Theatre and Dance Previews

And what's more even more remarkable is that she's on stage with the legendary Tom Conti no less!

In Bernard Slade's play Romantic Comedy, Conti plays Jason Carmichael, a dashing and wonderfully witty Broadway playwright who meets Phoebe, the love of his life - on the day of his wedding to someone else!

Australian Kate Atkinson, who will be familiar to TV viewers in the UK for her guest roles in Kath and Kim, had just bought her plane ticket to return to Oz when she landed the part of Phoebe.

She told us why she's glad she went to the audition and explained what the show is all about!

For those who may not have read the great reviews, can you explain what the play is about?

Kate: Well, it's called a Romantic Comedy and it IS a romantic comedy. It's also about two broadway playwrights who write romantic comedies so it's a lot of fun. It is romantic and it is funny but I think it's also very intelligent and insightful and poignant in that because these two people write romantic comedies and their life parallels one, it says a lot about that particular formula and the way we see romance and marriage and unrequited love and all of those kinds of things.

It basically chronicles the relationship between a very well-established and reputable writer played by Tom Conti and my character, an aspiring writer, who walks into his office on the day of his wedding and they end up forming a writing collaboration and they also fall in love with each other. They then proceed to spend the rest of their career, a 14-year writing partnership, dealing with the implications of not being able to be together. It is lovely and the performances are strong and it's a good tight witty script.

But they are both victims of the formula, you are going to get married to someone so that's what you do. And then, as their relationship develops he also has children and that complicates the issue but she just goes ahead with a broken heart and works away at the writing. The story is how, and if, and will they ever work out how they really feel about each other.

It sounds quite a sad story but it's funny isn't it!

Kate: It's very, very funny. It's absolutely jam-packed with one-liners and gags but I think that the greatest comedies always do have a level of tragedy to them as well, so it's got a little bit of that too!

What's it been like working with Tom Conti?

Kate: It's been a very good experience for me. It's not something you can actually say in 25 words or less because he was also the director so that's been a very interesting process to navigate - when your leading man is having to be observant of his own performance and everyone else's performance. Fortunately the script is very strong and I think our working relationship is very strong so that's been delightful.

Also there's quite a significant difference in age and experience. This is the biggest gig I've had in the UK - although I've done a lot in Australia - so to a degree I feel like the new kid on the block, and of course he is extraordinarily experienced, so that's been a great gift and a great education. It also means we've come from quite different schools of working as well so I think we've learned from each other in that way.

And he's played the part before of course, opposite Pauline Collins. Has that been difficult in any way?

Kate: No, not at all. I've never ever had the impression that he thinks "God - I wish she'd do it like Pauline did it!"

He's never said it in so many words, but I sneakily read in an interview that I've brought something totally different to it and that's why he cast me. So I think having done it before gave him an advantage because of also being the director. It meant that he had a very well grounded knowledge of the actual text and the play itself. So it wasn't about duplicating what they'd done before, it just meant that he was thoroughly knowledgeable of the play.

And the show has had rave reviews - particularly you - with phrases like "stealing the show"?

Kate: [laughs] I tell you what - not to be falsely self-deprecating - but she is a bit of a scene stealer of a character, she's pretty hard to avoid and that's not to say I'm not pleased with my performance but you can't miss her!

Is it true that you were going back to Australia when you got this audition?

Kate: Yes it's true - you think that people make these things up just to sound romantic but I'd been in the UK for about two years and I'd had some nice little breaks but nothing that set the world on fire. I'd really, really loved my time here but I just felt that it was time to get out while the going was good before I started to dislike my time here! I really had booked my ticket and was on my way to France on the way home in a few weeks and then I got this audition. I was actually a bit resentful about it! I thought. "Oh for God's sake - NOW you're giving me an audition!"

I went along, and this often happens, but the auditions where you go along to have a bit of a laugh have fun and meet Tom Conti - you don't think you're going to get it. I guess I just had fun on the day and was relaxed. When I read the script "I thought I know this girl, I know how to do this"! So I went along and got it and thought - "well I think this is a good enough reason to stay"! Luckily I had a flexible ticket so I'm going home for Christmas!

Have you got anything planned for after the play that's that's come directly from it?!

Kate: Well you know what London's like, it's all about meetings! So nothing is set in stone yet, but I will come back after a nice sunny Christmas in Perth and see what I can do!

Do you think there are better sorts of opportunities in the UK for what you want to do?

Kate: I don't know if they are better or different! I do think that a country's creative industries go through cycles and I know that when I left Australia it wasn't going through a very healthy cycle and I think that's starting to turn. Maybe when I go home at Christmas I'll find that there are things that I want to do.

I got a job where I had to fly to London and I had just got my first British passport so coming over here was entirely a professional decision. I just thought "oh well, I'm here, I'll just see what happens and little things started happening. So I kind of made a choice to come here, but hadn't been sitting there thinking strategically about it.

Certainly there's more theatre here and certainly there's a tradition, a legacy of not just capital city theatre which is generally what happens in Australia. It's not something you see all through the regions which I find amazing here.

Do you prefer theatre to TV then?

Kate: I don't enjoy theatre more, I like them both and I think you're very, very lucky if you can have a finger in every pie. But this has been a real boost in confidence for me because I didn't do a lot of theatre back home and England is the land of theatre and you never think they're going to let you walk on their stage! And when you do and you pull it off you think "Oh - maybe I could do a bit more theatre"!

I think the other thing about being here is that geographically you have more access to European and American work but I love doing Australian things and the work I've previously done in my career I'm very proud of.

Why should people see Romantic Comedy then?!

Kate: It's just such fun and I don't mean that in a flippant way because I have some friends who are dreadful theatre snobs and they came, some reluctantly and absolutely had a ball. And it's not an epic, you're not sitting still for four hours, it's two hours and there's a lot of laughs and a lot of fun!