Louise Jameson, known for her roles in Doctor Who, Tenko, Bergerac, and EastEnders, stars in The Mousetrap, which comes to Shrewsbury’s Theatre Severn on Monday 9th May 2016.

Having joined the cast in January, Louise is thrilled to be part of the production and has relished her time with the show so far. “I really am blessed to be working with such a lovely group of people. As it turns out, we’re all foodies so we’re often showing off our culinary skills together. I’ll be with the show until the middle of August and when you’re touring for that length of time, this kind of bonding makes all the difference.”

Prior to The Mousetrap, Louise had been starring in the Christmas pantomime, Cinderella as the Fairy Godmother.

“I finished delivering Cinderella off to the ball and twelve hours later I was in The Mousetrap! It’s quite a change to go straight from the Fairy Godmother to the grumpy Mrs Boyle.”

“The challenge that comes with the role is to empathise with her, as on paper she seems very brash and a ‘glass half empty’ sort of person. There must be a reason for her being that type of character so I look for clues as to why, for example she mentions selling her house because things became ‘too difficult’. Though a small line, it gives you a chance to read into what happened and what exactly it was that became too difficult for her; did her husband die or was she perhaps criminalised due to the poor judgments she made as a magistrate? You approach the role by giving the character a history and then take it from there.”

Louise has previously taken on the role of Miss Marple in A Murder Is Announced and also starred in a 1990s television adaptation of The Pale Horse. As the timing of The Mousetrap happened to coincide with an upcoming milestone birthday, she felt there was no better time to become involved with another Agatha Christie classic.

“I turn 65 this year and feel that I’m now at the age where you need to celebrate not only the decades, but the half decades as well and joining the cast of The Mousetrap seemed like the perfect celebration. The show is almost as old as I am, it’s an iconic part of British history and when the part was offered to me it just felt right so I agreed to it. I’ve been in several recent shows which have involved a great deal of line learning, so it’s nice and quite relaxing to take on a production such as The Mousetrap, where I can be rock solid with my lines.”

Having taken on numerous roles in both theatre and television, has there ever been a preference for acting on stage or screen?

“I think that there is more of a comparison in terms of the script and whether or not it’s actually good, rather than a comparison between working in theatre and television. When a script has been written in a hurry or rushed then it can be terrible, but when they’re produced well it’s fantastic; Tenko, for example, had marvellous scripts.”

“My real favourite is pub theatre, which is also the kind that brings less money. I’m starring in a new production which is coming to the Hope and Anchor; it’s a play called Diva Drag and my role is that of a Welsh homophobic ghost.”

Alongside Diva Drag, there are also upcoming projects which will see Louise heading to the U.S. “There are five Doctor Who conventions that I shall be attending and I’m also taking a play that I wrote, My Gay Best Friend, to New York where it will be performed as an Off-Broadway production.”

The Mousetrap runs at Theatre Severn from 9th May until 14th May 2016. For details and to book visit https://www.theatresevern.co.uk/

Interview by: Jenna Feasey