Feature: An Actress Prepares at New End Theatre until July 10
Published: 16 June, 2011
by GERALD ISAAMAN
SHE would have been 85 on June 1. So the birthday of Marilyn Monroe, the lonely, lost girl from nowhere who became a scandalised Hollywood star who died tragically half a century ago, is important to Irina Diva.
The Bulgarian actress has arrived at Hampstead’s New End Theatre with her acclaimed production of An Actress Prepares, in which she puts an enlightened new charitable focus on the immaculate blonde that is virtually a new birthday celebration in its own right.
It’s one that will surprise audiences expecting an impersonation of a 20th-century iconic sex figure – in all respects – as Irina presents her own interpretation of Marilyn’s very last interview before her death in 1962.
It provides support for Irina’s own mission to assist the Bulgarian Abandoned Children’s Trust, a charity set up by Kate Blewett as a result of the public outcry that followed the broadcasting in 2007 of her BBC Four documentary Bulgaria’s Abandoned Children.
Irina sees Marilyn in the same terms. And the story of how she has put her production together is not only an exciting and unexpected one, but also remarkable in content and filled with a poignancy that touches those troubled, taut nerves some still remember over the death of Marilyn Monroe.
“I am not a Marilyn fan,” insists Irina, who was brought up in the theatre by her famous Bulgarian actress mother. “Of course I love Marilyn – who doesn’t?”
She explains how for years she kept copies of the Guardian’s Great Interviews of the 20th Century booklets, which included Princess Diana, Margaret Thatcher, Mae West, and Marilyn Monroe, the latter virtually a monologue that already looked like a play in itself.
That inspired her to delve into other sources about the tragi-comic life of Marilyn, three times divorced and forever seeking elusive happiness.
Out of that grew the desire to give something back to the star of Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend and The Seven Year Itch. “I wanted in return to do something good with her words and, at the back of my mind, I always wondered what present I could give Marilyn for her 85th birthday,” Irina reveals.
“Considering her background, I knew it would be an initiative in aid of children in care. After all, Norma Jeane Baker was brought up in care herself. And then I found the programme I wanted to support – the Bulgarian Abandoned Children’s Trust.
“Naturally, I thought I could fundraise through a Marilyn Monroe foundation or trust. But there isn’t one. There never has been. I find this most outrageous, heartbreaking, as it seems to me that even in her death Marilyn remained an orphan.
“That’s because there was no one to look after her legacy on a human level. Now, with all the help and support I can get I truly hope to change that. And this is how the Marilyn Monroe Children Trust has come about.”
But surely today’s young people see Marilyn Monroe as a sexy blonde who caused sensations and, unhappily, ended up an actress manipulated by the American president John Kennedy, let alone Hollywood moguls? The very suggestion produces an angry response of disagreement from Irina, who has appeared in TV productions of Silent Witness, EastEnders and The Bill.
“I think everyone knows the iconic image of Marilyn,” she insists. “It’s on toddlers’ T-shirts and, you know, it looks cute. But
I am certainly surprised how little people know beyond that image. I don’t think she was ‘some actress’. I think she was definitely an actress, more than that a true actress.
“By that I mean someone who remained constantly inquisitive towards the art of acting and someone who wanted to be better. On this level, she is a great inspiration to me.
“Like most neglected children, she was street smart and shrewd. Let’s not forget she had her own production company in 1955. Not many people had anything of their own back then, definitely not in control of their own careers.
“Yet Marilyn was very damaged on the inside. It’s a truly sad story. That’s why I believe the work of the Marilyn Monroe Children Trust will be instrumental in bringing awareness towards the problems caused by abandonment.
“And in that way I hope I can ensure that Norma Jeane’s legacy lives on forever.”
• An Actress Prepares is at the New End Theatre, 27 New End, Hampstead, until July 10, Tuesday to Saturday at 9.15pm, Saturday and Sunday 5pm. Tickets £15 (£12.50 concessions), box office 0870 033 2733