ATN Interview: Debbie Korley, Comedy of Errors - RSC
By Mariam Manneh
Published, August 2009

Background to the play
The play opens with Aegeon, merchant of Syracuse, getting arrested in Ephesus because of enmity between the two towns. Aegeon tells Solinus - the Duke of Ephesus - that he was shipwrecked  years earlier while sailing with his wife, Aemilia with his twin sons both called Antipholus, and twin servant boys, both called Dromio. In the storm, his wife, one son and one servant boy get separated from the party.

At 18, Aegeon allowed the remaining twins, Antipholus of Syracuse, and Dromio of Syracuse, to leave Syracuse for Ephesus to search for their long lost identical twins of Ephesus, but the remaining sons also disappear. After five years of waiting Aegeon arrives at Ephesus to try and find everyone. Antipholus of Syracuse ends up invited to dinner at the home of Antipholus of Ephesus and has dinner with Adriana – his twin’s wife. Adriana believes him to be Antipholus of Syracuse. Comedic chaos ensues…

Why do you cite the beginning of The Comedy of Errors as the favourite part of this play?
Beginning of Comedy of Errors brings everyone together in the storytelling from Aegeon. It’s engaging, inviting, enticing and pacy from the beginning - all the ingredients of a good Shakespeare.

You play Luciana in the Comedy of Errors – Adriana’s loyal sister. In what ways do you think Luciana role in The Comedy of Errors is pivotal to the play?
Luciana as Adriana’s sister is her rock. Both Adriana and Luciana mix up the two Antipholus’s and one of them ends up falling for Luciana. Luciana always helps Adriana out when she is talking to the wrong Dromio. These two sisters always represent themselves as a united front. They are two high class sisters and their message is clear: don’t mess with us.

What are the best bits about playing Luciana?
This was my first time working with the RSC and a chance to play a role the size of Luciana’s with her long speech was just amazing. The RSC allow you to take a role and just relish and run with it. They let me do my own thing with Luciana. I was scared and a bit worried but I learnt there is no wrong or right way to tell a story. I never dreamed growing up that I would get to work for the Royal Shakespeare Company [Debbie is contracted for two years]. I am from a working class northern background. I grew up in Huddersfield and moved to London just as I entered my teens. My school was very rough. I wanted to learn but I couldn’t relate to Shakespeare until our teacher Miss Derney gave us the opportunity to do a West Indian version of Romeo and Juliet. That was in year 9. Then in year 10 when I went to see Macbeth, a young Jonny Lee Miller was playing Macbeth and in a modern way. That was an absolute treat. I have been hooked ever since.

Everyone shows goodness and a good side in The Comedy of Errors from the Abbess to the Duke who spares Egeon’s life. Do you prefer Shakespeare’s comedies or his tragedies with their darker elements and characters?
A play like Comedy of Errors is quite gentle. Antipholus is trying to woo Luciana and it is quite moving. Shakespeare’s comedies are complex. Even in As You Like It you see the same comedy element. If Duke Ferdinand hadn’t accepted back Rosalind it could have easily been one of Shakespeare’s tragedies rather than a comedy. Gentler moments in Shakespeare have a real tenderness. You find even tragedies and comedies can have similar levels of intensity. I love Shakespeare’s comedy and tragedies equally.

Do you prefer As You Like It as a play or Comedy of Errors and why?
I feature in both but I must say as a play I prefer Comedy of Errors, though of course As You Like It is fantastic too. Paul Hunter, director, really stylised Comedy of Errors in an unusual way. He broke with tradition and conventions. There were lots of nice light touches.

You performed Comedy of Errors in several schools. How was that?
The Comedy of Errors went to around 17 schools in total. We did two weeks of touring. Two schools saw a behind-the-scenes dress rehearsal. A family audience creates the best atmosphere. You can see the adults reacting and getting excited as well as the children. It is a magical experience.

What is your favourite Shakespeare play and why?
My favourite Shakespeare play is Macbeth and Lady Macbeth is my favourite Shakespeare character. She is dark yet all woman. In Macbeth we really see how fragile humans are as a species; and we see very clearly human behaviour gone too far.

How long have you been acting and how did you get into it?
I have been acting since 2000 so nine years now. I always loved films about the performing arts like Fame. Aged 15 I joined the National Youth Music Theatre and was in an amateur production which went to the Edinburgh Festival. After that I really developed the acting bug. I then started acting full time directly after university. The RSC has really opened the door to people. For example my fellow actor in the company Richard Katz is a very physical actor and is used to doing physical theatre shows. Michael Boyd, Artistic Director of the RSC, has really opened up the playing field in terms of actors training background. Before you would have had to come through the traditional drama school path, but that is not so much the case now.

What’s next for you work wise?
I’m contracted until 2011 with the RSC. But I have also been doing work for CBeebies since March 2008. I present on a programme called The Green Balloon Club with Bill Oddie. It is a nature programme and features four children and a dog. It teaches children about green issues like recycling and how to be resourceful in terms of using what is around them.

Do you prefer stage or screen?
I have appeared in Casualty, Doctors and Night and Day. I have also done voiceover work for the BBC. What is nice about television and the stage is that the mediums are so different. Being in the heartbeat of the theatre is a great feeling. Television is lovely too. I have been so lucky and blessed working for the Royal Shakespeare Company and doing Cbeebies. I love all facets of acting, and there is so much diversity. I am just grateful for the opportunity of it all.

What advice would you give to other young women who wanted to break into classical theatre, especially if they were from an ethnic background?
My advice would be to stay focused. It is hard out there. Some people are very lucky and can just walk into a room and impress and have the director eating out of their hand. But for 99 percent of people it is about grafting, staying focused, making yourself known. I always made sure I did something educational when I wasn’t working. It was something to fall back on and for me personally it is very important to give back. I have led education workshops on theatre to students. As an ethnic minority and as a woman it can be much harder. It is really important to be clever, realistic and most of all have good people around you. I have a good agent. It is worth doing youth work and educational work to prosper, learn and give something back.

The final performance of Comedy of Errors will be at the Courtyard Theatre, Stratford on 15 August. Debbie Korley will also be appearing in The Grain Store from 10 September 2009 at the Courtyard Theatre, Stratford.