Q&A with Kim Ismay

Exclusive Interview by Karen Beishuizen
Photo Credits: Catherine Shakespeare Lane, Brinkhoff/Moegenburg and Wicked UK Touring Production Ltd

Kim Ismay is a British actress who played Tanya in “Mamma Mia The Musical” for 7 years at London West End. She toured with the musical “Wicked” all over the world playing Madame Morrible. She is an Ambassador for the children’s cancer charity Momentum. She played in “FANNY” which ran at the Watermill Theatre and she had her own one-woman show called “About Bill” at The Talbard Theatre. If you are going to The Edinburgh Festival, which runs from 2-26 August, look out for Kim as she will be there with something special!

KB: Did you always want to be an actress as a kid?

Apart from a very brief desire to be a ballerina, which was scotched by the time I was five as not only was I already too tall, I also had no technique, turnout or talent.…. absolutely. I always knew that it was the thing I wanted to do.

KB: How did you get the role of Tanya in “Mamma Mia The Musical” in London and how long did you play the part?

I had auditioned for the original cast, but didn’t get the role…The second time I auditioned, however I did. The audition process used to involve a final Sunday, where they would workshop various scenes and put groups of people together. Phyllida, the director, gave me absolutely no help or direction or even much comment, and helped everybody else so I was completely convinced it had been a total disaster and that I hadn’t got the job. I got the offer 2 days later. Afterwards, Phyllida told me that I’d given her exactly what she wanted straight away, so she didn’t need to comment…. I still find it hard to judge whether an audition has gone my way or not! I played Tanya in all 3 of Mamma Mia’s West End homes: The Prince Edward, the Prince of Wales, and the Novello, and I did the move from theatre to theatre both times. I also did a couple of months on the international tour while it was in Edinburgh… So altogether, I played Tanya for seven glorious years….it’s a very hard show to leave!

KB: Madame Morrible in Wicked: How did you get the part and how much fun were the international tours with the musical?

Ohhh….international tours, if you have the right Producer and the right Company Manager (VERY important!) are absolutely amazing. Somebody pays you to see the world whilst you are doing the thing you love best. It actually doesn’t get better than this! Wicked took me to Singapore, Hong Kong, Manila, Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou and was such an extraordinary time. We travelled to some fantastic places on our time off as well; I went to Japan and Indonesia. I’ve walked on the Great Wall, and had some experiences I would never have had. Morrible was a great favourite in China…they love a theatre villain! We spent a snowy, chocolate-box Christmas in Zurich to kick off The Uk and Ireland Tour as well, and then after 2 years on the road, I Morribled for a year (albeit pandemic-interrupted) in The West End.

KB: You are a former member of The Royal Shakespeare Company: What is so special about William Shakespeare and what is your favorite play?

Oh no it’s too hard to choose just one! I’ve always loved Shakespeare; some people can’t stand him because the language doesn’t click for them as they were made to just read it at school – it was never meant to be read on the page, it was meant to be heard. And not incomprehenibly in a special shouty “Shakespeare” voice, either, he was the absolute opposite of elitist… He was the soap opera of his day, full of misunderstandings, death, love, murder and intrigue. I’d done “Kiss me, Kate” and “The Wizard of Oz” for the RSC and they asked me to do “A Comedy of Errors” which remains one of my favourites. I also love “The Tempest” and “A Midsummer Nights Dream”.

KB: You did TV, Theatre and Movies: What do you prefer and why? What makes the difference?

I haven’t really done enough film to make a judgement on that (although there is an awful lot of hanging about involved!), but TV and theatre are so different… They both have their good and bad points. With TV, if you make a mistake or you feel you could deliver a more nuanced performance, you can go back and do it again. Everything about your performance is more internalised, as every single microexpression will show up strongly and clearly on camera. It can be technically exacting as you may have to do multiple takes for different cameras over a long chunk of time – I once had to cry on camera and although I’m not bad at crying to order (!!!) by the 6th take I needed a bit of assistance from the makeup department.

However theatre has a more immediate, visceral feel to it as it’s a live experience, and if you make a mistake you can’t go back and put it right. It’s always different and evolving night after night; you have a relationship with the audience and get that immediate response from them. There’s nothing like the feeling of making an audience laugh or cry, or just have a really good time, or hearing that active, supercharged silence when you know they’re completely with you.

KB: Are there any current people you would love to collaborate with or wished you had?

There are so many actors and directors I’d like to work with, I don’t know where to start! I started making a list but we’d be here all day as there were loads of people I couldn’t leave off. Sorry, not a very helpful answer… Let’s just say, I want to keep working with as many amazing people as possible for as long as I can work!

KB: You are the Ambassador for the children’s cancer charity Momentum: What do you do as an Ambassador and how important is the work for you?

I was originally asked to be involved with Momentum in order to kick off fundraising for renovating the very dreary outdoor play area at the Kingston Hospital paediatric oncology unit; I put together a night of show songs, and some local businesses gave us some fantastic raffle prizes… we raised what we needed straight away, so it grew from there. Momentum are extraordinary – on one end of the scale, they’ve renovated wards and ICU for babies, and have their own holiday home and a boat on the Thames to give children and their families a break; and on a personal level they help and support not only the children who are going through treatment, but the families as well. The charity has grown so wonderfully, even expanding to different hospitals but it’s never lost its heart.

Momentum’s founder Bianca Effemey, was awarded the OBE for her wonderful work! For almost 15 years I produced & directed fundraising concerts which got progressively bigger every year, with stars from the West End and TV giving their time; and latterly I’ve been involved in helping to set up a “Buddy” system which pairs up children in treatment with somebody who works in the field they’re interested in… They exchange letters/cards/social media messages depending on the age of the child. I work with a number of charities but Momentum has my heart, and I’m proud to have been their first Ambassador.

KB: If you could pick a director and 2 co stars and decide whether to play in a movie or theatre play: what would it be and who would you pick?

Oh nooooo more tricky choices…..I’m so fickle (not to say greedy) how would I choose? And different directors/actors would be brilliantly different at different things…. Let’s shoot for the moon here and have a Spielberg movie with Jodie Comer and Hannah Waddingham.

KB: What are you currently up to?

I played in “FANNY” by Calum Finlay which is a glorious comedy about Fanny Mendelssohn. It ran at the Watermill Theatre from 23rd of May till 15th of June. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so much during the first week of rehearsals – I had a brilliant time. I did a couple of performances of my one-woman piece “About Bill” at The Tabard Theatre. Then heading to the Edinburgh Festival with something else…but I can’t say what yet as it hasn’t been announced!

Check out Kim’s website: HERE

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