WHEN Denise Van Outen crashed out of the TV show Dancing on Ice due to a dislocated and broken shoulder, she found herself with time on her hands.
With weeks of lockdown in front of her, and recovering at her Chelmsford home, the star was itching to find something to do.
Inspiration soon struck in the form of her one-woman play, Some Girl I Used to Know – first performed to sell out audiences in the West End back in 2014.
And so over the Easter weekend her newly filmed unique pilm (play and film) will be live streaming and raising money for Make a Difference Trust.
Denise said: “I just sort of sat there at my home thinking I don’t know what I’m going to do now because in my head I’d been hopeful I’d be working until March on Dancing on Ice.
“And I’m not one to be sitting around.
“And then it was a lightbulb moment.
“In the news they were talking about the arts and how devastating it’s been for performers and I just thought, I’ve got a play sitting there.
“It’s only got me in it, so it’s Covid-safe. It’s got a lot of humour in and it’s a lot of fun. I know that there’s an audience that love it. From when I did it before I still get people messaging me.
“It’s about a woman who is sitting in a hotel room completely on her own and she’s reflecting on her life and that’s what we’ve all been doing, we’ve all been stuck indoors, so you can relate to the person.”
Essex-based firm Tapp’d Cocktails sponsored the production and Denise got TV and theatre star Tamzin Outhwaite on board as director.
Denise explained: “I was going to rent a theatre, and do it in a theatre, but that came with a set of issues.
“Then I thought, why don’t I try and stick to a hotel? We got London’s Home House Club and Hotel, and they offered to let me use one of their suites. Tapp’d cocktails offered to sponsor me to get the film made, which allowed me to employ a crew and a team of people who hadn’t worked for a year which felt amazing.
“Having Tamzin on board made me feel totally at home and it’s been a special experience rebirthing the character of Stephanie. She’s finding her way, acknowledging her personal strength and navigating her way through a tricky situation. It’s a joy to play her again.”
Tickets for the stream – which runs from Friday to Easter Monday - will cost £10.
Denise said: “We wanted to make it affordable for people. I’m aware of West End prices for shows are expensive. We thought, let’s just charge £10 and you get what is essentially a West End show streamed into your home.
“It’s Easter weekend, there’s nothing to do, nothing’s open yet. You still can’t see a bubble in a beer garden, if we’re ever going to do it, let’s do it now because people need a bit of an uplift.”
Does she need a bit of an uplift too? How has she personally found lockdown?
Denise said: “I’m the same as everyone. I miss seeing friends. I miss seeing family, I’m thrilled my parents have had the vaccine, but we still haven’t been allowed to see each other properly
“I am, like the rest of the nation, looking forward to sitting in a pub beer garden, with a little white wine on the go and seeing my friends and weather picking up and just trying to get some kind of social life back.
“We live near the Lion Inn and we’ve missed going there.
"But what has kept us going? We’ve been getting regular take-outs from Robin’s Pie and Mash in Chelmsford. They’ve kept us going in lockdown knowing that we can get our pie and mash still.”
For more information and tickets, go to www.somegirl.co.uk
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