CHARLIE BROOKS portrays a fiery, no-nonsense wife in her latest play.
And that possibly won’t come as a surprise to soap fans familiar with her most-famous on-screen character.
Charlie played EastEnders’ lovably loathsome Janine Butcher for 15 years.
Playing Teresa opposite Corrie kidnapper Leon Ockenden as her husband Bob in How The Other Half Loves, Charlie says: “They’re very volatile as a couple, they’re very passionate — fighting one minute and making love the next!”
The stellar cast also includes stage veteran Robert Daws, and Charlie assures there will be plenty to keep the audience gripped.
“Maybe audiences will expect fireworks from me and Leon because Janine was quite fiery — but Teresa’s very different, as she’s very earthy as well.
“I spent 15 years as Janine on and off — time flies! I went straight from drama school into a soap and I didn’t graduate, but I did my best and I hope I showed over the years that I could handle whatever the EastEnders scriptwriters could throw at me.
“I can’t actually remember all the storylines I had, but my favourite was maybe when Janine was a drug addict and a prostitute as that was quite challenging.
“Then it was nice to see her fall in love, so there was drama and love.”
Charlie’s years playing one of Albert Square’s most high-profile residents means she’s collected more awards than just about any other actor.
“Have I?” she says. “I was obviously good at being bad!
“I definitely think Janine was just misunderstood, but she’s living it up in France now so who knows what she’s up to these days?
“She was an evil person and I’m fighting the fight to get away from that soap stereotype.
“Janine was definitely not one-dimensional and as an actress, I’m moving on from her now.
“I left the show four years ago and have played Dusty Springfield on stage and toured as Blanche in A Street Car Named Desire — those characters couldn’t have been more different.”
How The Other Half Loves was written by master playwright Alan Ayckbourn and is a farce involving three couples, two dinner parties and an affair.
It was a West End smash when it debuted in 1970 and again when it was revived last year, and is described as “a complex web of relationships, money and class”.
“That’s pretty spot-on!” laughs Charlie, who’s 36. “It’s very, very British and it is like a finely choreographed dance — it takes so much fine tuning because it culminates in two dinner parties on successive nights but they’re shown at the same time on stage.
“So you’re acting with your partner and you have to ignore the other couple on stage, it’s very cleverly done — it keeps you on your toes, believe me!
“Because it was written in 1969 the dinner parties are vastly different to the ones I have myself, which is just as well as they turn into a bit of a disaster
“The good thing is they do serve us real food on stage, and it’s very much of the era — avocado and frittata.
“I don’t remember it but avocado was an exotic fruit back in the day, and now that’s just what I put on my toast!
“It’s a particularly good play and we’re getting really busy houses and a great response, so it’s thoroughly enjoyable and it’s keeping us busy until the end of November.”
How The Other Half Loves is touring Britain until November 25. For tickets and information, visit www.atgtickets.com
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