Steph Parry aka The Girl Who Ran Down The Road talks about the 18 minutes that changed her life

Name: Steph Parry
Name of show: The Girl Who Ran Down The Road
Venue: The Space
Dates of run: 18 January 2019

Can you tell me about the show and what people can expect if they come along?
A night filled with great songs, comedy, lots of stories and a great deal of fun.

Where does the title of the show “The Girl Who Ran Down The Road” come from?
After the crazy Mamma Mia! “Save the day” story, people would say to
Me “Oh, you’re the girl who ran down the road?!” And I remember saying to my agent, “if I do another cabaret night, I’m gonna call it that!”

You hit the headlines last year when you were called on to run from your show 42nd Street, down to a show you had previously performed in, Mamma Mia, to perform in the show to save it from having to be cancelled. Can you take us through exactly what happened from getting the call to going on stage?
There really wasn’t a great deal of time between me getting the call and getting on
stage. I believe the show stopped for 18 minutes. In that time, I’d packed my stuff, “Ran Down The Road” ;-), had my hair back combed into some form
Of a style (I was just back from holiday and it was in desperate need of a wash), mic’d up and tried on a few different costumes belonging to other people. It was the most surreal experience and I remember grabbing a quick moment in the loo before I went on and thinking “what am I about to do?? And do I even know the lines????!”
Ah the wonderful world of showbiz!

Who are your biggest inspirations inside and outside of the industry?
As an actress Olivia Colman is my absolute fave. I’m thrilled that she’s just won a golden globe. There was a scene a few years ago in “Accused” where she just shouts and sobs at Anne Marie Duff and I’m like “I wanna do THAT!!”
Outside of the industry, I’m hugely inspired by strong women. I’m a keen cross fitter and love watching the woman lift heavy weights and haul themselves up ropes and handstand
around the place – that hugely inspires me and makes me want to be the best I can. I think it comes from having a Mum who was a black belt in karate as well as a serial marathon runner – I want to be just like her 🙂

Do you have any pre-show rituals?
No, not really. Well, apart from a cup of tea. I try to never get ready until after the half because I hate waiting around in the wings (probably why getting shoved on stage suits me so much!)
I swear by water and sleep and as long as I’ve had enough of those two things then I’m good.

If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life what would it be?
Oooh, that’s a tough one. But it would be an 80s classic like Don Henley – The Boys Of Summer. I just love a power ballad. 🙂

You were shortlisted for the Best Understudy award at the 2018 West End Wilma Awards (which was an extremely close category). How did you find the experience compared to other awards shows?
It was actually my first ever award ceremony so I have nothing to compare it to!! I was so thrilled to me nominated though – it was such a lovely evening, thank you for shortlisting me.

Why should people come and see your show “The Girl Who Ran Down The Road”?
Come and beat the January blues with me. It’ll be a night of comedy, fun and entertainment. And I promise to tell you every understudy story I have……and there’s a few!

Thanks for having Tea With Wilma

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