Recently, Eve Midgley played Audrey in the new CBBC/BBC iPlayer screen adaptation of A Kind of Spark for her first series regular role. Earlier this year, Eve reunited with some of the cast including Lola Blue (Addie), Georgia de Gidlow (Keedie) and Caitlin Hamilton (Nina) for the show’s premiere, and A Kind of Spark is adapted from the popular Elle McNicoll book of the same name, which follows neurodivergent character Addie on friendship, courage and self-belief, with Eve playing Addie’s best friend. In 2019, Eve was cast in an episode of The Worst Witch as Young Narcissus, and also having a stage career, she was part of the children’s ensemble in Street Scene at Opera North, before the tour was cut short due to COVID. Previous shows for Eve have included playing Young Nala for 18 months on the UK Tour of Disney’s The Lion King, and she performed in The King and I and South Pacific. Eve talked to us about being in the cast of A Kind of Spark as Audrey, filming for her first series regular role and touring as Young Nala in The Lion King.
You play Audrey in A Kind of Spark for CBBC and BBC iPlayer, was there anything that drew you to the character and how was it reading the script for the first time?
I love Audrey, as she’s very much like me, which made it a lot easier for me to resonate with some of her characteristics, such as being kind and always up for a laugh.
Reading the script for the first time, I felt totally caught up in Addie’s world and was excited to see how her story unravelled.
What is Audrey like to play and how is it having her as your first series regular role?
Audrey is just so super cool and laid-back. I couldn’t have asked for a more lovely first series character to play. She’s kind, warm, funny and stands up for herself as well as others. She’s a girl who everyone would want as their best friend.
I loved how the costume department styled Audrey with her funky clothes and also loved when my hair/makeup lady Katie, did the different hairstyles for Audrey but always asked me first, how I thought Audrey would wear her hair. I realised on reading the book that Audrey is actually named after one of the characters in the musical Little Shop of Horrors – which was a fab connection to me, as I love musicals!
Can you tell us about the series and your character and how much did you know about Elle McNicoll’s book before auditioning?
The series follows a neurodivergent girl, Addie, as she campaigns for a memorial for the witches that were burned in her town. Alongside this, we also see Addie’s journey through life at school, friendships, bullying and her relationships with her twin older sisters, Keedie and Nina. Audrey is the new girl in town who instantly sticks up for Addie when she can see how her friends, Jenna and Emily are towards her. There really are so many different strands to the plot and it really is an important story that reminds you how essential kindness and empathy are.
I actually didn’t know of Elle’s book beforehand but now I have potentially every single version of it possible!
How did you prepare for filming and what do you remember from your first day working on the project?
I just remember feeling so giddy and I could hardly wrap my head around the fact I’d just landed my first series regular role. Apart from reading the book, I hadn’t done much preparation as the turnaround from finishing college, getting the role, to then filming, was really fast.
On my first day, I vividly remember waiting to be in the last scene and being greeted at a door with Lola’s (Blue) beaming face!
What do you enjoy most about working on set and filming with the rest of the cast?
I can genuinely say I’ve never clicked with so many people so quickly. Everyone on set became like a second family. The best part was knowing I’d come on set and have such a fun time, it made me forget it was a job a lot of the time, haha. I lived with Lola, Georgia (de Gidlow) and Caitlin (Hamilton) (Addie, Keedie and Nina) throughout filming and we had an absolute ball. I also spent a lot of time with Grace (Wood) and Evie (Elgie) too (Jenna and Emily) and even though I’m only a year older, they are like my little children. I have so much love for them all.
Do you have any favourite highlights from being part of the show and how did you find the experience attending the premiere earlier this year?
My highlights were doing the party scene where I got to dress up as the bouncer and also the sleepover scene. We had such fun attempting to eat the ice cubes and we actually weren’t acting when you can see us laughing so much.
The premiere was fabulous and I was so excited to attend. I took my mum (my way of saying thank you for all the running around she has done taking me to auditions over the years). It was amazing to meet up with all the directors, writers, cast, crew, makeup and costume people again, as it had been six months since we had last filmed.
Watching A Kind of Spark’s first two episodes for the first time on screen was so surreal. I especially enjoyed seeing how the present day and 16th century stories were entwined, as we hadn’t seen much of that side whilst filming the modern day scenes.
Who do you think will enjoy watching A Kind of Spark and how has it been seeing the viewers’ response to the release so far?
