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Joanna Riding is one of the West End's most revered leading ladies, with two Olivier Awards under her belt and credits including Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, Sally Durant Plummer in Follies and Jane Smart in The Witches of Eastwick. Today, she is preparing to open a brand new production of Gypsy at Buxton Opera House as Madam Rose. The production forms part of Buxton International Festival's 2022 season at the Opera House and Joanna takes time to acknowledge the splendour of the venue and shares her excitement about getting to explore the festival too. A Northerner herself,  we also get to hear her talk about the thrill of playing to regional audiences as well as to her devoted London audiences too.

In this rare interview, Joanna Riding reflects on her time in the theatre industry, having taken on roles in both musicals and plays. Since becoming a mother, she has continued to garner praise from critics and audiences alike for her performances in shows such as Flowers for Mrs Harris at Chichester Festival Theatre and of course in her showstopping performance in the National Theatre's production of Follies. Last year, Joanna Riding also returned to the world of Carousel as Nettie Fowler, nearly 30 years after her Olivier Award winning performance as Julie Jordan at the National Theatre.  As she prepares to play one of the most iconic roles in the musical theatre cannon, she also shares memories of working with the late Stephen Sondheim who wrote the lyrics to Gypsy and with whom she worked closely with on the National Theatre's revivals of Follies and in A Little Night Music, as well as in the film adaptation of Into the Woods. After three decades in the industry, Joanna remains optimistic about the future of musical theatre and tells us of her enduring love for performing on stage.

Gypsy runs at the Buxton Opera House from 7th July for a limited run and tickets are available now!

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