Meet the Cast of Rent: Dorcia Bowden-Noble

Rent runs from Thursday 17th September until Saturday 19th at the Rhoda McGaw Theatre, Woking - tickets are going fast now so go to our box office to book your seats

"I've been able to use my repressed wrath and unleash it on stage!"

Name: Dorcia Bowden-Noble (Poshest name in the world...also my middle name is Grace, soooo).

Character Name/Role: Blanket Woman. (Aka Lady Blanket Women Esq 3rd).

Dorcia in rehearsal with the other homeless characters including Craig Marshall, & Brett Walker  (Photo courtesy of Front of House Photography)

Tell us about your characters: She is brilliantly feisty! She's part of the homeless ensemble and may be down, but definitely not out.  I like to imagine that she was once a lady of riches with an antique wardrobe full of fur coats, but somehow fell onto hard times. This doesn't seem to be enough to keep her down though, as she has no qualms with standing up to the authorities or any heartless busybodies.

Is there anything in your own life that helps you connect with your characters? Definitely years of overly British politeness has meant I've never been gutsy enough to shout and swear at people that tick me off. I guess it's helped though as I've been able to use my repressed wrath and unleash it on stage!

What’s your favourite song in the show and why? 'Tango Maureen'! Everything about the song appeals to me.  The music is just so brilliant, the lyrics have some fabulous comedy moments and the fact that it pauses for a dance interlude can only be a plus!

What other shows have you done? This is my first production with Simply Theatre,  my last musical being Best Little Whore House about 8 years ago! However I have performed in lots of plays since then, the most resent being 'Stepping Out', where I played Sylvia.

Can you recall a particularly memorable on-stage moment? I used to do a lot of dance competitions when I was younger. When I was about 10 I performed a national solo in front of a large audience and judges. About half way through I started to realised that most of the audience, including the judges, had started giggling. Seeing no evidence of my traditional Romanian dance being the least bit comical, and being the professional I was, I carried on my dance. By the end, the audience had given up and were failing to hide their full blown sniggering.  It wasn't until I left the stage that my dance teacher asked me why I went on with an extremely dirty pair of white tights dangling like a strange smelly tail from my bloomers. I quickly told her it was bloomer stuffing....(because all bloomers need stuffing...) and performed the walk of shame back to the changing room with them still dragging behind me. Definitely a memorable on stage moment. Oh and when my score card came back it read 'Please make sure your costume is appropriately applied'.  Still a story my mum loves to reminisce about.

Can you remember the first time you thought “I want to be in theatre”? I can't remember a particular moment, but I started dancing when I was 3 and got the stage bug straight away! My dad used to also take my brother and I to see musicals at the Mayflower and, even though I loved watching them, I always wanted to be on the stage with them more.

What are you enjoying most about being part of Simply Theatre? The cast! Everyone is just so friendly and welcoming and they are all so dauntingly talented! I'm 'over the moon' to have been lucky enough to perform with them. (See what I did there).

Is there room in your life for anything else apart from singing, dancing & acting? Eating cake mainly. Apart from that my other passion is working with children. I absolutely love my job in my nursery and I still get to sing dance and act all day!

No Day But Today