Interview: GUYS AND DOLLS' Miss Adelaide, Samantha Spiro!

Thanks so much for talking to us - how are you enjoying the show?

We have such a wonderful time, I'm loving every minute of it.

And Adelaide is such a lovely part.

It is such a lovely role. It's a lovely journey that she goes on, and practically it's a lovely part to play during the night - you come on and do one scene, and then you have a break, then you do a song and a scene, then there's a break. It's beautifully paced! It's a lovely role and I feel so lucky to be doing it in this production.

She's funny, but never caricatured.

I think it's really well-written. The book is so strong. You can play anything for caricature, but there's enough depth in the writing to make Adelaide a three-dimensional character and to make a three-dimensional relationship with her and Nathan. I think it's there in the writing, and it's lovely playing opposite Richard Kind. Hopefully the audience do actually care, rather than just finding it fun.

In the past six months, audiences have seen you, Sophie Thompson and Louise Dearman all play the role, and you all have such a different take on it.

It's really odd, we all wear the same costumes on the same set, but there's freedom on how we want to play, to be able to go off and discover her in your own way.

You mentioned Richard Kind - what's he like?

He's great fun. He's a big teddy bear. We do have good fun together. He loves to work the detail as well. We didn't have a very long rehearsal period, so every night we're still discussing moments. We try new things out all the time.

And how well do the company work together?

We're so lucky, it's a fantastic company. I stand at the side of the stage every night watching those amazing dancers during Havana and Sit Down You're Rockin' The Boat - I get there early for my next entrance because it's just such fun and they're all brilliant. It's a real show of individuals within that ensemble - they've been cast for their charisma and characterisations, and that's been encouraged from the beginning.

Samantha Spiro is currently playing Miss Adelaide in Guys and Dolls, and can soon be seen in the film 'Me Before You' as the mother of Emilia Clarke and Jenna Coleman ("how flattering - two such gorgeous daughters!").

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