Friday, June 26, 2015 Follow us on Twitter @Argus_The Guide ANDYHOWELLS chats with actor Frazer Hines about his latest stage appearance Play with a cast to die for Interview


CELEBRATING the tenth anniver- sary of the Agatha Christie Theatre Company, And Then There Were None returns to the New Theatre stage next week. Adapted for the stage by Aga-


tha Christie herself, the play is based on the best-selling mys- tery novel of all time and follows the story of ten strangers who arrive on a remote island off the coast of Devon only to find that their host, an eccentric million- aire, is missing. A torrential storm forces them to remain on the is- land and, with an ancient nursery rhyme haunting them, the guests start to die one by one. And Then There were None


features an all-star cast of fa- miliar faces from the world of television including Paul Nicho- las (Just Good Friends), Colin Buchanan (Dalziel and Pascoe), Susan Penhaligon (Bouquet of Barbed Wire), Verity Rushworth (Emmerdale), Mark Curry (Blue Peter), Ben Nealon (Soldier Sol- dier)and Frazer Hines best re- membered for his roles in Doctor Who and Emmerdale Farm. Andy Howells recently caught


up with Frazer Hines and chatted with him about the show and his career which began as a young boy back in the 1950s.


How has the tour of And Then There Were None been received? Bill Kenwright has got together


a fantastic cast of people that if you don’t like Paul Nicholas, you might like me, if you don’t like me you might like Mark Curry or Su- san Penhaligon, there’s always someone to like in the cast.


It’s like a who’s who of great LINE-UP: Frazer Hines joins the cast of an Agatha Christie classic


British actors. You’re correct, well-known and


even if I say it myself well-loved faces.


When was your earliest theatri- cal performance? I started off in television, be-


cause in those days you had to be 12 to actually do theatre. I played Napoleon in Hunting-


tower and then Shaun Sutton who was head of children’s tel- evision at the BBC, gave me the part that got me known which was Jan in The Silver Sword. My first theatre was at the Royal Court Theatre with Dame Peggy Ashcroft and George Devine in The Good Woman of Setzuan – I found a programme, Peter Wyn- garde, John Osborne and Colin


Jeavons were all in it and the programme was sixpence. It was an amazing cast.


What lead you to joining the cast of Doctor Who? I got this phone call from my


agent who asked me to go and see the producer Innes Lloyd. He said “Frazer, Shaun (Sut- ton) tells me you can do a Scot- tish accent.” I said “Yes I can”. He said “This is a part in Doc- tor Who. Do you fancy playing Jamie?”, and I said “Yes”. That was it. No reading, no audition, I just met Innes Lloyd and that was it. The second episode went out and the BBC switchboard was jammed with people say- ing, “wouldn’t it be a good idea if Jamie was to become a compan- ion?” and that lead to three of the happiest years of my life.


Of course, you were also later well-known for your role as Joe Sugden in Emmerdale Farm I was there for eleven years,


TRAVELLERS: Frazer pictured with Patrick Troughton in Doctor Who in 1968, INSET: Frazer today


then got married and left for four. Then I got divorced and my mother died, and then Sheila Mercier my screen mother (An- nie Sugden) called and said “My dear, you’re not having a lot of luck, why don’t you come back to your screen family.” It got me a different sort of fan base be- cause Doctor Who fandom had dropped off by then, so Joe res- urrected it. When I left Emmerd- ale, I went into The Two Doctors (with Colin Baker and Patrick Troughton) which got me to the new audience who had been


watching since Jon Pertwee on- wards but who had never seen the classic stuff, so I was put on the ladder of fandom again.


You’re going to be in Cardiff, will there be an opportunity for you to pop in on the Doctor Who set? I’d like to, I got an email today


saying “We’ll keep you posted Frazer we’d love to have you on the set.” I’d love to, because Ja- net Fielding (Tegan) met David Tennant, Anneke Wills met Matt Smith and I’d like to meet Peter Capaldi.


If there was a chance Jamie could briefly return to Doctor Who, would you be up for that? Of course. I’d do it for nothing.


So tell us about your role in And Then There Were None? I’m playing Rogers The Butler.


It’s a bit of a cockney part, a bit how Bill Hartnell (the first Doctor Who) might have played it, with light trousers, black jacket, it’s a nice character part for me.


How would you describe this production of And Then There Were None to anyone who was thinking of coming to see it? I would say come and see a


great cast of your favourite TV faces gelling together.


And Then There Were None is


at the New Theatre from Tues- day 30 June – Saturday 4 July. Tickets are on sale from £9.50 to £30.50. For detailsvisit newthe- atrecardiff.co.uk


THERE has been a huge re- sponse from dance artists to take part in the third Wales Dance Platform, which will be held in Cardiff and Newport this summer. The three days of perfor- mances, films/videos, exhibi- tions and installations will take place at Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff; Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff and The River- front, Newport from June 26 to 28.


WDP is an open event, where


all professionalwork submitted that meets the criteria will be included. The Platform’s crea- tive producers are Ann Sholem and Roy Campbell-Moore. This year’s platform will be


at Wales Millennium Centre on Friday, June 26, Chapter on Saturday, June 27


and The Riverfront, Newport on Sunday June 28. There will be transport available between Cardiff and Newport on the Sunday.


HIJINX: Beneath The Streets


BENEATH the Streets: Lost and Found, the hotly anticipated se- quel to Beneath the Streets 2014 will run from today until 3 July in a secret location in Cardiff City Centre and tickets are now on sale. The show is an immersive theatrical experience in which the audience is invited to roam through the space encounter- ing characters and uncovering a story as the action unfolds all around them. The piece is performed by a large cast of ac- tors with and without disabili- ties, including nine perform- ers from Hijinx Academy in Cardiff, Hijinx’s professional training course for actors with learning disabilities. It takes place on Friday June,


26; 7pm and 9pm, Saturday June, 27; 7pm and 9pm, Sunday, June 28; 3pm and 5pm, Tuesday, June 30; 7pm, Wednesday, July 1; 7pm, Thursday, July 2; 7pm and 9pm, Friday, July 3; 6.30pm.


Three days of dance


7 Theatre


Sequel set for secret location


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