Anyone scared of blood should beware a new musical adaptation of Stephen King’s supernatural novel Carrie, its star claims.
Evelyn Hoskins — the Misfits and Casualty actress who takes the title role — warned that the quantities of stage blood deployed caused a man in the audience to pass out at the show’s London premiere this week. “If blood makes you feel a bit faint, you should know there’s a lot of it,” she said.
Carrie, which opens tonight, is a revamp of a musical that bombed when first seen at the RSC in Stratford in 1988 before an ill-fated run on Broadway. The original was not seen in London.
Hoskins, 26, said the new version of the story of a bullied teenager who uses her telekinetic powers to exact revenge was “amazing”. “I always kind of play the quirky character anyway but this takes it to the next level,” she said.
Latest theatre reviews
“I didn’t realise until I started quite what I had taken on, to be honest. The journey of the character is really challenging as an actor and takes its toll. It’s exhausting, mentally and physically.” She said the cast and crew were proud of the show, adding: “We’re treating it as much as we can as a new piece. The response on social media so far has been wonderful.”
Hoskins, who lives in Chiswick, admitted that before taking the role she had not read Carrie or seen the 1976 film with Sissy Spacek. But she now often consults the novel for guidance — and has just met Linzi Hateley, who created the stage role 27 years ago.
“We’ve tried to stay true to Stephen King’s book. That has been a luxury as an actor to have all that information readily to hand,” she said.
Her last London musical was Spring Awakening in 2009, before she played Shona Wark in Casualty and shape-shifter Lucy in E4’s Misfits.
Carrie: The Musical runs at the Southwark Playhouse until May 30.
