Get to Know the Cast of The Children

We recently sat down with Nicola Bartlett, Humphrey Bower and Caroline Brazier from our upcoming production of The Children, to learn a little bit more about them, including their go-to dance songs, childhood heroes, favourite TV shows and more!

The Children by Lucy Kirkwood is showing at the Heath Ledger Theatre from 24 August – 15 September.

Describe your favourite way to celebrate? 
Being among trees, laughter, good food, music, maybe dancing.

What song always get you up on the dance floor?
Eurythmics – Would I Lie to You?; Talking Heads – Life During Wartime; Blur – Coffee and TV; Al Green – Full of Fire.

Who would you like to work with in the Performing Arts world?
I am about to work with a truly Dream Team on The Children. But hey, if I’m dreaming, Ruth Wilson or Hugo Weaving, or Emma Stone and Yorgos Lanthimos.

A lesson you wished you had learnt sooner?
To quote Mary Oliver – “Things take the time they take. Don’t worry. How many roads did St Augustine follow before he became St Augustine?”

Who were your childhood heroes?
Patrick Troughton as Dr Who. David McCallum as Illya Kuryakin in The Man from Uncle.

What was your first job?
A Christmas holiday job at Dainty Lady Handbags earning $15.00 per week, dusting down glass shelves daily and cutting sheets of cotton wool in the basement storeroom. The following Christmas I worked in The Shirt Shop in London Court. The jobs were polar opposites, and I was as ill-equipped as a teenager to deal with either role.

How do you keep fit?
Walking my dog and slogging it at the gym.

What are your favourite comfort TV shows?
British crime or Nordic noir.

Is there a topic you wish people would talk more about?
Generally, there seems to be so much talk, but not so much listening.

Are there any tips you’d like to share about sustainability/recycling?
Umm...not really. It’s hardly rocket science; it’s just about taking responsibility for what you buy and how you dispose of it.

Describe your favourite way to celebrate?
A quiet dinner with a few friends. I’m not one for big parties or gatherings. I had great plans for my 60th birthday but ended up spending it with one of my daughters cooking me dinner at her house, which was perfect. 

What song always get you up on the dance floor?
Unfinished Sympathy by Massive Attack. To be honest, it might not get me up on the dance floor, but possibly up on my feet and swaying gently, or at least tapping my toes. I’ve never been much of a dancer except for a few years in my teens (alcohol and disco helped). 

Who would you like to work with in the Performing Arts world?
Caroline Brazier in every show (this will be our third in as many years). Mel Cantwell (this will be the third time I’ve worked with her too). Nicola Bartlett (we’ve never worked together before, but we’ve known each other for twenty years, and our kids were at Primary School together, so it’s long overdue).

A lesson you wished you had learnt sooner?
Use it or lose it (see later answer to ‘How do you keep fit?’) 

Who were your childhood heroes?
My older brother and his friends. I used to sit on the floor outside his bedroom door listening to Pink Floyd (this was in the early 70s). I was twelve years younger than him, but I was in love with all his girlfriends. 

What was your first job?
Working in a classical music record store. I spent far too much of my earnings on records, and far too much time talking to patrons about recommended recordings that weren’t necessarily on the shelves. They fired me at the end of a three-month probation period because they said I wasn’t suited to retail. 

How do you keep fit?
I don’t; at least not currently. (See earlier answer to ‘A lesson you wished you had learnt sooner?’) However, I enjoy walking, swimming, stretching, and the occasional yoga class. 

What are your favourite comfort TV shows?
Buffy The Vampire Slayer; The West Wing. I watched the former with my daughters when they were growing up, and recently started watching the latter again with my girlfriend, who’d never seen it before. As you might be able to tell, I no longer own a TV, and don’t subscribe to Netflix. 

Is there a topic you wish people would talk more about?
I wish people would talk less about everything. 

Are there any tips you’d like to share about sustainability/recycling?
Repairing instead of replacing when possible.

Describe your favourite way to celebrate?
I feel that the best way to celebrate anything is to share it. And champagne. Of course. 

What song always get you up on the dance floor?
Walking in Memphis by Marc Cohn.

Who would you like to work with in the Performing Arts world?
I wouldn’t want to be that prescriptive - my favourite collaborators have not necessarily been artists who were on my wish-list, but rather, artists who have inspired me with their depth, wit, talent, dedication, sense of play, and generosity. I would like to work with anyone with a huge heart and a curious mind. 

A lesson you wished you had learnt sooner?
Wholeheartedness. Don’t hold back. Dare to love what you do. Don’t be ironic about it. Go all in. Love fiercely. If you don’t love and care about what you do, utterly, it won’t know where to find you when it needs to. Have a thick skin and an open heart. A tricky combination to be sure, but one worth cultivating. 

Who were your childhood heroes?
Keanu Reeves. Paul Weller. Lou Reed. He-man. And I very badly wanted to marry John Travolta from Grease when I was 8. 

What was your first job?
I think my first job was working in my stepmother’s haberdashery on Thursday nights. I made five dollars an hour and saved it up to buy pirate tapes in Bali on a family holiday. 

How do you keep fit?
I lift weights and walk. A lot. To very little avail. 

What are your favourite comfort TV shows?
I have an enduring soft spot for Friday Night Lights. I have watched the pilot at least 10 times, and it is, in my opinion, exquisite. It’s a guaranteed sob. I have also seen Normal People countless times. And The Office (UK) is perfection. 

Is there a topic you wish people would talk more about?
Love. The great addiction of our time is making others wrong. Identifying the enemy. Outrage and moral righteousness. It’s a crap vibe, and it’s a trick. We are all the same at the end of the day. Less of that nonsense, more love. 

Are there any tips you’d like to share about sustainability/recycling?
The recycling goes in the yellow bin.

The Children by Lucy Kirkwood is showing at the Heath Ledger Theatre from 24 August – 15 September.