Elizabeth Hope on playing Kate

Elizabeth Hope is reprising her role as Kate in our London transfer of Found. We asked her a few questions about the role and about being a women in the theatre.

Tell us a little bit about Kate.

Kate is the “new girlfriend" on the scene for Mark. They work together and he has always had a little bit of an infatuation with her. She is probably not the type of girl Mark usually ends up with and is therefore a little harder to read. She is not all she makes out to be!

She’s not the typical ‘Girlfriend character’ is she?

She isn't, hence why I really enjoy playing her! She isn't your girl next door, submissive and all smiling “girlfriend" who is just there as an accessory to the male protagonist of the play. She is ambitious and strong willed and a determined woman just trying to come out on top in a mans world. So to say...

How do you feel about the lack of interesting female roles in the theatre?

I think it is a very prevalent issue and one that one that frustrates me a lot, being  a  young  actress  in  an  industry  already  saturated  with  too  many actresses for very few roles, let alone interesting ones! That is why I am a massive fan of working on new writing and with exciting emerging companies such as Black Coffee. With funding cuts coming out of our ears it is becoming increasingly harder for young theatre makers to find that support  that they need to create refreshing work which reflects the modern world and modern women!

Elizabeth as Kate with Jack Harding as Mark

Are  there  any  similarities  between  Kate  and  Yourself?  Are  there  any differences?

Yes and yes! It is quite a similar kind of role to my usual casting, which leads me to think there is a certain alignment between these sorts of characters and my own personality... I have the feistyness and the ambition perhaps of Kate, but I would like to think I am a little less ruthless and less manipulative!

Anything you’d like to add?

I hope you enjoy the show. It's a great little piece which I think is pretty damn funny and poignant at times. I've had so much fun working on this play and after  touring it  in  the north-east  I  am looking forward to  seeing a  London audience's  reaction.  Support  new work  and great  spaces like  “The Hope” which champions it, and keep an eye for Black Coffee's next project!

Found runs at The Hope Theatre from the 24th March - 11th April. Tickets available from www.thehopetheatre.com/productions/found