Goodbye Tyne

SUSAN Hampshire is almost certainly on her last theatre tour as a role written especially for her in a stage adaptation of Pride And Prejudice brings this national treasure to Newcastle Theatre Royal next month.

At 72 the actress isn’t tired of travelling. Sadly, her theatre impresario husband Eddie Kulukundis has failing health and Hampshire admits that arranging care for him while on tour is proving difficult.

“I’m not sure I can continue doing this because of Eddie’s health. This will probably be my last tour. At this moment I’d be thrilled to be doing something in London. I do think it will be the last time I go on tour, quite simply Eddie’s not well and I agreed to do this show and was flattered and delighted to be offered it. Of course, it is a bit of worry now because Eddie’s health has gone downhill while I’m contracted to this and I know I should be at home,” she says.

Kulukundis, in addition to forging theatre deals, has also been a huge supporter of Britain’s Olympic team and aspirations. “He’s been a great benefactor for sport through the theatre, but he’s now retired from everything and is suffering from short-term memory loss so it’s hard for him to enjoy life in the way that he did. He is frail now. “The last month I’ve been taking care of him night and day on my own and he’s made huge progress and I’m fortunate that someone who knows him and has worked for us before is back for the first two weeks of the tour. There actually needs to be a team of three people to give 24-hour care. So I’m now facing a lot of big questions. For a man that has the most exceptional brain it’s heart-breaking.

“He used to know all the statistics for the team, whether a runner was a quarter of a second faster and what someone on the other side of the world had done. If I was driving to Newcastle he could tell me the best route. But his maths are still good and he can still work out four per cent of something for me or add up a bill off the top of his head. So some bits of the brain are working, but he’s not the person he was,” Hampshire explains.

The actress has siblings 12 years, five years and two years older “who are bright as a button” so remains hopeful about the impact of the ageing process on her mind, but admits that both her husband’s parents had battles with failing memory towards the end of their lives.

“I tend to go on the road once a year but I haven’t been to Newcastle, sadly, for a long time, so I’m really pleased to be going back (her last appearance was in Noel Coward’s Relative Values in 2002). I think the audiences outside London are incredibly intelligent and also come to the theatre with the wonderful attitude by listening to the play and having a good time in spite of the stress of arranging to park the car and trying to get a drink in the bar. So it’s a great joy being on tour,” she says.

While her fans might see her as the ideal candidate to play Jane Austen’s wonderfully comic creation Mrs Bennet, Hampshire doesn’t necessarily agree, even if writer Simon Reade always had her in mind when creating the role. “When I was first offered it, it was such a lovely story that I wanted to do it. I didn’t immediately understand everything about the woman but then you think about the history of that period and how she had five children and not enough money and a house that would be taken away from her if her husband died. So there was some urgency... and she was probably on the menopause as well. So then I could began to understand her very well and like the fact that she was not totally stupid but spoke without thinking.... so I’ve grown quite fond of her,” she says.

Often the work of creating someone like Mrs Bennet is done in the rehearsal room but Hampshire feels it is the audience that nudges her towards finding her portrayal.

“Sometimes you don’t notice that such and such line comes across as humorous and then they nudge you and sometimes you learn more from the audience than from the rehearsal room. The audience is different every night and they display what they think throughout the show. I think that’s why most shows need a running in period. Some people give their best performance and go downhill from the first night and others grow and grow and six months later you feel they’ve done something amazing with the part. It’s an adventure is all I can say,”

says Hampshire.

At Newcastle she’ll renew her acquaintance with her Monarch of the Glen TV sparring partner Richard Briers. The actor recently announced the venue’s latest refurbishment and has a suite named after him.

“That’s a very good omen, how nice.

I did hear that bookings were good for us at Newcastle,” she says.

And in answer to her fame helping the box office sales, Hampshire replies: “I do feel a huge responsibility if a theatre isn’t full, but I can’t seem to take the joy when it’s full. If I see empty seats I think ‘oh my God’ and feel sorry for the producer and everybody else. But if it’s packed I don’t pat myself on the back and think isn’t it wonderful. So if I take all the blame then I should be more kind to myself.”

With Pride And Prejudice remaining one of the world’s favourite books since it was published in 1796, Hampshire is delighted that the famous love story has given a great acting opportunity for the five newcomers playing her daughters, Violet Ryder as Jane, Katie Lightfoot as Elizabeth, Victoria Hamnett as Mary, Leah Whitaker as Kitty and Lydia Larson as Lydia. An essential part of the cast of 17 is Nicholas Taylor as the brooding bachelor Mr Darcy.

As for the future for Hampshire she reveals she has been offered another project later in the year. “I’m going to have to think about it because I can’t be away from Eddie,” she muses.

■ Pride and Prejudice, Newcastle Theatre Royal, February 15-20.

Tickets: £8.50-£29. Box Office: 08448- 112-121 theatreroyal.co.uk