FIRST IMPRESSIONS: MARTI WEBB
What are you working on at the moment?
Tell Me On A Sunday. It is going pretty well.
When are you at your happiest?
Most of the time, actually. I don’t really have a happiest moment because I am quite a happy person.
What is your greatest fear?
Forgetting my lines. I have nightmares about it. I wake up and I don’t know where I am, but I’m on the stage and I think, ‘Why am I doing this? This is wrong, this is wrong!’ I am usually playing the wrong character in the wrong show, which is also very frightening, and I stand there and I see everyone saying, ‘What on earth is she doing?’ I think most actors are the same.
What is your earliest memory?
Being in a pram – I remember the hood.
What do you dislike about yourself?
I talk too much. Everybody will tell you that.
Who has been your greatest influence?
Anthony Newley, whom I met when I did Stop The World – I Want To Get Off . He was such an amazing performer. He always used to talk to me about the business and life and took me under his wing. I was very young and it was my first West End show. I just adored him.
What is your most treasured possession?
There are too many to name. I am a hoarder and I love everything I have. I should get rid of some of the clutter, but I can’t.
What do you most dislike about your appearance?
Most of it – I’m never satisfied.
What trait do you most deplore in others?
Dishonesty.
What is your favourite book?
I don’t have a favourite, I have collected books for years since I was a child. I love hardback books.
Your favourite piece of music?
I’m so eclectic it depends on the mood I’m in, so I don’t have one.
Your favourite film?
I suppose it would have to be the first one that I remember, which is Bambi. Now I can’t watch it because I know Bambi’s mother is going to die.
Your favourite meal?
Sausages and mash with Branston Pickle. Or double egg and chips. Comfort food. I don’t know why, but there is something about double egg and chips.
Who would you most like to come to dinner?
Ethel Merman, Mary Martin, Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland. And, for a taste of the continent, Edith Piaf. We’d finish with a good sing-song.
What is the nastiest thing anyone has ever said to you?
I’ve had good reviews and bad ones, but it is just one person’s opinion. It hurts when people write bad things, but ever onwards, ever upwards.
Do you believe in aliens?
I have never met one, but I would never rule it out.
What is your secret vice?
Sugar. I don’t eat sweets, but I like quite a lot of it in my coffee.
Do you write thank-you notes?
Yes.
Which phrase do you most overuse?
‘You know what I mean.’
What would most improve the quality of your life?
More hours in the day.
Tell us something that people might not know about you.
I was a Playboy Bunny for one hour. They advertised in The Stage, so I went along for the audition. I don’t know how they fitted me in that outfit – my mother wouldn’t have recognised me. But as they’d be training me, they said they wouldn’t expect me to go off and do other jobs. So I said I didn’t want to be a Bunny.
What would you like your epitaph to read?
I think that’s for other people to say.
Marti Webb stars in Tell Me On A Sunday at the Duchess Theatre from 18 February to 8 March: 0844-482 9672, www.duchesstheatre.co.uk
Tell Me On A Sunday. It is going pretty well.
When are you at your happiest?
Most of the time, actually. I don’t really have a happiest moment because I am quite a happy person.
What is your greatest fear?
Forgetting my lines. I have nightmares about it. I wake up and I don’t know where I am, but I’m on the stage and I think, ‘Why am I doing this? This is wrong, this is wrong!’ I am usually playing the wrong character in the wrong show, which is also very frightening, and I stand there and I see everyone saying, ‘What on earth is she doing?’ I think most actors are the same.
What is your earliest memory?
Being in a pram – I remember the hood.
What do you dislike about yourself?
I talk too much. Everybody will tell you that.
Who has been your greatest influence?
Anthony Newley, whom I met when I did Stop The World – I Want To Get Off . He was such an amazing performer. He always used to talk to me about the business and life and took me under his wing. I was very young and it was my first West End show. I just adored him.
What is your most treasured possession?
There are too many to name. I am a hoarder and I love everything I have. I should get rid of some of the clutter, but I can’t.
What do you most dislike about your appearance?
Most of it – I’m never satisfied.
What trait do you most deplore in others?
Dishonesty.
What is your favourite book?
I don’t have a favourite, I have collected books for years since I was a child. I love hardback books.
Your favourite piece of music?
I’m so eclectic it depends on the mood I’m in, so I don’t have one.
Your favourite film?
I suppose it would have to be the first one that I remember, which is Bambi. Now I can’t watch it because I know Bambi’s mother is going to die.
Your favourite meal?
Sausages and mash with Branston Pickle. Or double egg and chips. Comfort food. I don’t know why, but there is something about double egg and chips.
Who would you most like to come to dinner?
Ethel Merman, Mary Martin, Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland. And, for a taste of the continent, Edith Piaf. We’d finish with a good sing-song.
What is the nastiest thing anyone has ever said to you?
I’ve had good reviews and bad ones, but it is just one person’s opinion. It hurts when people write bad things, but ever onwards, ever upwards.
Do you believe in aliens?
I have never met one, but I would never rule it out.
What is your secret vice?
Sugar. I don’t eat sweets, but I like quite a lot of it in my coffee.
Do you write thank-you notes?
Yes.
Which phrase do you most overuse?
‘You know what I mean.’
What would most improve the quality of your life?
More hours in the day.
Tell us something that people might not know about you.
I was a Playboy Bunny for one hour. They advertised in The Stage, so I went along for the audition. I don’t know how they fitted me in that outfit – my mother wouldn’t have recognised me. But as they’d be training me, they said they wouldn’t expect me to go off and do other jobs. So I said I didn’t want to be a Bunny.
What would you like your epitaph to read?
I think that’s for other people to say.
Marti Webb stars in Tell Me On A Sunday at the Duchess Theatre from 18 February to 8 March: 0844-482 9672, www.duchesstheatre.co.uk