Artist Spotlight: Actor, LAURA HANNA

Laura is a British-Egyptian actor, singer and theatremaker. She trained at LAMDA. She played Zuya in Tamasha’s production of Hakawatis by Hannah Khalil, directed by Pooja Ghai at The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse. She is currently playing Olivia in Twelfth Night at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. Laura is also a published poet. 

Her theatre work includes Otherland (Almeida Theatre), Bindweed (Arcola and Mercury Theatre); A Comedy of Errors (Shakesperae’s Globe Theatre); Hakawatis (The Sam Wanamaker/Tamasha); Once Upon A Time In Nazi Occupied Tunisia (Almeida); Living Newspaper Edition 5 (Royal Court Theatre); Signal Fires (Fuel Theatre); Karaokay (Bunker Theatre); A History Of Water In The Middle East (Royal Court Theatre); Give A Man A Bible (Pint Sized/ The Bunker Theatre); Rest Upon The Wind (Matar Ventures); The Sweethearts (The Finborough Theatre/Raising Dark); A Bright Room Called Day (Southwark Playhouse); Lean (Strip Theatre/Tristan Bates Theatre). Television credits include Call The Midwife (BBC); Grace (ITV); Heartstopper (Netflix); Casualty (BBC). Radio credits include The Old Man In The Moon (Holy Mountain/BBC Radio 4); The Arabian Nights (Holy Mountain/BBC Radio 4); The Eustace Diamonds (Goldhawk Essential/BBC Radio 4). 

Was there a particular moment when you knew you wanted to be an actor? 

I’m not sure if there was a single moment when I decided that ‘being an actor’ was the thing, however I do very clearly remember a school trip to the Globe Theatre when I was 11 or 12 to see A Comedy of Errors. There was an announcement at the beginning of the show, that the actor playing Dromio was ill and someone else would be going on with the book. And watching that happen in front of me was insane. Magic. This person is super human. It was pissing it down with rain and I was standing in the yard, leaning against the stage, riveted. Those performers looked like they were limitless, and having the most fun anyone had ever had.

After the show, I bought a poster they were selling in the gift shop, it had the names of all the actors and creative team on it with photographs,  and stuck it to our toilet door at home. The director was Kathryn Hunter, the production had her husband in it, the late Marcello Magni and the actor who went on with book was Mark Rylance. Of course, I didn’t know who any of them were at the time but now… I suppose that wasn’t a bad inttoduction to being an actor. It had a huge impact on me and certainly planted the seed. 

Has a role ever changed the way you view the world? Which one and why? 

I think every role changes the way I view the world to some degree, they can’t not really, because you plot and undergo the experiences of another person, experiences that are different to your own. That phrase, ‘put yourself in their shoes’, that’s basically what we’re doing all the time. I did a production last year, Bindweed, written by Martha Loader, it won a Bruntwood award. I played the lead, Jen, an ex-copper turned facilitator for a rehabilitation group for male perpetrators of domestic abuse. I knew I was going to find it challenging. It’s an issue that brings up great rage and pain in me, personally and socially, and I went in with my own strongly formed feelings and views about it.

I don’t know if it changed the way I view the world exactly, but it did change my view of the justice system and structures around rehabilitation versus punishment. I had the chance to meet and speak in depth with an amazing woman who had created one of these rehabilitation groups in Essex. Unsung heroes who continue to fight the failings of our social systems and toxic narratives. 

What was the last play you saw? 

English Kings Killing Foreigners 

Everyone at the Tamasha office is a huge fan of Heartstopper! What was it like being part of such a beloved and groundbreaking show?

I was such a small part of it, but it was an impactful experience nonetheless. Not least because it was both my first TV job ever and the first casting I had received that specified a character with British-Egyptian heritage (which is my heritage) and yet nothing in the story or script needed to reveal that. Quite something! And I think testament to the show’s commitment to diversity and representation and nuance. Huge props to casting director Daniel Edwards for that, he’s a front runner on exactly this.

Heartstopper really serves that type of art which imagines what the world could be, what could exist. And there’s space for that more and more I think. Demand for it in fact. Those young actors have been on quite a journey and it really was a pleasure to share a piece of it with them. Also they were the loveliest, warmest set and team. 

Are there skills you think all actors should develop, regardless of medium? What advice would you give to them? 

Looking after yourself, body, mind and soul. This is the hardest and greatest of skills to develop as an actor I think. And that’s in order to survive and thrive in a very challenging industry and job. This goes hand-in-hand with asking for what you need, whether that be more time to sight-read in an audition, access needs during rehearsal, accent support, more direction, less direction! And rest, when you can.  It can be the best job in the world, but it can also be exhausting.

Each job is all-consuming, you enter a little universe that exists only for that story, you develop intimate connections with people who become your new family for those months, and it takes all your energy, brain power, focus and heart. You have to be physically and emotionally accessible all the time. And then it’s over. And that can be draining as much as it is invigorating.  

What responsibilities do artists have in today’s social and political climate? 

I believe that art is inherently political, in that it is disruptive, rebellious and communal in nature. Artists have always occupied a unique place in existing both within and outside of society. It’s that old adage about art holding a mirror up to society, so that it can see itself, but also I think it was Brecht who said it’s a hammer with which to shape reality. I think both are true. And that’s very powerful. So when you look at it like that, that’s a load of responsibility! We all have different roles to play within that, different gifts, different limitations and different capacities. I think it’s our job to get clear on exactly what our part is.

I’ve been on a journey with this myself, and still am. As a performer, I spent most of my early career oblivious to the political and social context in which I was working, and that’s probably quite natural for most young actors, seeing your only job as to believably convey the inner life of the character you’re playing, full stop. But it becomes harder and harder to ignore context as you continue to work in our industry. And as actors it may seem like we have hardly any power in ‘shaping reality’, that’s for the playwrights and artistic directors and producers. And yes they do have more macro decisions to make. But I’ve come to see that my power is in choosing where to put my creative energies, choosing the parts I want to play, the stories I want to be part of telling or propagating, the people I want to work with and ally myself with etc. And I’ve definitely made some mistakes, and sometimes you don’t always know what you’re signing up for! But now I try to do my due diligence, my research. And if I find myself in compromising situations, then to speak up or walk away.

Using your voice, even if you feel like it doesn’t hold much weight, is the least we can do and more important than ever right now, with the increasing artistic censorship the UK & US industries are experiencing. Art doesn’t mean anything if it doesn’t speak to the human challenges we face today. 

What’s coming up next for Laura Hanna? 

No idea! What the fates allow!