Ellie chats to Dakota Blue Richards, who is starring in anthropology at the Hampstead Theatre.
Firstly, how are you feeling ahead of opening?
Reasonably terrified. But very excited for people to see it. A lot of hard work and love has gone into the building of this production and the characters within it so I’m looking forward to sharing that with an audience.
Without spoiling anything, can you tell us a little about the story?
It’s a story about sisterhood and grief. When our story opens Angie (the character I play) has been missing, presumed dead, for over a year and her older sister Merril (played by MyAnnaBuring) employs her technological skills to recreate her in an unconventional attempt to find some closure.
How have you found exploring the role of Angie?
Entirely unlike anything I’ve ever worked on before. All the characters writer Lauren Gunderson has created are really rich and complex. Angie is full of human contradictions; she is chaotic, rude and can be irascible but she’s also perceptive, funny and determined. In Merril’s words, ‘everybody loved you, except for when they couldn’t stand you.’ And then I have to filter all that through an AI. Much of the work for me has been about striking the balance between the technology and humanity of her character, and the story as a whole. That has occasionally felt like an overwhelming task, but she is a real delight to play.
anthropology focuses on the use of Artificial Intelligence – would you say that this holds even more significance now, with regards to the concerns of writers around AI?
It’s certainly very timely. anthropology is a deeply personal and human story, but it does raise some interesting, and slightly unsettling questions about AI and its capacity for emulating human behaviour. Truthfully, Angie is probably a little more advanced than what we are currently capable of creating. But we’re not far off. Personally, I’m not too scared of AI itself but I do have concerns about the way people are using it and I do think it’s important that we put legislation in place to protect people’s rights, identities and careers.
How have you found working with this incredible cast and creative team?
Incredible. I have felt so supported and uplifted through this process by director Anna Ledwich and writer Lauren Gunderson, who are both incredibly astute and insightful, and also the fantastic cast. MyAnna Buring who plays Merril is an exceptional talent and carries the weight of the show effortlessly. I’m so grateful to have this opportunity to meet and work with her. Yolanda Kettle is just gorgeous in every way and brings so much warmth to the show and the production. And it’s a real treat to get to work with Abigail Thaw again, who is brilliant always and brings such complexity to Brin.
Which audiences do you think this show will connect with the most?
That’s actually something I’ll be interested to see myself. It’s quite unusual to see a science fiction story about technology where the female characters – and they are all female characters in this instance – aren’t portrayed as austere femme fatale types. There is so much messy, complicated, chaotic, lovely humanity in this story. I hope it resonates with everybody.
As well as theatre, you have worked a lot in film and television (Beecham House was one of my favourite Sunday night dramas!). How would you compare working on stage as opposed to film and tv?
Theatre feels like such a collaborative experience. In the world of television in particular, the sharing of opinions and ideas by actors, and young women in particular, is not usually encouraged. Theatre, and especially this production, allows so much space for exploration and experimentation. I feel really heard and valued and I feel able to deliver a much more considered and nuanced performance as a result.
You’ve had an amazing career, working on films like The Golden Compass, The Secret of Moonacre, and many more. What would you say has been a particular career highlight so far?
A Streetcar Named Desire at Leicester Curve. I think that answer tends to surprise people. But it was really a faultless experience. Nikolai is a fantastic director and I adored every member of the cast. It was so much fun and one of the first times I felt really and truly proud of the work I had done. I would go back and do it again in a heartbeat.
You’ve also written for film and tv – do you have any advice for young writers you could share?
The best advice I ever received was from Skins and Endeavour producer Neil Duncan who told me ‘Structure will set you free.’ Read books on screenwriting – I’d highly recommend Linda Seger’s Making A Good Script Great. Read scripts. Learn what works and what doesn’t. Study brilliant films. Study films that could have been brilliant and didn’t quite make it. Be strict. Know where you need your characters to be by page 10, page 45 and page 90 and get them there. And once you’ve done that, if you really want to, you can throw all the structure away.
Things in live theatre don’t always go to plan – do you have any funny or memorable onstage mishaps from past productions you could share with us?
I think I’ve been lucky not to have too many of these experiences. I do seem to be cursed by doors that stop opening mid-show. I have found myself trapped on or off stage on multiple occasions, and have at times had to resort to walking through walls. And I am accident-prone, I’ve often discovered myself to be bleeding from mysterious wounds after the show. Luckily this production is quite sparse on the prop front so there should be little opportunity for that. Also I’m never required to use a door.
Do you have any advice for young people wanting to start a career in the theatre industry?
I’m not the best person to advise on this as my journey into acting was somewhat unconventional. My best advice is to make sure it’s really what you want to do. Theatre is tough to break into, even for established screen actors, it’s competitive, hard work, long hours, emotionally demanding and there’s absolutely no money in it. You have to be incredibly resilient and dedicated. But if acting is really who you are, there’s nothing quite as fulfilling as being on stage.
And lastly, why should audiences buy tickets to anthropology?
I can only speak to the level of talent, passion and hard work that has gone into creating it. Anna has brought Lauren’s incredible, compelling work to life in such an interesting and unexpected way. Yolanda, Abigail and, of course, MyAnna have breathed such life into their characters and brought such depth and texture to their performances. It would be our pleasure to share this story and experience with you all.
anthropology is at Hampstead Theatre until 14 October. Tickets are available from https://www.hampsteadtheatre.com/whats-on/2023/anthropology/#details
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