-
Q&A: Kathy Burke
The Guardian What is your earliest memory?Sausage and chips at Auntie Joan’s. What was your most embarrassing moment?In my 20s, walking past a building site and getting my first and last wolf whistle – I was so shocked I did the classic bumping into a lamppost. What would your super power be?Rendering a person speechless with a stony stare. What do you most dislike about your appearance?Happy with all of it – it’s other people who have expressed “dislike”. If you could bring something extinct back to life, what would you choose?Sammy Davis Junior. Who would play you in the film of your life?Beyoncé. What is your most unappealing habit?Smoking. What is your…
-
60-second interview: Kathy Burke
The Metro Kathy Burke is one of Britain’s best loved actresses for parts including the comedy roles of Waynetta Slob and Linda in Gimme, Gimme, Gimme. She won Best Actress at Cannes in 1997 for Nil By Mouth but gave up acting to direct in 2001. Her latest play, Brendan Behan’s The Quare Fellow, returns to London’s Tricycle Theatre after a sell-out national tour. The Quare Fellow has had great reviews. Does that bolster your confidence as a director?Not really – but it does get people in to see the play. Good reviews obviously help a lot more than bad reviews. We’ve done this play before and we know that it works and that…
-
Second run on Tricycle
Kathy’s production of Behan’s The Quare Fellow is to get a second run at the Tricycle Theatre, Kilburn, London. She took the classic play about prison on a UK tour between February and May last year to celebrate its 50th anniversary. Now, a year on, it’s back at the Tricycle from 25 May to 2 July. Tickets will be on sale from midnight tonight.
-
Kathy Burke and her quare fellow
Kathy Burke is one of our most popular actresses. Winner of the Best Actress Award at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival in 1997 for Gary Oldman’s lacerating Nil by Mouth, regular nominee and award winner in the TV comedy stakes, she could by now be pulling in the mega-bucks. She also taught me, “don’t just be involved as an actor in this business. Try and branch out and understand the other side of things”.’ Instead, here she is on a grey January evening, sitting in the bare dressing room of London’s famous Old Vic Theatre, solemn-faced, chain-smoking – a far cry from her larger-than-life comic creations – love-lorn Linda of Gimme Gimme…
-
Happy anniversary
Kathy is touring the country with her direction of Brendan Behan’s The Quare Fellow. Starting at the Liverpool Playhouse on 12 February and ending at the Tricycle Theatre in London on 8 May, it is a 50th anniversary production of Behan’s classic comedy-drama. Set in an Irish prison, the play follows the inmates, wardens and the quare fellow as his hour approaches. Performed by the Oxford Stage Company, it is the first time in 20 years that this masterpiece has been on the stage. Full details below. Click on the theatre website for more details and to buy tickets online: 12-21 Feb Liverpool Playhouse 0151 709 4776 www.everymanplayhouse.com 24-28 Feb Oldham Coliseum 0161…
