Ali Briggs on her role in My Mother Said I Never Should

Earlier this month, My Mother Said I Never Should ran at Sheffield Theatre in co-production with fingersmiths theatre company.

The play, written by Charlotte Keatley and first staged in 1987, features an all female cast of four characters and explores mother and daughter relationships across generations.

Directed by Jeni Draper of fingersmiths, one of the deaf actors cast in this play is Ali Briggs. I caught up with Ali to find out more about the show and her involvement.

Hi Ali, congratulations on the role in My Mother Said I Never Should! Can you tell us about the character you play? 

I play Doris who is the matriarch of the family. I think I draw a lot from my Grandmothers when playing her, in terms of their experiences of marriage in the 1920’s and what people expected of them – I’ve seen a lot of similar things.

Some friends of mine saw the show and said they saw certain things I did in character which made them go: “That was just you!”

What method of communication does your character use? Is this the same/different to you? 

My character, because of her age, would not have been allowed to sign and wouldn’t have had any hearing aids – so it’s very different to me. When I was at school, we weren’t allowed to sign and we grew up using the oral method.

They also said I could never be an actor, they said I wouldn’t be able to hear the cues and that I should go and work in M&S because ‘they like the deaf’. It’s been really interesting working with Lisa [Kelly] who has grown up in a very different situation and environment.

Was this your first time working with Jeni Draper of fingersmiths? If so, how did you find Jeni’s way of working – what did you particularly enjoy? 

Yes and it’s been fab, really really good. It’s a predominantly all female team and Jeni is committed to performances being accessible for all audiences. We’ve had amazing movement direction, voice coaches – all sorts to make this show the absolute best it can be.

Can you tell us how your character gets on with the other characters in the play – whats the relationship/family dynamics like? 

It’s a very hard family, but because it spans such a huge amount of time within the show, we watch the journeys of not only the characters, but of women’s rights – women were expected to look after the home, bring up the children and had a lot of expectations.

In the play it shows the different generations, it’s interesting for Doris because she’s the oldest character, yet her relationship with the youngest character – her great granddaughter – is the strongest. It’s also interesting that the men in the play are referred to and talked about, but never appear.

Are the four of you very different actors? What did you particularly enjoy about this creative team?

Yes we are different! I think we have become a very strong team because the relationships between the characters are very sensitive. None of us have worked together before, we’ve just come together and worked so hard – along with all the creative teams – to create this show, and that’s just magic.

Do you have any funny stories from rehearsals to share?

Because of the non-linear structure of the play, we found that during the run of the show we’d be backstage going: how old are you now?! What age are you playing?! Which costume should you be wearing?! – this show has so many quick changes that you need to be as quick as you can.

For instance, don’t wear your wedding ring when you come on as a five-year-old! It must have looked like a bit of a farce!

Why should our readers come along to watch the show? What can they expect from it? 

People will take such a lot away from it – it’s a play that a lot of people know, but this version is very “different.”

People will take such a lot away from it. It’s a play that a lot of people know, it’s on the school curriculum so we’ve had a fair few schools in.

How is the show accessible to different generations or those who use different communication methods?

It’s a deaf family, so there are different styles of communication between them, and also out to the audience – there’s sign language, captioning, audio description, voiceover.

Our readers may recognise you from your time on Coronation Street! Did you work mostly in theatre before Corrie came along? Will you be back on our screens again soon?!

You never know! It was 10 years before I went back last time. I love the theatre though – you can feel the audience straight away when you step out, and that really surges you, but they’re very different mediums.

What’s been the highlight of your career so far?

I think it’s really difficult to say, I’m most proud of shows that have been totally improvised and we’ve worked to create something new together.

Most recently, I loved the Forest of Forgotten Discos at Contact Theatre last Christmas, it was a devised piece which was fully accessible. I’ll always remember, this one deaf boy who came to see it with his Mama, and they were both watching the same thing and sharing the same experience.

What’s on your acting bucket list?

I’d love to play a baddie on Killing Eve or Line of Duty.

What are you up to next?

We’re touring My Mother Said I Never Should to around 11 venues across the UK in February and March – you work really hard on a show and sometimes it can only be three weeks of run time so it’s great to know this has a new life and going to different venues. I get to come back to Yorkshire, go to where I live in Manchester and we have two London venues, too.

To see further details of the show and see updates for the new year tour dates log onto www.fingersmiths.org.uk

Photos by Mark Douet