Catherine Shepherd interview
What was your first reaction when you read the scripts for Sally4Ever?
I was so excited when I first read the scripts. They were so funny and original. They made me laugh out loud. Julia and I had talked about doing something together and played with ideas and improvised with some characters, but reading what she'd written - such an incredible thing in a way that only she could - was quite thrilling.
It is nerve-wracking though to be asked to be involved in something so bold and brilliant. I've always been a huge fan of Julia's work. And, in fact, I have always admired everyone involved in the show. I was aware this was going to be playing with the big girls (and boys) and you want to raise your game. You just hope you can keep up!
It sounds like you're excited to be working on a project created by Julia in particular?
I am so excited to be working on a project with Julia. It's kind of the stuff of dreams. I can stop now! Nothing will be as fun. She's so amazing.
What do you look for when picking and choosing your roles?
You hope for something to come along which allows you to feel part of a creative process, part of a group of creative people making something fresh and exciting and challenging together but it's incredibly rare. Something like this is one of a kind and I feel so lucky to be part of it.
Do you enjoy the twisted worlds and characters Julia creates?
I love the characters Julia creates. They are funny and messed up and tragic and delusional and weird and wonderful.
How would you describe your character?
My character, Sally, is someone who is so nice and polite she can't say no to things and gets into some pretty awful and extreme situations, unable to get out of them because she doesn't want to offend anyone. A lot of people, particularly women, will relate to that, I'm sure.
She has found herself in an oppressively boring relationship and escapes into the arms of the beautiful and dynamic self-proclaimed free-spirit Emma, who unlocks the bohemian and uninhibited person trapped inside.
But once the thrill of the affair has died down, Sally is just in another relationship which isn't quite right. She's so confused - confused about what it all means and whether she's just experimenting or needs to put a label on herself and her sexuality. It turns out a relationship with a woman is just as complicated and hard as any other.
Sally is also quite tired all the time. It made Julia and I laugh a lot - that very English thing of always going on about how tired you are. No matter how extreme or emotional the situation might be, Sally's primary feeling is one of being quite tired! Of course, what she's really doing is protecting herself from actually having to deal with what's going on, talking about what she's really feeling, or making decisions.
Finally, you have to love Sally. She means well and has a good heart but doesn't know what she's doing half the time.
How did you enjoy working with such a great comedic cast? Was it a fun set?
It was amazing working with such an incredible cast. I would often look around the room in disbelief at the people there. Such a fun set. But corpsing was a real problem for me. Laughing inappropriately has been a problem all my life so this was a struggle. Everyone was too funny and as we did a lot of improvisation, it was always surprising and newly funny. I think I probably laughed in every single take. That's not an exaggeration.
Julia is a bad corpser too so we were in real trouble. But she loves it when everyone's on the edge of laughing so never told me off. Thank God, because then it would have been a nightmare. I had to injure myself in order not to laugh. I wasn't really acting, I was just trying not to laugh. And some lines I never managed to get out. Terrible. Everyone was too funny.
I couldn't do it. The cast are mostly all writers too and love improvising so that was really fun and exciting, making something up with that lot is pretty much as good as it gets.
Julia directed the series. Can you define what it is that you, as an actor in a comedy such as this, ideally want from a director?
Julia is a fantastic director. She makes you feel totally safe to try things, to play. She creates an atmosphere where it's OK to get it wrong - because you can't really get it 'wrong' anyway. But you have to be able to fail, go down blind alleys, in order to find surprising things. Some of it won't work but sometimes there'll be magic.
Julia knows what she wants. She works with people who are friends and share a particular sensibility so kind of get it. She doesn't have to constantly explain the tone. It felt like there was an understanding which was really lovely.
The show is romantic in its own way. It's about how everyone just wants to love and be loved, regardless of their gender or sexuality. It's what we're all searching for. But people can be so confused and insecure and capable of self-deception - things get messy. We're just mammals trying to connect. The search for love is usually funny and tragic.
What should viewers expect from the series?
Viewers should expect something funny, irreverent, refreshing.
What makes you laugh?
People on the edge of extreme emotion make me laugh - people losing their temper, or about to cry or lose control but trying not to. Maybe that's because I'm English and it's funny seeing someone trying to repress themselves and failing! It's like when you get the giggles when your teacher is losing it and telling you off. Things which make me uncomfortable can make me laugh. It's an emotional response, close to being upset. Laughter is so close to crying isn't it?
People lying to themselves or other people gets me, too. The gap between what we want to be true and the reality is a quagmire which really makes me laugh. Scatological things make me laugh too and Julia's work is full of visceral bodily functions! There's a food poisoning sequence which was so funny I couldn't breathe.