A Maltese actress has landed a role in London’s West End, treading the boards with Hollywood star Keira Knightley just over a year after she decided to dive into the acting world and get herself an agent.
Dyslexia may have hindered 25-year-old Marama Corlett in the past, but it helped her in her role as Lois Fisher in The Children’s Hour at the Comedy Theatre until May 7.
“Funnily enough, the character I play has some sort of dyslexia and finds it hard to catch up, especially with Latin. I guess I had struggled with it during my time at school in Malta. It made spelling and writing hard, but it didn’t stop me from being artistic and my teachers were always encouraging,” she said.
Marama, 25, grew up in Birkirkara with her Maltese mother and New Zealander dad, and her foray into the arts started with ballet from when she was 11.
“I guess it made me believe that, through hard work and determination, I could do anything,” says the girl who worked in a Leicester Square cinema, selling popcorn and cleaning toilets, for two years.
Following a year of jazz and acting at Masquerade School, she managed to land a scholarship at London’s Urdang Academy, where she spent three years.
But before The Children’s Hour, Marama was also in good company, working on Platform, a community theatre project run by The Old Vic Theatre and double Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey.
The Children’s Hour was written by Lillian Hellman in 1934. Set in the 1930s, it focuses on the events that transpire after a troubled teenager starts to spin a web of deceit about two teachers at an all-girls boarding school.
When she auditioned, Marama felt prepared for the part of a 14- year-old American.
As for the rest of the stellar cast, Marama cannot deny the presence of a top-class actress like Knightley (Pirates of the Caribbean) has added to the enormity of what she is doing.
She is a “very lovely, grounded and hard-working person. I feel very privileged to be working with her,” Marama says.
Having Ellen Burstyn (Requiem for a Dream), Elizabeth Moss (Mad Men) and Carol Kane (Princess Bride) on board makes a project “huge”. Because they have such a wide following and their work is so respected, the theatre is full every day.
“We end up spending so much time together that it feels like we are one big family in one amazing house. It’s hard work and it’s tiring, but I find that as long as I get a good night’s sleep and eat well during the day, I’m totally fine.”
She started rehearsals in December, but cannot complain about the intensity. The opening night was February 9, and her schedule is now eight performances a week, though she never tires of repeating the same lines.
“It’s different every single time. We are so lucky to have a director who is a great believer in ‘playing’. Of course, we don’t change the lines, but he gives us the freedom to experiment and try new things, which keeps us alive and connected at each performance.”
The hardest part of it all so far was waiting for that phone call in the hope that she had landed the part, and the most rewarding is, indeed, working with director Ian Rickson.
“It is just incredible, and being around people who are so passionate about their craft is powerful. I am a little sponge at the moment, taking in everything and learning, so it’s one long, amazing workshop.”
As for any moments when she wished the ground would open and swallow her up, Marama talks about when she put a chair on its marked position – “most of us help out with the scene changes” – but it somehow got hit by a couple of actors while exiting. As a result, the pillar, part of the scene, came crashing down on the chair and literally crushed it. The curtain had to be closed while the pillar got repaired.
“Since it was my job to move the chair, I got the shock of my life. Later, realising it was not my fault, I was so relieved. These things happen on stage and the audience loved the drama.” Although Marama has heard the reviews have been positive, she admits the only way to handle it as a company is not to read them at all.
“When you work on a play so intensely and give so much of yourself to your role, it can be painful to hear negative reviews. In the end, it is just one person’s opinion and you can’t take it too seriously. The most important thing for me is to trust my director and myself. You always feel it if it’s not quite right.”
Marama has been based in London for almost five years now and she loves it, although she is ready to go wherever there is work.
“I came here because, at the time, I could not make a living in Malta, but it will always be my home.” Following her own advice to stay grounded, she would still love to perform at the Manoel Theatre one day.