Stella's next act
Stella Gonet can pinpoint the moment her passion for acting was ignited. ‘I was about 14 and we were doing a school play of Fiddler On The Roof. From then on, that was all I wanted to do. I was desperate to get on and join a drama school to realise my dream.’
As the seventh in a family of 12 children, acting (or rather acting up) was a way of life. ‘I realised when I stood up on something and spoke, people were listening to me. That doesn’t happen very often in a big family; you’re quite often fighting to be heard.’
Despite her parents’ reservations, Stella attended the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow (now the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland) to develop her chosen craft. ‘My parents were slightly concerned, as it wasn’t something that anyone had done before in my family,’ she explains.
Happily for Stella, a new director named Danny Boyle came up to Glasgow, looking for a young actress to play a Scottish suicidal character. ‘He cast me and suddenly I was in the Royal Court on the King’s Road. I didn’t think I’d be going down to England, let alone London,’ she says. ‘I never went back.’
The London theatre scene quickly enthralled Stella and she has since appeared in myriad productions – a particular favourite was the part of Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company. ‘Every night, I could not wait to go on and play her,’ she enthuses. She has also acted opposite recent Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis in a National Theatre production of Hamlet.
From 1991 to 1994, she played the part of Beatrice in the hugely successful BBC series, The House Of Eliott. ‘None of us was prepared for the success at the time,’ she reveals. ‘We were all relatively unknown and had come from the theatre. It was a delicious sharing of a project that we all grew with and realised that it was something very special.’
At its peak, the programme commanded an audience of millions, and Gonet continues to be approached by The House Of Eliott enthusiasts to this day. ‘People will stop me in the street to say how much they enjoyed it, and fashion students come up to me and say they studied it. The attention to detail was so accurate and so carefully researched. I feel very proud of it.’
She admits to a personal conflict between stage and screen. ‘In television you’ve got to work out your whole journey before you get on camera. They don’t have time for any kind of rehearsal any more, and it’s all done out of sequence,’ she confesses.
‘With theatre, you’re bringing it to life every night from beginning to end, and you’re sharing something with people. It’s very exciting.’
Later this month, Gonet is bringing to life the character of Blanche in Rodney Ackland’s Before The Party at London’s Almeida Theatre. Based on the Somerset Maugham short story, the play focuses on the Skinner family as they prepare to go to an upper-class party on a very hot day in June 1949. The daughter of the family has just returned from Africa after the death of her husband and, as the play progresses, the characters – and indeed, the audience – learn that there is more to the husband’s death than first thought.
‘Rodney Ackland is a master craftsman,’ says Gonet. ‘He puts a huge magnifying glass on the British upper class. It goes back to that ghastly sentiment, which is quite hard for us in the modern world to understand, of “What will people think?”’
Does she see any of herself in Blanche? ‘I think you always have to. Blanche is obsessed with food and so am I. I’m always thinking about what I should cook that night.’
She is married to fellow actor Nicholas Farrell. ‘Yes we help each other learn lines,’ she laughs. The couple have acted together too, playing Mr and Mrs Musgrove in ITV’s production of Persuasion in 2007. ‘We both do crazy hours but I do find that very supportive.’
Stella readily admits to being lucky, being able to do what she loves. ‘Realising I’ve made the audience feel something. It never tires.’
Before The Party is at the Almeida Theatre, London N1 until 11 May: 020-7359 4404, www.almeida.co.uk
As the seventh in a family of 12 children, acting (or rather acting up) was a way of life. ‘I realised when I stood up on something and spoke, people were listening to me. That doesn’t happen very often in a big family; you’re quite often fighting to be heard.’
Despite her parents’ reservations, Stella attended the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow (now the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland) to develop her chosen craft. ‘My parents were slightly concerned, as it wasn’t something that anyone had done before in my family,’ she explains.
Happily for Stella, a new director named Danny Boyle came up to Glasgow, looking for a young actress to play a Scottish suicidal character. ‘He cast me and suddenly I was in the Royal Court on the King’s Road. I didn’t think I’d be going down to England, let alone London,’ she says. ‘I never went back.’
The London theatre scene quickly enthralled Stella and she has since appeared in myriad productions – a particular favourite was the part of Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company. ‘Every night, I could not wait to go on and play her,’ she enthuses. She has also acted opposite recent Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis in a National Theatre production of Hamlet.
From 1991 to 1994, she played the part of Beatrice in the hugely successful BBC series, The House Of Eliott. ‘None of us was prepared for the success at the time,’ she reveals. ‘We were all relatively unknown and had come from the theatre. It was a delicious sharing of a project that we all grew with and realised that it was something very special.’
At its peak, the programme commanded an audience of millions, and Gonet continues to be approached by The House Of Eliott enthusiasts to this day. ‘People will stop me in the street to say how much they enjoyed it, and fashion students come up to me and say they studied it. The attention to detail was so accurate and so carefully researched. I feel very proud of it.’
She admits to a personal conflict between stage and screen. ‘In television you’ve got to work out your whole journey before you get on camera. They don’t have time for any kind of rehearsal any more, and it’s all done out of sequence,’ she confesses.
‘With theatre, you’re bringing it to life every night from beginning to end, and you’re sharing something with people. It’s very exciting.’
Later this month, Gonet is bringing to life the character of Blanche in Rodney Ackland’s Before The Party at London’s Almeida Theatre. Based on the Somerset Maugham short story, the play focuses on the Skinner family as they prepare to go to an upper-class party on a very hot day in June 1949. The daughter of the family has just returned from Africa after the death of her husband and, as the play progresses, the characters – and indeed, the audience – learn that there is more to the husband’s death than first thought.
‘Rodney Ackland is a master craftsman,’ says Gonet. ‘He puts a huge magnifying glass on the British upper class. It goes back to that ghastly sentiment, which is quite hard for us in the modern world to understand, of “What will people think?”’
Does she see any of herself in Blanche? ‘I think you always have to. Blanche is obsessed with food and so am I. I’m always thinking about what I should cook that night.’
She is married to fellow actor Nicholas Farrell. ‘Yes we help each other learn lines,’ she laughs. The couple have acted together too, playing Mr and Mrs Musgrove in ITV’s production of Persuasion in 2007. ‘We both do crazy hours but I do find that very supportive.’
Stella readily admits to being lucky, being able to do what she loves. ‘Realising I’ve made the audience feel something. It never tires.’
Before The Party is at the Almeida Theatre, London N1 until 11 May: 020-7359 4404, www.almeida.co.uk