‘You've got to have dreams' - EastEnders star in Fringe show
In August, the north Londoner is set to appear in Edinburgh in Motorhome Marilyn. She explains the premise of the one-woman play, and the compulsion to create the role. 'Back in the day, I used to go back and forwards to Los Angeles quite a bit. Then, about seven years ago, I was outside the Chinese Theatre where the lookalikes hang around and I saw this woman dressed as Marilyn, wearing the white iconic halter neck dress, the platinum hair, the lot. But she was getting out of an old American motorhome – and was putting money in the meter.
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'And I thought to myself 'Wow, that's a great visual!' And as I watched her, she turned and waved, but I realised she was as old as me, not at all like the rest of the young Marilyn lookalikes in the area. Later, I was told she lived around the area. But this woman really stuck in my mind. How did she come to live this life? What was her backstory?'
Collins never managed to find out the woman's tale, but having developed her own theatre projects in the past she commissioned writer friend Stewart Permutt to come up with a script to match the visual she had witnessed. The result is beguiling; Denise is an English girl who headed to Hollywood years ago with her boyfriend to try her luck in the movies. But things didn't work out as planned. And the result was she becomes a Marilyn impersonator, working the convention centre and parties, eking out a living while sleeping in her campervan in parking lots.
That's all tragic enough, but Collins illustrates that the play asks the deeper question; what is the true cost of failure? And what is Denise's secret that she keeps?
However, the 'Marilyn' story Collins helped construct didn't slide onto the Fringe stage effortlessly at all. Five years ago, the venue was booked, the posters drawn – and then Covid attacked. 'And Stewart contracted Covid, and never wrote again,' says the actor, in soft voice. 'And he died last year.'
Permutt had insisted however the play should appear at some point and writer Ben Wetherill was brought in to re-draft the tragi-comedy survival story. Collins reveals it has another theme. 'We do judge people in this world,' she explains. 'But we have to consider that no one sets out to become a Marilyn impersonator and live in a run-down campervan. She's also eccentric, but someone who ran away from home and we learn what happened to her.'
Are there echoes of Alan Bennett's Lady in The Van and mental health issues? 'Do you know what, I think you're right. I'd forgotten about that play. This is also about someone who's homeless, and eccentric, but once had a very different life. The difference (from Lady in the Van) is Denise is obsessed with Marilyn and her home is a shrine to the legend.'
Michelle Collins (Image: Agency)
Michelle Collins, who also starred in Coronation Street, was never obsessed with Monroe but admits that her fascination has amplified hugely during research. 'She was far more intelligent than is suggested- she started her own production company way before others were doing it. She was political and felt strongly about civil rights and took the major studios to court. And the way she was treated was terrible. Hollywood at the time was brutal.'
It's not hard to discern the commitment in Collins' voice to taking on the Marilyn role. And she wanted to take on the sort of role that is so often denied to females in the business. 'We are living in a world that's obsessed with youth. It's all about Netflix and sexy young things. But I don't think people want to see that all the time. They want to see older people perform. And that's why I think EastEnders is particularly good for having older people at the centre of the stories.'
She adds; 'But when you hit your 40s the lead roles don't come as often as they did. So, you have to fight for them.' Or create them. But wasn't there a risk in asking the TV soap for a leave of absence to take to the stage? 'I was determined I wanted to do it,' she says smiling. 'Thankfully, after a sharp intake of breath the producer agreed.' She adds; 'But I've always been creative. I like to go out of my comfort zone, and I've never conformed really.'
That's so true. Collins was prepared to leave the comfort and wage joy of EastEnders to take her chances. And bold enough to return after a 25-year break. Particularly when her character Cindy, incidentally, was dead. 'Yes!' she declares. 'When I went back, I felt very much an alien and an outsider. I was scared to go back for many reasons. I worried if people would be interested in Cindy anymore. Would I still be able to play her? Would I be accepted (by the cast). And of course, yes, she was dead.' The actor laughs. 'But thankfully people have now forgotten she was away for all those years in a witness protection scheme.'
Collins' voice becomes more animated as she talks of performing at the Fringe for the very first time, after years of being an audience member. 'You know, I don't believe in failure anymore. I'm going to make sure I enjoy this. And blimey, I'm in the third act of my life now, (she's 63) but I've got a lot of energy. And you've got to keep trying new things.'
The actor adds; 'I needed to do this. And you've got to have dreams, haven't you. Mine is to make this play success.'
Motorhome Marilyn, the Gilded Balloon Patter House, Edinburgh, July 30 to August 25, at 5.30pm.
To purchase tickets for the Fringe, please click here
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