BWW Interviews: Tony Nominee Lauren Ward On BAT BOY!

The Southwark Playhouse isn't exactly the physical kind of venue you'd expect a Tony winner to be working at. In terms of programming and production quality, however, it's no wonder that Lauren Ward is about to begin her run there in the cult hit Bat Boy.

"That's what made me excited about the idea of this show," she says. "I saw In The Heights because the director was the AD of Matilda when I was there - it was an amazing production. I thought they did such a good job in the space. It's an exciting theatre - it's one to watch.

"I'm out of my comfort zone a little bit, but I think that's good as an artist. It's no different working in this rehearsal room than it is at the National - although maybe it's not quite as comfortable!"

The original production had a short run at the Shaftesbury Theatre back in 2004 after a premiere at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, and the cast featured stars including Emma Williams and John Barr - but it lasted only three months in London.

However, a decade on, after the rise of the "anti-musical" and the development of a strong strand of social satire in modern musicals (see The Book of Mormon and Urinetown), perhaps the time is right for it to receive a different reception?

"It's a great piece," says Ward. I think there should be an audience for it. I'd enjoy going to watch it. It's so clever, and funny, and has such a sick, twisted humour - it's so enjoyable!

"It's making fun of ourselves - that can have quite a poignant effect on the audience."

Ward plays Meredith, the mother of Shelly, who takes the Bat Boy in. ("She's a very uptight housewife, for various reasons - I don't want to give too much away!")

The cast is an intriguing mix of the veteran (Ward herself, plus people like Matthew White, Nolan Frederick and Simon Bailey) and the novice.

"It's a really fun company," says Ward. "The creatives are really young and enthusiastic, and it's fun to be in a rehearsal room where people are really excited. It's a very talented cast - I know Georgie [Georgina Hagen], who plays my daughter, because I've worked with her mother! Rob [Rob Compton], who plays the Bat Boy, is a real find.

"It's so nice to work with all these young people - young dancers and young singers who I haven't had the opportunity of meeting in my career, they're up and comers and they're so good. It's a real pleasure to be amongst them."

Bat Boy begins previews at the Southwark Playhouse tonight and runs until Jan 31.

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