Sarah Parish is known for her TV roles, often playing formidable, sometimes chilling, women. In recent times, she has been the titular antihero of ITV’s Bancroft, as well as making smaller, eye-catching turns in W1A, Industry and the Netflix hit Stay Close. Next up, after a long break, Parish returns to the theatre, starring in Trouble in Butetown at the Donmar Warehouse as Gwyneth, the landlady of an illegal boarding house in Cardiff during the second world war. Parish is married to the actor James Murray and they have a daughter.
Trouble in Butetown is a new play by Nigerian-British playwright Diana Nneka Atuona. Why did you want to do it?
Well, I’ve got a real thing about new writing. I’m asked to do plays quite a lot and I don’t really have a desire to do stage work that is done over and over again. It’s just something that has never floated my boat. But new writing and creating characters that have never been seen or heard before, I find that really fascinating. And when you get to my age, there’s still lots of parts there, but they are maybe not as challenging. So to go on stage and go: “Oh, thank God, this is really stretching me”, that’s what you need as an actor.