I think that’s the unique quality of A Kind of Spark, that it appeals to anyone and everyone and really is a series for all the family. It has plot twists, light-hearted parts and does touch on serious issues too such as bullying. But the main point is finally seeing a representation of neurodiversity on screen. I think it will resonate with anyone who has ever felt different, reassuring them that they do matter. Representation is so, so important and I feel so happy to be a part of something that is so empowering.
In 2019, you played Young Narcissus in an episode of Series 3 of The Worst Witch, what was the show like to work on?
I worked for a few days on The Worst Witch and I just remember being very nervous, as it was my first speaking part in a TV series. I had read all the books when I was younger, so it was a huge deal to actually be in it and see all the different characters come to life. I recall all the cast being so friendly towards me and taking loads of selfies in our trailers.
We understand you performed in Street Scene at Opera North, can you tell us about this?
Street Scene was such a fabulous production and not one I had heard of before. Initially I thought it may be more operatic but a lot of the songs had a musical theatre feel to them. So, I was instantly captivated by it, given I’m a musical theatre fan. I was part of the children’s ensemble and we toured to Leeds, Manchester and Newcastle, but unfortunately the tour was cut short when COVID hit, so we never made it to Nottingham. I was sad as it was such an abrupt end to the tour, so we never got to properly say goodbye to all the cast, crew and directors.
What are some of your stand-out memories from playing Young Nala in the UK Tour of The Lion King and how was it performing in a Disney musical?
The Lion King has such a special place in my life and I had the best 18 months touring the UK with the show. I worked alongside about 50 actors from all around the world plus 100 backstage people all involved in costume/hair/makeup/choreography/puppets, who became such close friends. To be part of a huge Disney Production, as a wide eyed nine-year-old, mixed race, northern girl, really was the turning point in my life. It was probably then that I decided I wanted to try to pursue acting as a career.
Can you say about some of the other theatre shows you’ve performed in over your career so far, which have included The King and I and South Pacific?
I was only six or seven years old when I performed in The King and I and South Pacific but it gave me a good idea about what happens on stage, how to take direction and also what to do in an audition. Both were great professional productions and lots of fun to be in as there were lots of other kids involved. I got to work with some great actors too such as Ramon Tikaram in The King and I and Samantha Womack in South Pacific.
Where does your love of acting come from and how did you get into it?
I started performing arts classes and drama classes when I was six years old at Scalakids School of Performing Arts in Leeds. I was always singing and dancing around the house when I was small, so my grandma suggested to my mum to take me to lessons. My grandma Sue was actually the first mixed race Sunbeam to perform on stage at The Alhambra Theatre in Bradford from 1966 to 1968. The Sunbeams were a junior dance troupe who performed at all the pantomime shows, with some big stars at the time. Back then it included children who hadn’t had any dance training but just a talent and it was a great accomplishment to make it onto the troupe. My grandma grew up quite poor, so it was a way of her earning money but also doing something she loved. It was quite emotional for her when she came to see me on stage at The Alhambra in The Lion King, knowing she had also been on the same stage 48 years earlier. Everyone always says I must have inherited her genes!
Do you have any favourite films, TV and theatre shows to watch and how do you like to spend your time away from acting?
Not sure if I’ve mentioned I have a huge love of all things musical theatre… my all-time favourite musicals are Newsies, Cabaret and obviously The Lion King. I love going to the theatre when I have any spare time and can afford it. The last play I went to see was Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman, performed by Pilot Theatre. Such a poignant play about what it means to grow up in a divided world and one of those productions that everyone should be made to go see.
My favourite films are Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, The Lost Boys and The Truman Show… I do think sometimes that maybe I should have been born in the 80s!
Have you been given any advice over your career so far that has stuck with you and what advice would you give a young actor starting out?
The best advice I had is to try to not get downhearted when you don’t get a role. That’s been the toughest part to deal with for me and I went through a spell where I almost gave up acting as self-doubt creeped in because of all the noes. However, I was reminded to keep things in perspective, stay positive and remember that even the best actors out there had felt like I did at some point in their career. Now I keep in mind that it’s not always the person with the best audition that gets the job, as there are a lot of different aspects that come into play.
What are you hoping 2023 brings for you?
Series 2 and 3 of A Kind Of Spark please! Not just because I miss everyone but I do feel there were so many underlying stories that could still be told and lots of unanswered questions.
I’m also manifesting for a couple more character roles on TV or stage before 2023 is over.
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