One to watch

NOBODY PUTS GEORGINA RICH IN A CORNER – CERTAINLY NOT WHEN SHE’S ABOUT TO STAR IN THE FORTHCOMING WEST END PRODUCTION OF DIRTY DANCING From Shakespeare to Dirty Dancing – that’s quite a leap. Yes – it’s all very different. The writer and creator, Eleanor Bergstein, was looking for an actress who could dance to play Baby, rather than a musical theatre star. I had that dance background and I was a massive fan of the fi lm. All my mates were saying, “You’ve got to go to the audition!” And here I am. So you knew all the lines already? Growing up, I used to watch the fi lm on video constantly. When we were auditioning and fi rst saw the script, there were a couple of scenes that I already knew word for word. I’ll probably laugh the fi rst time I hear Josef [Brown, who plays opposite Rich as Johnny Castle] say the immortal words, “Nobody puts Baby in a corner”. It’ll be so surreal. Baby Houseman – those are big shoes to fill. Any pressure about living up to such an iconic character? There is a pressure but you can’t go into rehearsals thinking that because you’ll do yourself damage. Everyone has put a lot of thought into this and Eleanor certainly knows how much people love it, so it’s very important to her that the stage show will essentially be a live version of the fi lm. It’s a faithful adaptation then? Absolutely. Eleanor wrote and directed the fi lm as well as overseeing this whole production, so the script is all hers. There are a couple of scenes in the live show that were cut from the original fi lm so she’s quite pleased that she’s able to put them back in to give the characters a bit more breadth and add some background to that period. How have you been preparing for the role? I’ve been taking ballroom dancing classes, which are hilarious. I trained in most kinds of dance but specialised in contemporary and street dance. So I’ve been doing my samba and cha-cha in preparation. Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story On Stage opens on 24 October at London’s Aldwych Theatre. Tickets are priced from £25-£59.50. +44 (0)870 400 0845; www.dirtydancinglondon.com THE TIME OF HER LIFE: GEORGINA’S C.V. From the age of 16 to 19, Georgina trained in dance and drama at the London Studio Centre. Acting was always her main passion, however, and she graduated from the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in 2004. With a background in classical theatrical roles – having played parts such as Viola in the English Touring Theatre’s production of Twelfth Night and Cordelia in the Sheffi eld Crucible’s Lear – she made her West End debut in February this year alongside Dame Diana Rigg and Martin Jarvis in Joanna Murray-Smith’s Honour. Currently hard at work in rehearsals, 29-year-old Rich is set to play Frances ‘Baby’ Houseman in the stage adaptation of Dirty Dancing, the iconic 1980s fi lm classic starring Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze.