Dawn Steele on the 'daunting' prospect of her Fringe debut

The Herald Scotland

4 days ago

She is about to make her debut appearance at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in a play which will also mark her return to the stage for the first time in more than a decade.
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The actress says the chance to appear in the play came at 'the right time,' ahead of her 50th birthday later this year, at a time when she was affected by the downturn in Britain's TV drama industry.
It will also realise her growing ambitions to become part of the Fringe after attending numerous shows with friends in recent years and a desire to return to the stage.
Dawn Steele will be appearing in the Fringe play Skye at Summerhall. (Image: Supplied)
Steele is preparing to play a number of characters in Skye, a chilling family mystery, set on the Hebridean island of the same name 30 years ago.
She will be taking centre stage in the debut play by award-winning author and Fringe producer Ellie Keel.
Dawn Steele has been most recently seen on screen in the crime drama Granite Harbour. (Image: Newsquest)
Steele will be starring opposite fellow Glaswegian James Robinson, who played the young William Wallace in Braveheart, in Skye, part of Summerhall's Fringe theatre programme.
The play will be Steele's first stage work since she appeared in the comedy thriller A Perfect Murder, an adaptation of the best-selling Peter James novel, in 2014.
Previous roles included the John Byrne plays Cuttin' a Rug and Tutti Frutti, the latter with the National Theatre of Scotland and David Harrower.
Speaking to The Herald during a break in rehearsals, Steele said: 'I've not done any theatre for quite a long time.
'It's not really been a choice, but is just the way it's worked out. I'd love to do more theatre, but I just don't get asked.
'I was sent this play by my agent as Ellie, the writer, wanted to hear it read out loud before. She has produced a lot of theatre but this is her first play.
'When I read it, I did think: 'If they ask me to do this, I'm going to have to say yes.'
'In a way, I was scared. I thought 'I hope they don't ask me to do this. It's very wordy, it's a two-hander and I'll be on stage for a whole hour.'
'But I was just really compelled by the script. It felt quite magical to me.'
Skye focuses on the main character of Annie and her siblings after they see a ghostly vision of their father on a beach four years after this death.
Steele said: 'The play is about an incident that happened on Skye when the children were young, which changes the course of their lives. Annie retells the story with the help of her brother Brawn.
'I don't want to give too much away, but I would say it's a cross between a ghost story and a thriller.
'It's ultimately about memory, how it plays tricks on you, particularly in a family context, and what people hold onto.
'When I read the script I got a real feeling for it and I really loved the character of Annie. I thought she would be a real challenge to play.
'A big part of the appeal is that it's going to be on at the Fringe, which I've been to a lot with friends over the last few years.
'Everything we saw last year was really good. I do remember thinking: 'I would really like to do something here.' When you see really good theatre you want to be up there.'
Keel is bringing Skye to the Fringe after producing a number of previous plays at the festival, including Bullring Techno Makeout Jamz and The Last Show Before We Die. She made her name as an author last year with debut novel The Four, about a group of boarding school students bound by a chilling secret.
Steele said: 'It feels daunting doing this play because I've not done theatre for a while, but it's not like I've never done theatre before. I've done a lot.
"The last two-hander I did was Blackbird, which was pretty daunting. With anything that is a two-hander or a solo show it is pretty exposing. It was also a very challenging play. I remember thinking: 'Oh my god, I'm never going to get through it.' Before I knew it we were touring it around the country.
'The thought of doing new writing at the festival really appealed to me. It's been really interesting and challenging. We've been changing stuff on a daily basis. It's been a bit like doing stuff with John Byrne. The play has changed quite a lot, but for the better.
'I'm so used to TV, where the script is the script, and that is it. Theatre is much more collaborative than TV. There's more of a process. It's not just a case of turning up and doing your lines.
'It feels like this has come into my life at the right time. I'm going to be 50 later this year. It's going to be a real challenge, but I want to be challenged and I'm really prepared to take this on, because I feel I can do it. I'm jumping in head first.
'Were doing the play in a room with 140 seats. I won't have played in front of such a small crowd since I was in my mum and dad's living room.
'All of those things are quite scary, but it's also why I want to do it. It's getting me back into the rehearsal room and doing what I really loved in the first place about acting before I got into TV. I obviously love working in TV, but it is very different. Theatre and TV are two very different beasts."
Steele, who has previously starred in Hoby City, Wild at Heart and River City, has been seen on screen most recently in the crime dramas Shetland and Granite Harbour, with filming due to get underway on the next series of the latter shortly after the Fringe.
However Steele admitted she jumped at the chance to return to the stage after her quietest ever spell for TV work recently.
Steele said: 'I've worked my whole career. I've not stopped. I know I've been really lucky.
'But it's been really quiet recently. A lot of actors are not working at the moment. It is a bit of a buyer's market. People can pick and choose who they want.
'There is less money around. People are being very picky about what is getting made. There is just less getting made and there is less work. It just filters down.
'I'm not doing the play because I was desperate for work. I'm doing it because I really like the play.
'If there isn't a lot of work on the ground, when something comes along that makes me sit up and think 'this is really good' I'd be stupid not to do it.'
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