"It's nice to bring something home ": chat with Kym Marsh as she brings Single White Female to Manchester

Popstar turned actress Kym Marsh, perhaps best known for her roles on Coronation Street and Waterloo Road, is heading to Manchester this week with the world premiere stage production of Single White Female.

Based on the iconic 90s psychological thriller, the play- starring 49-year-old Kym as the antagoist Hedra ‘Hedy Carlson’ -is on at theOpera House between February 10 and February 14.

Before her arrival in Manchester, Kym, who hails from nearby Wigan, sat down for a chat with us where we chatted all things Manchester and of course all things Single White Female...

How do you feel about coming to Manchester with Single White Female?

“I’m excited! Obviously, it's my home as well, you know, I get to stay at home that week, which will be lovely. I’ve played the Opera House before and I love the Opera House. It's such a beautiful space and a great theater to play. I’m looking forward to Manchester audiences. Obviously, I'm very much looking forward to seeing lots of my family and friends, because they'll all come and watch while I'm in Manchester. So that will be a big turnout for me, which will be nice to hopefully get some Manchester love.”

Can you describe Single White Female to us?

“So it's a thriller based on an iconic 90s movie. Our version of this story is a woman called Ali who is a single mom, and she's struggling to make ends meet, so she decides to take in a roommate and advertise for a roommate. That's when my character, Hedra, makes her entrance.On the face of it, it looks like she's going to make everything better, and, you know, help out but what happens, actually, is that when their lives become intertwined, things take a little bit of a different turn.”

So what is Hedra like and do you find her at all relatable?

Hedra is a very complex character. She's obviously got a very dark history. I think there's a lot of things that happened to Hedra in her past that maybe people don't know or won't know. In the beginning, she is a photographer who, from the stories that she tells, seems very successful on the face of it all, but she does have, like I say, some very deep issues, and she is very multi-layered. You see lots of different sides to Hedra throughout the play, without giving too much away.”

Does having a home crowd make a difference to your performance?

“I don’t think it makes a difference to my performance because I feel like I always give 100% no matter where I am, but I think it's always nice to be in your hometown. You know, there's lots of family and friends around and you feel like you're a local girl, so people kind of get behind you a little bit more - or that's what you like to think! But, yeah, it's always nice to bring something home anyway.”

Do you think your children will come watch you in the play?

“Yeah, I mean, we are saying that 15 is the recommend age and Polly will be just shy of 15 before we get there, but it's at my discretion. If I think she can handle it, I'll let I'm sure she'll be fine with it. But obviously, my adult children are coming along, for sure.”

What do your grandchildren make of it when you play a villain?

“Well, they don't really get to see it if I'm doing something that's grown up, obviously, because my youngest grandson is like, two, and the Teddy’s six. They came to watch me play Cruella De Ville last year, which they really enjoyed. I said ‘Did you think I was naughty?’ And he said ‘No, you're not scary. You're just my Yaya.’”

You also appeared in Fatal Attraction, another psychological thriller with focus on the possessive, are you particularly drawn to these type of plays?

“I think I'm just in my villain era at the moment, and people just like casting me in those roles, which I'm not going to say no to because I enjoy them. They're great fun, you know, to play a character like that, to play someone that is so far removed from yourself, you know, the world's your oyster, really. So it's exciting. I'm happy that I'm being chosen to play different roles.”

Have you ever come across the play’s trope, an obsessive fan essentially, in real life?

“No, thankfully, I've not. I mean, look, you know, we all have people that follow us, left, right and center, which is lovely, it's very nice. But no, I've never had anybody be obsessive before.”

You are working alongside Lisa Faulkner as well, have you worked with her before?

“No, I've never worked with Lisa before*. Our paths have crossed briefly, here and there, we've got mutual friends in common, but we've never really met properly until we just did the photo shoot not long ago for the artwork. She's absolutely lovely. She's a really, really lovely woman, and I'm very excited to work with her. So, yeah, we just can't wait to get going now. We really can't.”

*We spoke to Kim before rehearsals started

Why should Manchester audiences come see you?

“Because it's epic. It's the world's premiere of this particular play. It's never been done before. It's never been set foot on a stage. If you love the movie, you'll love to play. If you've never seen the movie, you'll love to play. I just think it's going to be great. It's going to have people on the edge of their seats, so it's not to be missed for sure.”

Would you consider it scary then?

“Yeah, there'll be some parts of it that are scary. I would have thought there'll be some moments where you probably watch through your fingers!”

Have you got any plans for after Single White Female that you want to mention?

“I mean this show will take up six months of the year so it's a long time really. I'm definitely going to have a break afterwards because I turn 50 on my very last show in Malvern. So on the 13th of June, I'll be on stage on my 50th birthday. So I'm definitely going to take a break, do something for my fiftieth year, go away with my family and chill for a little bit before the next thing starts.”