The Still Room is a new play at Park Theatre in London set in the ‘still room’ of a hotel, where the waiters wait, in the North West of England in 1981.

It was written by Sally Rogers, best known on TV as DC Jo Masters in The Bill and with theatre credits at the National Theatre, Royal Court and Out of Joint, based on her own experiences of working in a hotel near Stockport when she was just 16.

BTG Editor David Chadderton spoke to Sally during previews about the play and its setting, about teaching a young cast about life in the ‘80s and about various aspects of Sally’s career, including being directed by John Malkovich (and making him cry) and being a member of Max Stafford Clark’s Out of Joint theatre company in the 1990s, which, she says, made her a much better actor.

Of course The Bill is mentioned, and her colleague from that long-running TV series Chris Simmons (DC Mickey Webb) who is performing in her play, plus there is an element of two people reminiscing about growing up near Manchester in the 1980s.

The Still Room opened for previews at Park Theatre in London on 1 June and runs until 25 June 2022. You can find Sally on Twitter at @SallyARogers.