5 minutes with: Dakota Blue Richards – 'The Golden Compass could have been damaging'
I had never even considered acting as a profession. It just seemed unattainable for somebody like me. I had done school plays and a bit of amateur dramatics but nothing remotely close to The Golden Compass.The open auditions for the film changed the course of my life massively. I was a huge fan of the books and meeting Philip Pullman was probably the most star-struck that I got out of everyone on that production. He is a hero of mine.
There was a lot of pressure for a 12 year-old, but the film was also the most amazing fun. I was so well looked after and I have a lot of people to thank for that. It could have been a very damaging experience if there wasn’t so much care taken to make sure I was well protected throughout.
I would do anything for Nikolai Foster. He is fantastic. He’s always got about twenty things he’s doing at the same time but he has a wonderful team around him at the Curve in Leicester, and he works with Chris Stafford [the theatre's CEO] so well. They are doing really exciting things with their productions – which might be shows people have seen a hundred times before but they are making them very new and fresh. With Grease, they’ve made the show gritty again.
When I first read What the Butler Saw I laughed out loud on public transport. Before Nikolai [who is directing] sent me the script I had heard of it, but never seen it or read it. It’s so funny and so relevant as well. Sadly it’s still the state of the world in many ways.
© Manuel Harlan
The play feels ready to burst at any moment. The whole thing is set in one room in an asylum in the '60s, and it starts with my character Geraldine in a job interview. It’s a catalyst that starts all the madness of the show, which gets more and more bizarre. There’s some crossdressing and mistaken identities. It can be quite dark, but it’s very human.
The Curve is a wonderful building. The moment you come through those doors it’s welcoming. When I first visited, there were teenagers breakdancing in the foyer and I asked Nikolai if there was a dance class going on. But there wasn’t. People just come and use it because it’s a safe space to be creative. The Curve really nurtures creativity and the theatre is entrenched in the community in Leicester.
Moving from film to theatre was terrifying. I was so scared of being live, because I always had the safety net of being on film. If something goes wrong, you can just do it again and nobody ever has to know, whereas on stage, once you’ve said your line you can’t take it back. You just have to accept that you screwed up, move on and hope it’s better the next night. When I did Arcadia in 2014, I took a leap of faith and I put my trust in the amazing director Blanche McIntyre. I had great people around me who helped me and guided me through it.
What the Butler Saw runs at Leicester Curve from 3 to 18 March and the Theatre Royal Bath from 27 March to 1 April.
