The Corona Diaries: Katy Secombe

These recent times have been some of the hardest challenges we've faced and as a community, it hit us pretty hard. However during these difficult times, here at Pocket Size Theatre, we wanted to spread a little positivity and share some peoples experiences because we are all in this together. Each day we'll be speaking to our friends in the industry to share their experiences with you all so take a read and see how people are getting through these hard times. 

Let's stick together, share the love and get through this as a community!

Katy Secombe was most recently seen on tour with the Globe in As You Like It, A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Tempest. Her other credits include Madame Thénardier in Les Miserables (Queen's Theatre); Mrs Beaver/Mother in The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (Rose Theatre); Brenda in I Can't Sing (London Palladium); Nurse in The Lyons (Menier Chocolate Factory); Alice Challice in Darling of the Day (Union Theatre); Clara in Hayfever (Rose Theatre); Mama Morton in Chicago (UK Tour); Witch in Macbeth (Harrogate Theatre); Guys and Dolls, Twelfth Night, A Winter's Tale, Mother Clap's Molly House (National Theatre); The Music Man (Chichester Festival Theatre) and Rosie in Mamma Mia (Prince of Wales Theatre); 

On Monday 16th March 2020, The Society of London Theatre announced the closure of all Theatres in London. This followed suit with regional venues. Where were you when you found out and what was your initial reaction? 

Oh my! This is a very strange time. The other day, I picked up my rucksack that I had been using during rehearsals earlier this year for a stint with The Globe On Tour. Opening it was rather like delving into a time capsule. There were my travel cards and my notebook and play scripts; receipts for coffee shops, petrol stations and take away sandwiches - all the little pieces of a busy life which now seems very distant. We had been having a wonderful time rehearsing A Midsummer Nights Dream, As You Like It and The Tempest and were just about to get into technical rehearsals. Beautiful costumes were made, plays rehearsed and bonds made when our Prime Minister announced that we were going into lockdown. I must admit that It didn’t come as an enormous shock; London had begun to feel empty and a little eerie that week as news of the virus began to hit home. However, watching the first daily briefing was still troubling and unsettling.