TO say the Mercury Theatre has been intrinsically linked to the career of Clare Humphrey would be an understatement.
She did her first job there straight out of drama school and since 2001 has been a firm fixture within the company, performing in at least ten plays and about eight pantomimes.
This season is a similar affair. Following her stint as the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella last Christmas, she will now appear in Dylan Thomas’s slice of unusual village life in Under Milk Wood and, after that, the world premiere of biblical epic, King David, Man of Blood.
Clare was born in East Acton, London, and studied at the London Studio Centre near King’s Cross, where she graduated in 1996.
Her first role was in the pantomime chorus for Dick Whittington at the Mercury Theatre. That same year, two familiar faces were also performing – Mercury favourites Tim Treslove and Roger Delves-Broughton.
She says: “It was massively different in terms of personnel then.
“Adrian Stokes was here, as well as Roger and Tim, but there wasn’t a company as there is now. I think having the idea of a company of actors is very interesting and creates such a family environment.
“The format means you know people straight away and when you work like that you’re comfortable and not afraid to make mistakes.”
That notion of a family of actors has introduced many artists to the company through friends and work colleagues, and has also seen them return time and time again, Clare included.
Even before her first proper play for the company, the Recruiting Officer in 2001, Clare had strong links through former Mercury actress, Katie Stephens, who is now with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and director Janice Dunn.
“I think Katie and Jan have to be my two best friends,” Clare says. “I met them on my third job at the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry. Katie was starring in the play and Jan was assistant director.”
At the time both were heavily involved with the Mercury. When Clare went to audition for that year’s pantomime, which Janice was directing, she was also asked to audition for a part in the Recruiting Officer.
The rest is theatrical history, with numerous Mercury parts to her name and later this month she will have several more, with Bethsebe in King David and a handful in Under Milk Wood.
Clare explains: “In Under Milk Wood all of the cast play many different characters, but my three main ones are Polly Garter, who is the village’s fantasy woman and therefore a bit of an outcast.
“Then there’s Mrs Pugh, very different to Polly and quite uptight, almost puritanical. She lives to nag her husband who is constantly plotting to kill her, so there’s lots of room for fantasy sequences where we can physically show what the characters are thinking.
“Finally, there’s Mae Rose Cottage, a 17 year-old young woman who is trying to discover who she is.”
Under Milk Wood is Dylan Thomas’s funny and touching tale which follows the lives of the extraordinary residents of the cheekily-named Llareggub (read backwards), an imaginary small Welsh fishing village.
One spring day, a host of peculiar, yet delightful, characters awaken, go about their daily tasks, gossip and daydream, but as night falls they dream of a past that might have been and a future that may hold hope.
As you would expect from a Mercury Company show, Clare is not the only familiar face in the cast with Christine Absalom, Ignatius Anthony, Roger Delves-Broughton and David Tarkenter also appearing.
In May, David and Clare will be back together on stage for the world premiere of King David, the new play by acclaimed playwright, Fraser Grace, a prospect Clare is very excited about.
She adds: “Fraser is a fantastic writer and this play is a real epic, very different to Under Milk Wood, which is pretty quirky.
“That’s what’s so great about being in this company, doing things you’ve never done before. I’ve never rested on my laurels and I do like a challenge and that’s what you get at the Mercury.”
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