Interview with Claire Rushbrook
In 1994, a toddler disappeared from a small Welsh village, never to be seen again.
Published: 22 January 2018
The character of Rose drew me to Requiem. She tells a very complex and painful story and that captured my imagination.
What made you so eager to be involved in Requiem?
I met the director, Mahalia, and I found her really exciting. I loved how she talked about the piece and I adored her previous work. She's a very special director.
The character of Rose drew me to Requiem. She tells a very complex and painful story and that captured my imagination. Rose is a woman who unfortunately and against her will is defined by the catastrophe of her little girl being taken.
How has that affected her?
She seems to be happily married with a young son and appears to be functioning. She is presenting herself to the world as doing well, considering the awful things that have happened to her.
People get good at this - she's hiding the fact that she is absolutely churned up inside. Every day she is acutely aware that she is pretending. She must think about her tragedy all the time, even though on the surface she is happily making a cup of tea for her husband.
What changes for Rose?
Her world is turned upside down when a young woman comes to her claiming to be the toddler she lost all those years ago. Rose is pushed to the limit, not daring to believe that this is the girl she loved so much. Playing Rose, I have to go to some dark places in my imagination, but I feel an acute responsibility towards the people it's actually happened to.
Does the atmosphere remain very dark on set when you're filming these tough scenes?
No. It's a paradox. I'm a great believer in keeping it light and free at work - and that translates into messing about on set. I had a lot of difficult scenes with Richard Harrington, who plays my husband.
He is an inspiring actor, but he's by no means precious. He doesn't take himself too seriously. He's relaxed and fun. So we managed to keep it very playful between us. The environment created by Mahalia meant I felt completely safe and trusted everyone. Some scenes were quite painful to shoot because they were violent or exploring the most painful feelings about a child going missing. But Richard is such a lovely guy, it was a real pleasure working with him.
Did you have any particularly hair-raising scenes?
Yes. Rose has a very wild, remote place she goes to when she's feeling trapped and she wants to be on be on her own. She copes by going to stand on the edge of a beautiful precipice in the Welsh mountains to check she's still alive. It was a very dangerous, sheer drop. I had to be rigged up by stunt people and attached to a post in the ground. When I had to turn around and walk, I froze. I've watched the scene, and it doesn't look that scary. But believe me, it was!
