What's
your favourite job?
Making movies, because I like the whole event.
It's like you're in a circus and you're on the
move. Does that stem from making music videos?
It was before that, when I worked with Derek
Jarman in Jubilee. Then I went on to do George
Cukor's TV film The Corn Is Green - with
Katherine Hepburn - and I fell in love with the
complete focus you have when you're working on a
film. Nothing else exists and I find that rather
lovely.
How influenced
were you by youth culture in your choice of
career?
Hugely. When you're young, youth culture is all
that exists - you don't think about anything else.
The punk movement influenced me, the mod not so
much as I was too much into punk. The films at
the time like Scum, Quadrophenia, Breaking Glass...they
were all youth culture films and we all wanted to
be in them.
Was Hazel
Oconnor (star of Breaking Glass) a rival?
Back then, I considered her a rival, but we're
more like friends now. We moved in completely
different directions. The press would play us off
against each other but that was not just between
me and Hazel, it was also between me and Paula
Yates and virtually every female on the planet.
We were all enemies. I think we've all smartened
up now and don't fall for those tricks.
Do you look at
your old videos and cringe?
No, I don't cringe at anything I've ever done.
I'm proud of everything.
Do you still
listen to your old punk albums?
No, I haven't got the time any more.
If you recorded
a song today, what would it be like?
I kind of like electro/techno/pop at the moment.
Kylie has hit the bullseye with her latest song.
It's very 'of the moment'.
What's on your
CD player?
PJ Harvey's Stories From The City, Stories From
The Sea, and Music by Madonna.
What's your
health routine?
I insist on eight hours sleep a night, I don't
drink alcohol, tea or coffee. I'm a
vegetarian so I always eat fruit and veg and I do
about an hour's aerobic exercise a day.
|
How
spiritual are you?
Not as much as I used to be. I used to be so much
more but I found I've become more and more
distracted by work. That's what keeps me going -
I just enjoy my work. I've never wanted a family
in my life. A lot of people put family as a
priority but I don't, which means I have an awful
lot of time on my hands to work in. Who's been your biggest
influence?
I still carry a real torch for David Bowie's work.
I also like Steven Spielberg's work, even though
he can really miss the mark sometimes. When he
gets it right though, you never forget what he's
done.
What did you
think of AI?
I loved the last half hour, I thought it was
sensational, but would have liked him to edit the
first hour and a half down.
And have you
met Bowie?
No - my husband has done some work with him but I
have yet to meet him myself.
What's your
biggest vice?
Procastrination.
What's your
best quality?
I haven't got a clue - perseverance, possibly.
What's been
your most embarrassing moment?
I often lose my temper with people because I take
the wrong meaning from something. People call me
the rottweiler - there have been times where I
actually put my fists up to someone when they
haven't done what I thought they'd done. I'm
immensely embarrassed by that.
Do you
apologise after?
Yes (laughs) - but it's often too late.
What's your
motto?
Don't dream it, be it. It's from the Rocky Horror
Show.
What would your
epitaph be?
She came, she lisped, she left.
Metro - 4th
November2001
Thanks to Tiff
Davidson.
|
| Former
punk queen Toyah Willcox will play Titania, Queen
of the Fairies, in this year's open-air
Shakespeare production at Stafford Castle.
The singer, actress and TV presenter will also
play Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, when A
Midsummer Night's Dream opens for a two week run
on June 28. Toyah has twice before
appeared in A Midsummer Night's Dream. She was
Puck in a production in Regents Park and Hermia
at Birmingham Rep. But she first came to
prominence as Mad in Jubilee, the punk epic
directed by Derek Jarman in 1977. She later
played Monkey in the cult Mods-and-Rockers movie
Quadrophenia with The Who.
In the early
eighties, Toyah had a string of hits with her own
band, including It's A Mystery and I Want To Be
Free. Now she is a busy actress, appearing in
everything from Amadeus to Jack And The
Beanstalk, and presenter of TV shows like BBC1's
Holiday, Holiday On A Shoestring and The Heaven
& Earth Show.
|
"Toyah
will bring a well of experience and knowledge to
the production," says the Gatehouse
Theatre's Steve Freeman, who is producing A
Midsummer Night's Dream with colleague Dan Shaw.
"Her career spans 24 years, and she has a CV
that ranges from Shakespeare in Regents Park to
Top Of The Pops. "She's a
personality that everyone knows, whether as an
actress, singer or TV presenter and she's going
to make this year's event at the castle something
really special." Steve says the cast of A
Midsummer Night's Dream will include other
familiar faces whose names will be revealed
shortly.
Meanwhile,
there are opportunities for local performers to
appear alongside Toyah and the other
professionals in this year's alfresco production.
Director Peter Dayson is looking for local talent
to fill 10 roles to be taken by amateurs.
Stoke Sentinel
- 20thApril 2000
Thanks to Rob
Cope.
|