preparation as
you don’t have to learn the lines. It’s
similar to working on screen, but the
mic becomes your scene partner.
What are you working on at the
moment?
I have just finished a period drama,
Harlots, for ITV and HULU in America.
It’s about prostitution in the 18th century.
And in the future?
I’m going to do a second season of
the comedy series, Sick Note, due to
air on Sky Atlantic this year.
F E A T U R E S
The Creative Arts
Pippa Bennett-Warner ( J, 2001-2006)