The next interview in our stagey chat series is with KT Marsh, who's currently in The Trials and Passions of Unfamous Women, playing at Brixton House as part of LIFT 2024.

Get yourself comfy and join us for the next segment of Stagey Chat!

Hi, how are you? Thanks so much for chatting to Stage to Page today! Would you mind introducing yourself and telling our readers how you first got into acting?

My name is Kim, but I go by KT Marsh. I got into acting when I was struggling with depression after a string of bereavements. That’s when I found Clean Break—I did a course in Writing for Theatre and one in Emotional Wellbeing which back then was called “Improve your mental health.” Then Clean Break kept trying to get me acting. I kept saying “no thanks!” but then they persisted so I said “oh ok then” and here I am now!

The Trials and Passions of Unfamous Women is currently having its world premiere in Brixton House as part of LIFT 2024. Can you tell us about the story?

It’s not a story as such: it’s a three-act drama. Act 1 is mythological women. Act 2 is a court room drama. Act 3 is an intimate scene in a sauna.

It's wonderful to see a production focusing on women and the judgements that have been forced upon us throughout time. How does it feel playing such complex, important female characters?

It’s great to bring in the lives of women who have inspired us or we feel an affinity to, and bring their stories into the light. One of mine is Joan of Arc – I felt a connection to here because of my French lineage but also because she heard voices and wore armor. That really spoke to me because I was doing that for years; I kept telling myself “be strong” thinking I was invulnerable. It’s also great being tortured in a bucket!

I understand the production has some truths interwoven into it. How much of the show is fiction, and how was it to bring your own experiences to the piece?

We want the audience to work that out! I love bringing my personal stuff - I’ve been doing that for a few years in poetry and stand-up shows—but in this show there’s a real blending of truth and fiction so it’s been fun to experiment with that.

A question I ask everyone we chat to - my blog is called Stage to Page. But if you could turn any book, from page to stage, what would it be and why?

Anything by George Orwell—sparse dialogue and it sounds like it was written yesterday. I think I’d choose Burmese Days, it’s a great anti-colonial piece. And anyway, 1984 has already been done!

And finally, why should anyone reading this book tickets to see The Trials and Passions of Unfamous Women?

It’s a spectacle with great story telling. You’ll get jokes, tragedy, amazing costumes, surprising staging -it’s out of this world.

You can book tickets to The Trials and Passions of Unfamous Women, here.

**photo credit: Ellie Kurttz**