You can’t help but love Kara Tointon immediately – so refreshingly relatable, unstarry, lucid, articulate, friendly, engaging, yet at the same time incredibly successful and good at what she does.
From her teething years in Eastenders to Strictly, Mr Selfridge to Pygmalion, The Sound of Music to Twelfth Night, The Hunger Games to The Halcyon End, Kara has long since proved her mettle, moving seemingly effortlessly between genres – gracing the stage, screen and film with apparent ease.
‘it’s been a really new and exciting experience for me playing a role that’s so weighty’
But her latest part – that of Constance in Somerset Maugham’s The Constant Wife – fills her with absolute delight and she can’t quite believe it.
“It’s definitely the best role I’ve ever had because Constance is so witty and quick – everything I wish I was,” Kara laughs, “and with (playwright) Laura Wade on board, even though The Constant Wife is set 100 years ago, it still feels very current and modern.”
‘When I was sent the script I fell in love with Constance immediately’
Set in 1927, The Constant Wife follows the charming Constance, the perfect wife and mother, her husband as devoted to her as he is to his mistress, her best friend. But when circumstances change, she decides to embrace the opportunity to create a new independent life for herself.
An enticing part then? “When I was sent the script I fell in love with Constance immediately and was giggling and sighing my way through it, which all comes from the dynamic within this comedy. There’s so much food for thought,” Kara agrees. “It’s emotional and funny.”
“But it’s also the biggest and most challenging role of my career, not just because it’s such a big part but because the audience goes on the journey with her. So this gives me something to really get my teeth into. It’s a big challenge but I’m really up for it.”
‘this gives me something to really get my teeth into. It’s a big challenge but I’m really up for it’
Kara admits she hasn’t been on stage for a while, and has spoken extensively about her battle with cancer, but adds that she loves theatre and feels most comfortable there.
But she’s also excited about the new opportunity that The Constant Wife offers her: “This is not a coming of age story, which I’m usually cast in, or a young love story. But Constance is a woman, she’s been married for 15 years, so it’s been a really new and exciting experience for me playing a role that’s so weighty. This character has so much depth and layering.
“Because you cannot plan with this job, you have to keep you eyes open and watch for the right opportunities to come about, to keep pushing yourself to be better. But it’s a nice position to be in.
“And although I was a bit stunned at first, it feels as if I’m entering a new era and I’m really excited about that. I’m just really lucky that they gave me this role.”
‘Being a parent is always my top priority, so this is a big moment for our family, but we make it work and talk everything through’
Now living in Norway, is must be hard to manage her domestic life with being an actress? “It’s always difficult working when you have a family and it’s always a juggling act, but we do the best we can.
“Being a parent is always my top priority, so this is a big moment for our family, but we make it work and we’ve known about this project for some time so have had the time to talk it through. And unlike other jobs it is a bracket of time, so it’s just about getting your head in gear.”
Kara is also enjoying discovering not only a new play but a historical period she knew little about. “It’s set between the two world wars, and the characters have been through so much already. Constance was a nurse in the war a lot of the characters’ behaviour is dictated by the time and their upbringing, the stiff upper lip.
‘with the RSc on board everything is Rolls Royce standard. They go above and beyond’
“And you can tell that Constance’s husband John loves his wife but is just unable to have those conversations and show it. Everything is hidden away below the surface.
“But there is also so much funniness and comedy within this play and that’s what is so great about bringing it back to the stage because its one of those real gems. I can’t believe more people don’t know about it.
“And with the RSC on board everything is Rolls Royce standard. They go above and beyond, so it’s quite a transformation considering I’m usually in trainers because the costumes are like haute couture,” she grins.
“So I love Constance. Of course you can question her decision making, but it’s more a case of ‘go girl’! She thinks things through and I respect that.
‘I love Constance. Of course you can question her decision making, but it’s more a case of ‘go girl’!’
“And as I’ve never been to Oxford Playhouse before, I’m really looking forward to it.” and with that she’s off, leaving behind quite the impression. Go girl indeed!
The Royal Shakespeare Company production of The Constant Wife comes to Oxford Playhouse from Mon 2 – Sat 7 Feb. Book at https://www.oxfordplayhouse.com/events/the-constant-wife
