A traveller’s tale

Press, 26 May 1977, Page 12

A traveller’s tale

Rosalind Shanks travels with several lifesavers — pills and potions to ward off any invading virus, and a set of heated hair rollers. In more than two months touring with the show “Shakespeare’s People,” she has kept very fit, but the hair rollers are constantly in use.

With a company of only eight, Miss Shanks was warned she would have to be able to manage her own hairstyles for the varying roles she portrays on stage. Before she left England with the company at the end of March she worked out a routine.

In scenes where she portrays Rosalind, from “As You Like It,” and Viola, from “Twelfth Night,” when they are both being boys, she simply puts her shoulder-length, golden hair up under a big velvet cap. Lady Macbeth requires a transformation from her earlier Titania, so she devises a more formal style by means of a “trade secret.”

This tour is something of a trial of various strengths for Rosalind Shanks. She is the newest member of a closeknit company which has been touring — off and on — since 1975. Apart from a portraval of Desdemona in “Othello” for the 8.8. C. Drama Repertory Company, this is her first period of sustained Shakespearean acting. And it is also her first taste of touring. Does she feel rather thrown in at the deep end? “Well, it’s a great challenge but the others have been marvellously kind, helping me to

feel at home,” she said yesterday, during an interview just before the afternoon matinee. “And no, I’m not the only woman, which may have been difficult, Caroline Wilkins is our stage manager, and she also understudies me, so I’ve female company when I need it.” The emotional demands of her changes of character were faced by all the cast. “Of course, you can’t go off and blow your nose, or have a glass of water or any of those little things. There’s always the next bit coming up but that makes it all the more interesting,” she said. RADIO WORK Her acting career began in radio, with a six-months 8.8. C. contract. Since then she has continued to do a lot of radio work, television drama, a wide variety of theatre, including nine ■ months with the National I Theatre, and one film, “The ! Trojan Women," which istarred Katherine Hepburn. This versatility, she believes, helped win her place in the company. Touring in foreign parts is not bothering her. In fact, she regards meeting new people and seeing new places as a bonus. The company is 'very much a unit, going out ■ together and seeing the sights —as much as time will allow. “It’s particularly frustrating here. We planned to go to Taupo, but the snows came and we missed that. We have Sunday free and would like to fly to Queenstown. I’d love to come back some time,” she said.

Although they have to contend with all the hassles of travelling — chaos at airports, jet lag after a long flight from London to Van-

couver — Miss Shanks has found their spirit of togetherness gets them by. “And working in a country is so different from being a tourist.” She has one problem that seems to bother the men less — packing for several climates. When they began this tour in Denmark the weather was cold, in Vancouver it was warm, and in New Zealand they have had to face a sometimes-chilly autumn. When she is travelling Rosalind Shanks lives in jeans. But she has to be prepared for some official functions, travelling with the likes of Sir Michael Redgrave. And then there are informal parties after performances, “which is lovely because then we can unwind and relax.” So she has packed three long dresses, one cotton, one wool, and one silk, and cut down on shoes. But she has found the public very understanding of a travelling player’s time table. “The days of glamorous appearances are over,” she said. “People know we are working, and that our schedule is tight.”

Three months will have passed on the road by the time Rosalind Shanks returns to England. Her fondest memories may well remain those of the warmth and empathy of Danish audiences, and their rhythmic hand-clapping of approval. The loss of props and costumes for opening night in Christchurch will also remain pretty memorable.

“We wondered how the audience would take it, but they seemed to enjoy the performance as much if not more,” she smiled. “Wonderful how audiences will rise to an occasion. We’ve since met people who said they would come again to see what they missed.”

The immediate future holds' more radio work, recitals for the Open University’s summer school at Vork, and appearances at the Stratford Poetry Festival n June.