Gay Soper - Nottingham

I began my career , straight from LAMDA (drama school), on the stage at the Theatre Royal Nottingham in 1965. I was in the Chorus, and understudying Jean Scott, who was playing Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, the original production that had come from Drury Lane in London.  My mother had come up from Surrey on the train to settle me into the YWCA, where I lived for the six months the show played in Nottingham.

Two members of the cast were particularly famous.....James Hayter (known in later years as the voice of Mr Kipling) was playing Alfred Doolittle; and Zena Dare, legendary Edwardian beauty, played Mrs Higgins.  I had only been with the company a few weeks, when I had to go on and play the role of Eliza, for a whole week.  I was nineteen years old and at that time the youngest person to ever play the role.   I was even lucky enough to wear some of Julie Andrew's old costumes, which she had worn at Drury Lane.  

I clearly remember that the Nottingham audience was so generous towards me and they applauded my first moment on stage  which was very encouraging!  It was an unforgettable, magical way to begin a career and it will be haunting and rather thrilling to step foot on that stage for the first time since that distant time.