Tamara Harvey: 'Theatre is still far from being a family friendly industry'

When I interview Tamara Harvey, she’s busy. Not that she sounds it. For a person who has just taken over running Theatr Clwyd, is directing her first play there and has just given birth, she sounds positively zen. I’d think a person with that number and size of balls in the air might sound a little stressed. But from baby to building, Harvey is taking it in her stride. She’s no stranger to mountains of work: the gap between her last show – Pride and Prejudice at Sheffield – and her new production – Much Ado About Nothing – was about a year (in-between she began as artistic director of Theatr Clwyd) and it is the longest she’s been out of a rehearsal room since she was 20. She’s now 39 and has become one of Britain's finest directors over an extensive career where she’s helmed shows at theatres such as the Globe, the Bush and the Finborough, staged huge scale musicals (From Here to Eternity), directed hit comedies (The Kitchen Sink) and been involved in films – the blockbuster Anonymous.

You make being busy sound easy, is it?
It’s an absolutely bonkers amount of work, but there’s nothing like having 17 things to do at once to focus the mind. All the elements involved are incredibly exciting and I am very fortunate. Inevitably I have the occasional drowning and not waving moment but the very next thought is: ‘I’m the luckiest person on the planet’.

Is it possible to have a career like yours and a family too?
I think it’s a real challenge and it depends enormously on what your job is. At the moment I am lucky in that I am rehearsing six minutes from my house and I get to dictate the schedule. That’s a very different ball game for an actor, for example. I couldn’t do this right now if I didn’t have a mother who is prepared to help out more than any other human being should have to help out.

Is theatre a family friendly industry?
I’m lucky: there are lots of people in this building who are willing to give a baby a hug. But I think we are still very far from being a family friendly industry. Having a baby has made me more aware of how difficult it is. And I hope it will make me a better employer in the future. But I certainly don’t have the answers to all of the challenges. The new campaign PIPA – Parents In Performing Arts – is so important because its making sure we are having those conversations.

You’ve directed Much Ado About Nothing before, have your previous productions inspired you with this new one?
There is something taken from my experience directing it at the Globe, which was an all-female production. There are key roles which I think are really interesting if they are women. So we have Leonato as a woman – Leonata – and the friar is a woman and Verges is a woman. And we’re having a jig at the end which is quite a Globe thing. It’s a play I really love that I think asks important questions about women: about who we can be in society. It’s a glorious one for summer and it’s never been done at Theatr Clwyd before.

What was it like working on the mammoth project From Here To Eternity?
I’ve been really fortunate in my career in that I’ve been able to exist without being pigeonholed. For me part of the joy of being a director is being able to tell lots of very different stories in very different ways. The pressure on From Here to Eternity came when I wasn’t in the [rehearsal] room. When I was lying in bed thinking: ‘Oh my god’. But I had the most extraordinary company and I was surrounded by the most talented people, so actually the experience was one of the best I’ve had.

What’s your vision for Theatr Clwyd?
I want to make sure we are a vibrant thriving, hub both for our community and for artists generally. We have an extraordinary building in the most beautiful spot in Wales but within easy reach of the rest of the country and I want absolutely to make sure that we keep making great productions as we have been and that we are also becoming a centre for developing new work. I want us to become a home for writers and young companies and be at the forefront of making new pieces with other creatives and buildings.

Much Ado About Nothing runs at Theatr Clwyd until 2 July.