THEATRE

Romola Garai: the soft power of Queen Anne

A campaigning feminist and straight talker, the British actress is starring as Sarah Churchill in the play Queen Anne. She reveals what we can all learn from the unbiddable duchess. By Louis Wise

Radical politics: Garai
Radical politics: Garai
DARREN BELL
The Sunday Times

It’s a testament to how blind, or maybe how greedy, I am that I cannot for the life of me fathom Romola Garai’s necklace. Why on earth does it say “F*** the Tortes”? Does she really have such an issue with cake? It’s only at the end, when I ask, that she explains. “Oh, F*** the Tories!” she says blithely, fingering the gold pendant written in a thick, looping script. “My friend gave it to me, and it’s very hard to read,” she sighs.

In retrospect, it was obvious. We have just spent an hour discussing Garai’s radical politics, and she’s an actress, so it was hardly going to say “Team May”. But with a firebrand feminist like Garai, it’s a given. The 34-year-old has,