Actress Laura Rogers on WHEN WINSTON WENT TO WAR WITH THE WIRELESS at Donmar Warehouse

The world première of award-winning writer Jack Thorne’s When Winston Went to War with the Wireless opens at the Donmar Warehouse next month. We spoke to actress Laura Rogers who is playing Clemmie Churchill in the piece.

What can you tell us about this new play?

The play is set in 1926 in London at the time of the General Strike and centres around John Reith who was the man who founded the BBC. It focuses on his relationship with Winston Churchill, the politics at the time and his personal struggles.

The play is based on a true story. Did you know much about it before you read the script?

I have to say that my knowledge of this era was very limited - if non-existent! I didn’t know of John Reith or much about the General Strike. We’ve had several experts come in to talk to us about life at the BBC at the time, the politics, and about the characters that feature in the play. It’s been really fascinating to learn about. The BBC must have been an incredibly exciting place to be - everyone was making it up as they went along and women were starting to find their place in the industry.

The play is directed by Katy Rudd who also directed you in The Ocean at the End of the Lane. They’re two very different plays! How much freedom do you have to develop the character away from the scripted text?

I’m very lucky to be working with Katy again in another brilliant venue with another adventurous script. I’m playing Clemmie - Winston Churchill’s wife. She was an extraordinary woman and I’ve been able to watch some excerpts of her speaking on YouTube. It’s not about doing a perfect imitation but trying to find an essence of the woman. I’ve been watching interviews with Margaret Rutherford to get some inspiration - that’s the route I’m going down - I think! I’m also playing a fictional character, a news broadcaster called Amelia Johnson. They didn’t have women reading the news at that time so I can make my own mind up about her. I’ve been imagining Penelope Keith in The Good Life!

Clemmie Churchill is quite a renowned character and it’s been discussed that she was the woman behind Churchill’s success. Is this part of what attracted you to the role?

I was part of a two day workshop with some of the cast before rehearsals began where we read through the play. There are numerous characters, so many voices and the play is about sound. There is a lot of foley involved- we provide sound effects as they would have done on the radio. There are music hall acts and most of us are rushing about, changing hats, changing scenery, up on the foley deck. Of course, it was an extra draw to be playing Clemmie because she was known for being Churchill’s backbone, but it was also the challenge of everything else that the play involves and working as a proper ensemble.

What other historical figure would you like to play and why?

I also wanted to play Joan of Arc but I’m far too old for that now! Hedy Lamarr seems like an extraordinary woman - a film star on one hand but also an inventor. She invented a radio guidance system for allied torpedoes. And she was married six times! That’s a lot of material! Or Agatha Christie. I love all her stuff.

If you could time travel, what event in history would you like to witness?

I’m not sure what event I’d like to go back to but I think I’d like to experience a day in the 1940s. I love that era.

When Winston Went to War with the Wireless plays at the Donmar Warehouse from 2 June-29 July, with further information here.