I found out that I’d been cast in Our Town Needs a Nando’s while sitting on a platform at Twyford station. I was absentmindedly waiting for the first of several trains home after visiting a friend in Henley. As always seems to be the case with these things, it was when my audition outcome was very far from my mind that it finally came through. The two friends I was waiting with (before we were forced to part onto trains to different parts of the country) will remember hearing my little squeal as I opened the email.

“I felt like I had finally manifested this acceptance – and, to be frank, like I deserved it after all of that heartache”

Honestly, I think the main thing I felt in that moment was relief. I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels the pressure at the end of a term to have a show lined up for the next one. As I’ve already confessed to the Varsity Theatre section, I’m something of a serial auditionee (although, naturally, if I audition for your show it doesn’t mean that it isn’t also very special and dear to my heart – and you should definitely cast me). I think the logic is sound – if I go for everything that seems up my street, the odds of me securing something satisfying are greatly increased. However, by this point, I’d had quite a string of rejections, and it was beginning to dig through even my rhino-like thick skin. I remember a phone call with my dear friend, fellow Camdram warrior and now co-editor (!) Milly where we were both bemoaning our hard luck in trying to bag an ADC Main, and commiserating over the cumulative effect of these knockbacks (don’t worry, she is also very much in a show now, and the world is at rights). We both felt that our attempts to break into the heart of the Camdram world were being thwarted. So, I felt like I had finally manifested this acceptance – and, to be frank, like I deserved it after all of that heartache.

Nando’s was, genuinely, one of the shows of which I most wanted to be a part. It’s about a group of teenage girls growing up in a small backwater town where there isn’t even a Nando’s, which sounded quite familiar to me. However, there are two challenges that I’ve never encountered before – firstly, I was being cast as a swing along with a more minor role. I was perfectly happy with this, as the core cast is just the five girls and I knew how many auditions there had been, but I have never been a swing before. In fact, this role is very unfamiliar to Camdram across the board. I suppose because we are all (famously) so busy with our degrees, people aren’t generally roped in just to cover other people’s roles. But in combination with my own part, it seemed an exciting prospect.

“I was quickly introduced to a whole world of video calls and very active WhatsApp groups”

As for the second challenge: work was going to begin on this show during the long vacation. For my last show, Still Life, I had been cast over the Easter holiday, but this was a different beast as we knew we would all be back in Cambridge within a few weeks. Keeping momentum going for a show for months after casting is a challenge, although one that many shows face. I was quickly introduced to a whole world of video calls and very active WhatsApp groups (my fear of missing vital information amongst these messages is real). There’s something about sitting in front of my laptop and saying 'I am doing theatre' that is reminiscent of lockdown. However, beyond a test of all of our commitment levels, there are advantages to this situation. We all have plenty of time to properly study our scripts, get to grips with what the show is all about, and think through our characters. It requires all of the great energy and enthusiasm of our director to keep it alive, but an extended period of internal thought before a show could be no bad thing. She’s ensuring we aren’t wasting time by scheduling one-on-one character discussion sessions, and working with cast members remotely on their monologues.

I am yet to meet any of the people I am working with in person, and some of them I haven’t even seen on a screen. I’m aware that my status as one of two cast members who aren’t playing the core five could feed into this sense of isolation, so I hope to fend this off when we finally get back to Cambridge by attending the already scheduled cast socials and being proactive about sitting in on some rehearsals for the characters I’m covering. In the meantime, I have plenty of time to relax in the knowledge that I won’t have to spend a gloomy Michaelmas without the light of a show in my life. And unless something goes really wrong, I’ll know my lines before the beginning of term. As for what the unprecedented role of a swing is like – I will have to find out and report back.