Shereen Roushbaiani is a versatile actor who has appeared in TV shows such as Midsomer Murders and in Alleycats the movie and is now playing the role of Ruth in Cul-de-Sac coming to the Clapham Omnibus Theatre from the 27th May – 14th June.
Over the Shoulder spoke to Shereen about how she fell in love with performing, how her acting career is blossoming and her excitement about treading the boards again.
Congratulations on your role as Ruth Townsend in Cul-de-Sac, coming to Clapham’s Omnibus Theatre from the 27th May – 14th June. Can you tell me about Ruth and what the play is about?
It’s set in a Cul-de-Sac and it’s about these five very different characters who come together. They’re all very different. There’s lots of booze involved, which can make situations go one way or another. They all reveal a lot about their lives and begin to understand that they’ve got a lot more in common than they think.
It’s set in Ruth and Frank’s house, and Frank is Ruth’s husband. They’ve got this turbulent relationship where they are sparring quite a lot of the time.
It reminds me a lot of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf”, where the whole play they’re spitting at each other and trying to get one up on the other person, until it becomes too much.
Ruth is a glorious character; she is very witty and intelligent. She’s sarcastic and so am I, which is why I probably got the part!
Ruth has gone from a life of living in Central London to Zone Six in the suburbs and she doesn’t work. She’s lost her identity, who she is and she’s trying to find it and really struggling. It’s such a gorgeous role and so meaty.
You have worked with Cul-de-Sac playwright David Shopland before in the one woman show Saving Britney. How exciting was it to be reunited with such a talented writer?
It’s super exciting. I am not sure if he wrote Cul-de-Sac before he wrote Saving Britney. They were of similar time, so I knew of the play. I remember him writing it.
I remember him texting me because we went to drama school together and I remember him saying I’ve got this idea, and I think he went home and bashed out this play.
I love David. I know how he works. We work well together, and I was just really happy that he remembered that I had said, that this role was mine!
The success of a play very much depends on the chemistry between the actors. How have the auditions been going and have you all created a bond?
Rehearsals start in a couple of weeks. David works by sending a mass massive email with an information pack so the crew, cast and him are on the same page and makes you understand that this is a very collaborative project.
I already feel like I know these people even though I haven’t met them yet in person and I’m so excited to do it in a couple of weeks. We’re already following each other on Instagram and are way ahead of the game.
Also, I am working with another friend from drama school called Callum who will be playing Simon, so It’s going to be like a little Bruford reunion.
I feel like this cast is going to be strong and work together to get this amazing play out there.
I’m so excited and I know that they’re all excited to be a part of this amazing journey.
Cul-de-Sac portrays the alienation and quiet desperation that goes on behind suburban closed doors. How easy do you think it will be to get into that frame of mind and do you relate to Ruth in any way?
I mean there’s so much I relate to with Ruth, and it is not the obvious things, like Ruth used to be a therapist and I am not so I didn’t relate to that, but I do relate to her, I hope, ability to draw people in with kindness and empathy and listen. That’s what made her such a good therapist because people are naturally drawn to her and want to talk to her.
I think I have elements of that, and I have a lot of friends that would say the same. Ruth is a little bit lost but aren’t we all a little bit.
I don’t want to say she’s intelligent and I’m intelligent because that makes me sound like a “sweat!”
You grew up in Bournemouth, is that where your love of performing began and how old where you?
I fell into performing really. When I was in secondary school, I was in a music class, and I had to perform a song, and I realised that I could sing.
My best friend, she was always performing, and I watched from afar and did a lot of drama with her and came out of my shell.
I was a shy child and quite withdrawn. After I sang this song in class, I did this play at school, and I loved it.
I followed my best friend, like I say, to college, which was in the New Forest.
I did less singing and more acting and the roles that did were just so good and gripping and I would really immerse myself in them in a way that made me happy.
When I was 18, I moved to London and I’m still here. Me and my friend moved randomly from Bournemouth to London with 20 quid in our pocket. Another friend pushed me towards college. I worked in estate agents for a long time, and it was actually at drama school that I was like, “oh, I want to do this.”
You have concentrated on theatre, but you have also done TV and film such as Midsomer Murders and Alleycats. Do you need to use different techniques for the two disciplines, and would you like to appear in front of the camera more in the future?
I would love to do more TV and film.
I’m more confident on stage. TV and film are a completely different ball game. TV is so fast paced which is the same as theatre, but there’s no rehearsal process. In a way, when you’re doing TV and film it can feel quite static compared to theatre sometimes.
Any TV work I’m always up for it because I really want to continue to learn and become more confident in it.
You won rave reviews for Saving Britney where you had the stage to yourself. Were you nervous appearing alone and did you prepare differently for a one woman show?
Doing Saving Britney was incredible. It was a ridiculous ride, and I still think, how did that happen? It was at the beginning of Covid and all of us thought that there wasn’t going to be any work.
We opened at the Old Red Lion Theatre after lockdown, and then did a UK Tour, and then it was at The Other Palace and then we did an off-Broadway run, which was an incredible experience.
When I was on stage and something went wrong, I was the one that had to get myself out of it, there’s no one else. For a one woman show we stretched it out a little bit to 70-80 minutes which was fun but hard work.
If you could choose one person to play you in a movie or play, who would it be?
That’s very hard. I like a lot of people. People say I look like Christina Ritchie a little bit.
I’ve always been in love with Kate Winslet, her attention to detail and the way that she is so authentic with her craft is inspiring.
It would be a ridiculous honour if she played me in any capacity.
Or maybe Robert Downey Jr, because he’s very sarcastic like me!
After Cul-de-Sac, what are your plans and hopes for the future?
I’m in a bit of a scary place because I’ve been working in a corporate company with a regular paycheck for two years and going to do the play means I have to leave that safety net.
Fingers crossed Cul-de-Sac is a success and I will take it from there!
Thank you to Shereen for telling us about your new play, we will be in the front row to watch you wow audiences with your talent.
Can’t wait.