Monday 3 November 2014

Lancashire Evening Post Interview

The Lancashire Evening post recently caught up with Faye for a quick chat ahead of Shrek tours visit to Manchester in December.

She reveals how it was a fairly late decision to go into show business but I'm so pleased she persued a career in TV and theatre because there is absolutely no doubt she was born to be an actress.

Here is the interview in full:

Playing Princess Fiona is lovely Faye Brookes, busy settling into a new apartment near the River Thames in Kew.

“So I’m very busy” she said. “But I should add straight away I'm loving every minute.

“I’m from just outside Manchester and remember seeing the blockbuster film Shrek. Of course, the stage show has to be different but I am in awe of the actress who played Fiona in the film. It’s a lot to live up to.

“I started late in the acting business. It took me a long time to discover who I was. Wondering what I wanted to be and how I would get into the theatre business which is so tough and the competition so high.

“My parents couldn’t afford to send me to drama school – but I went to drama school anyway and was soon picked up for the West End production of Grease.

“I sometimes feel I’ll wake up and it will all be a dream. Here in Shrek we have a marvellous company.

“Of course I did 18 months in Legally Blonde – always on the road. Meeting people and talking to little girls who loved the show. Compared with some shows, this is a doddle. My northern roots have stood me in good stead.
“There’s no show business in the family. My dad is a mechanic, my sister’s a teacher. My brother works at a restaurant. If I do get a little bit above myself, my family tell me ‘Shut up. Who do you think you are?”

“I was 17 when a career in show business came into my head. I remember auditioning for the Little Mermaid musical at Pendleton College. A teacher, Neil Bennett, took me under his wing. He introduced me to the right people and I got into drama school with a scholarship, so I’m glad my parents didn’t have to fork out money they didn’t have.

“I was lucky to find a marvellous agent and haven’t stopped working for a whole decade.”

Faye regards herself as 'oh so lucky' to be spotted for the BBC drama Our Zoo which has just aired.

“I loved the acting and all the complicated rigmarole of making a TV drama. It was totally new and I found it stimulating and fascinating.

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