Joanna Bentley - Humans of NYT REP Interview

I have been an actor for longer than I haven’t. It has been all I have ever wanted to do and all I ever want to do. Since I was five years old, I was always a child who couldn’t easily sit still and I had this insatiable need to perform, whether that was by playing hairdressers with my nan, doctors with my dad or school teaching my teddies about the latest mr men book I’d got my hands on.

Most of my childhood is full of wonderful memories of acting from a young age. A big part of the reason I wanted to perform (and still do) was because of Theatre in the Quarter and the many experiences I had with them that I still cherish dearly to this day. Every year they would put on professional plays where they needed a cohort of children, something I loved being a part of. I was beyond ecstatic that I could finally play on a physical stage with minds alike and on a performance of Christmas Carol was where I discovered as you got older (and school no longer existed) it could be your day job and it’s the first time I remember hearing the word Actor. From there on in I was and still am an Actor.

I always struggled at school with exams, but I revised hard for my GCSEs with the bargaining chip that if I did, I could do one of these plays in the summer. So, during rehearsals in-between my scenes I’d be sat with textbook, a highlighter and a notebook - determined to prove I could do both, later in life this has put me in good stead for balancing my muggle jobs alongside acting. A particularly revelatory moment of being part of this company was performing in The Lost Boy, a play about a refugee arriving alone to a small seaside town.

‘That it can be used as a device to make the audiences think outside their own lives and put their focus on the current climate of the world. That, ultimately art can be used for change.’

With only being 13 at the time I had not thought much about someone else’s life and particularly the hardships of the outside world. This experience truly helped me gain a perspective on my own life but also that art can be more than just for playing. That it can be used as a device to make the audiences think outside their own lives and put their focus on the current climate of the world. That, ultimately art can be used for change. Something I have now inputted in my own plays. To this day many of those I met on this project are cherished friends, one who is very much like a sister to me now.

Being from Liverpool is something I am incredibly proud of and hold as an important part of my identity. But it hasn’t come without its difficulties, part of this is because I was born but not bred there so when I moved back to Liverpool in my late teens, although it felt like home to me, I felt that I had to prove who I was and I found I didn’t fit the mould in the way I thought I would.

‘I spent a lot of time working long hours in hospitality with environments that were draining and with people who often diminished my dreams of acting.’

I think this is partially from my Liverpudlian accent being more subtle than most but also because of certain experiences and challenges I faced there. I spent a lot of time working long hours in hospitality with environments that were draining and with people who often diminished my dreams of acting. I worked hard to support myself financially so that I could live in the city centre. Often in shoebox flats with bright orange walls or caricatured Neighbours (who I have used for inspiration in the characters I’ve played) but it was all worth it as any time I had spare I’d write poems and plays, practice my instruments and perform with different companies around the North.

At only 22 I had written my own play and taken it to various fringes; I was awarded Best Newcomer which in casting disappointments my mum will give me a friendly reminder of my success.

In my back pocket I have five more plays that I plan to bring to life over the coming years – some which are based in truth, others on historical figures, all which have an underlying connection to humanity.

I loved my time in Liverpool but struggled to find my place as an actor amongst it all because my dream had always been outside of this city. I had always had the same dream of wanting to go to drama school. Not just any. Only a few I felt were suited to me. I spent years (since I was 17) of getting to final rounds but not quite getting in. Even amongst all the rejection I refused to let it get me down and persisted. I knew that I didn’t want to go to just any university and that I would be better to bide my time and patiently wait because I had my sights set on a certain type of training.

So, when NYT REP offered me a place (well when I received a phone call off the lovely Anna whilst I was in the changing room at Bershka looking for a new work uniform) I finally felt I’d got a chance at what I’d been working so hard to try and get and the experiences and opportunities were far from anything I ever could have imagined (plus the timing was oddly perfect, I didn’t have to spend money on that uniform anymore).