Noma Dumezweni: 'The role of Hermione is out of my comfort zone'

Speaking after her WhatsOnStage Award win for Best Supporting Actress in a Play for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, she said she was surprised at being offered the role of Hermione.

When asked how she felt when she was offered the part, she said: "Very shocked and very excited all at the same time. And out of my comfort zone, which I now understand is a very good place for me to be to create good stuff. "

Dumezweni explained how she was originally asked to take part in a workshop for the piece but hadn't ever thought she would end up playing the role. "It was a workshop I thought yeah I'll do a workshop, I'm not working at the moment, let's see what happens."

The actress also talked about producer Sonia Friedman – who was responsible for Harry Potter as well as other award winners Funny Girl and Dreamgirls. She said: "Sonia is extraordinary. I'm lucky to finally meet her working on this show with Colin Callender and they are absolutely beautiful people. They are realising all the [work] that's on right now.

"The world is an exciting place at the moment, weirdly enough because of all the chaos. With flux comes interesting creativity. I'm very lucky to be doing this."

At the 17th Annual WhatsOnStage Awards, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child broke records for getting more wins than any other play. The show took home eight awards including Best Director, Best Actor in a Play and Best New Play. The winners were announced during a ceremony at the Prince of Wales Theatre attended by theatre stars and creatives.

Click here for a full list of winners at this year's WhatsOnStage Awards