Pauline Fleming Talks About Pole Dancing for Her New Play!

15-02-2007 09:44

You wake up one morning to find a lump in your breast. You’ve had more men than hot dinners but have never had anyone say ‘I love you’. You spend every moment trying to please a man who you’ve grown tired of but are too afraid to leave. You look in the mirror and you don’t like the woman you’ve spent so long trying to become. That’s the naked truth.

Bringing together the most exuberant and well-know soap stars and TV role models of recent years – including Lisa Riley, Pauline Fleming, Joanne Farrell and Sarah White – The Naked Truth turns an unlikely group of women into a band of pole dancers who successfully battle their personal demons and, despite everything, form friendships that can withstand any obstacle.

Drawing on the experiences of real women in real situations, the hottest stars of soap team up to explore what every woman fears in themselves and realise the possibilities that a little bravery, a pole and a pair of high-heels can open up.

Poignant but hilariously funny from the writer of Stepping Out, this is a show about women, for women, which every man should see.

FemaleFirst managed to catch up with Pauline, one of the production’s stars at the Chatsworth Hotel in Worthing to talk about Corrie, breast cancer and charity fun runs.How are you feeling today?I’ve caught a bit of a bug. The whole company has had it actually; I think there’s only one that hasn’t had it. I’ve been taking my Echinacea regularly and last week, wherever we were I forgot to take it with me. I think it’s dropped my immune system, so it’s got a bit of a grip on me to be honest. I do the Echinacea drops with porridge.

Have the cast of the Naked Truth received a good response from the public so far?Really well. Really, really well. I mean it’s been a bit of a slog to be honest with you because of course there were three weeks of rehearsal when we just didn’t just have to learn lines, we had to learn how to pole dance. It was tiring and hard going, but it was great and really good fun. But when we opened – there’s constant re-writes. The writer and the director have been in every night and have been changing things, because once it went in front of an audience it did change. So every night, no two nights have been the same yet (Laughs) because we’ve been reworking it. But that’s been a really positive thing – keeping us on our toes indeed. But it’s really bedding in now and it’s going down really well. We haven’t heard any negatives really.A lot of the production’s characters have serious issues – can you tell us about your character’s troubles?Well my character (Sarah) already has breast cancer at the opening at the top of the play. She actually declares that to the girls – but then later in the play the cancer spreads. So there are quite poignant moments in the play – which is unusual in that way because there’s some very high comedy in this. So to bring in such serious issues aside such farcical behaviour – I think it makes it quite interesting. Also there are some contributions going towards charity too.

With the breast cancer – during my Coronation Street days I was approached by a local breast cancer charity called “the Lily Foundation” in Liverpool – they’re a great bunch of women. Peggy is my main point of contact there and they’re wonderful, wonderful women. They’ve all had breast cancer – they’ve all had at least one breast taken away. I’ve attended a few charity events and done a few things for them and in a way that was all the research that I wanted because I wanted to base my character spirit wise on them. My character has got spirit, that’s why she arranges to do this charity pole dance event. She’s not one that submits to the condition. She basically says in the play – “I’m not going to let it get to me, I’m going to beat it no matter what.” From that spirit, I drew on the women from the Lily Foundation – they are a fabulous inspiration to anybody.