Dog Days - Theatre503

SPEAKING to actress Lashana Lynch it's not difficult to see why she's being touted as a rising star.

Bubbly, chatty, warm and friendly, she has an enthusiasm for her craft that is hugely infectious.

And with appearances in Fast Girls, ITV's The Bill, BBC 1's The 7.39, and on stage including at the National Theatre, not to mention scriptwriting, she has packed a lot in to her thus far relatively short career.

She is about to take to the small stage that is Theatre503 in Battersea in a new play, Dog Days and she couldn't be happier.

"I'm loving the variety of what I do," she says. "I've taken on some great and varied roles and have been in some fantastic productions since I left drama school, but this part is brilliant and I'm having the best time finding out and discovering more about the character I play."

Said character is Hayley, someone Lashana describes as a "ditsy 27-year-old South Londoner".

"There are two couples in the play, one quite young and the other a bit older and I play the younger woman," she says.
"She is great fun, a real hoot! She's very silly, speaks without really thinking, comes out with some classic observations, absolutely adores her boyfriend and is in the early stages of pregnancy.

"She's one of the most OTT people I've ever played and I'm sure the audience will think 'who the hell is this crazy woman?'" she laughs.

"But she goes through an interesting transition during the play. She's always depended on people throughout her life but is now trying to stand on her own two feet."

Written by Annie Hulley, the story centres on how the older couple, Cate and John, whose marriage is hitting the rocks, find themselves trapped in a nightmarish property limbo while they try and sell their family home.

But things get interesting when young couple Hayley and Tony see the house and fall in love with it.

"It's Annie's first play and it's amazing, really well written," enthuses Lashana. "She's executed it so well, with some really meaty characters and we all get our moment and chance to shine.

"What I love about it is that Annie's main point was to write something to represent older actresses in an industry that is very young. It's been very inspiring especially as I want to write more plays myself.

"But this is definitely a comedy," she adds. "It's very funny, although it has a real dramatic feel to it as there are so many subjects in it.

"There are tears of grief, references to Afghanistan and pregnancy, so it's a dark comedy based on really serious issues.

"I know audiences are going to love it!"

Dog Days is on at Theatre503, Battersea Park Road between Tuesday, February 25 and Saturday, March 22.

Tickets cost £15, £10 concessions and pay what you can on Sundays. Call the box office on 020 7978 7040.