Recently on stage, Daisy Sequerra has been starring as Posy Fossil in Ballet Shoes at the National Theatre alongside Grace Saif as Pauline Fossil, Yanexi Enriquez as Petrova Fossil and Pearl Mackie as Sylvia, and Ballet Shoes has been nominated for three Olivier Awards including for Best New Entertainment or Comedy Play. Previously, Daisy played Hortensia in the UK & Ireland Tour of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Matilda The Musical, made her West End debut as Veruca Salt in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and she played Molly in Annie at the Sheffield Lyceum Theatre in 2011. For Daisy’s first regular character on screen, she was cast as Mawdie in the historical drama series Belgravia: The Next Chapter, and in the feature film Embers (which is written and directed by Christian Cooke), she plays Young Carly. Daisy answers our questions about starring as Posy Fossil in Ballet Shoes at the National Theatre, touring as Hortensia in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Matilda The Musical and her regular character of Mawdie in Belgravia: The Next Chapter.

You have recently finished starring as Posy Fossil in Ballet Shoes at the National Theatre, what was the production like to be part of?

It was the best! We had an amazing team and the production itself is so joyful and such a celebration of the arts so on stage and off we had so much fun. It was my first time being in the original cast of a theatre production too, so getting to learn about that process of development was something I really enjoyed, and it made me appreciate how much it takes to make a piece of theatre so much more.

Was there anything that drew you to the role of Posy and how much did you know about Ballet Shoes before auditioning?

I absolutely loved the book growing up so I was very familiar with the Fossil sisters and was so thrilled to see it was getting adapted. Since I first read the book, I had always been drawn to Posy as I’m also the youngest of three sisters and my first love was ballet, but I think what really draws me to her is how single-minded she can be – she is so set on her future from a young age and will work tirelessly for it, something her peers and family don’t always understand. I always admired that determination and dedication and felt I was similar to her in that way.

What was Posy like to play and what was it like working alongside the rest of the cast, which included Grace Saif as Pauline Fossil, Yanexi Enriquez as Petrova Fossil and Pearl Mackie as Sylvia?

Posy was the most fun to play and it was an honour to bring her story to life! I loved getting to share her dance journey on stage too – from when she is first mimicking moves she may have seen on ballet posters along the streets of London, to finally auditioning for a full-time ballet school after so much hard work. My Fossil sisters Grace and Yanexi became my real-life sisters during the play! We had such a wonderful cast, so always had the most fun together and I’ll forever be grateful for all the memories we shared. Pearl is the loveliest human too – she is such a pro, of course, and really shared so much helpful advice with it being my first time performing at the National Theatre.

Do you have any stand-out highlights from the Ballet Shoes run that you can share, and how was it performing at the National Theatre?

During the run I got the opportunity to visit White Lodge at The Royal Ballet School to see the incredible buildings and watch a ballet class. It was so surreal being there and witnessing the meticulous nature of the dancers – I remember being the exact same, I think doing ballet growing up gives you a discipline like no other. You could really feel all the history of the school as you walked around too and the students even told me all of their special traditions and superstitions!

Performing at the National Theatre was another very surreal feeling for me – it wasn’t long ago that I was studying Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller’s Frankenstein on the same stage back when I was at school. Knowing the incredible artists that have performed on the Olivier stage before me was quite daunting but such an honour, it really was such a lovely experience and especially over the festive period too – the Christmas markets on the Southbank are lovely.

How was it seeing the audience response to the production, and hearing that Ballet Shoes has been nominated for three Olivier Awards including Best New Entertainment or Comedy Play?

One of my favourite parts of this production was seeing so many young children in the audience – for some it may have been their first experience of theatre or ballet which is so special as I remember how in awe I was during my first theatre visits! I hope through this story it ignited their creativity or inspired them to follow their own passions. Seeing that we had been nominated was so mind-blowing – to see the production be recognised by fellow creatives is an unbelievable feeling, I’m very grateful to be a part of such an incredible production.

In the UK & Ireland Tour of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Matilda The Musical, you played Hortensia, what are some of your favourite memories from your time in the musical and how did you find the experience touring?

Touring was the best! I loved getting to perform in new places and, of course, with the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Matilda The Musical there is such a large child cast so you get to really become close over the experience. I’d say our time in Dublin was definitely my favourite – it’s such a cool place and we got to explore it together before we began our shows. I remember in Sunderland our hotel was opposite the beach, so on our lunch break from tutoring we would go and play rounders there! It was freezing, of course, but we didn’t care – it’s my favourite memory of us just being kids. It can be quite overwhelming working professionally as a kid when you’re away from home and missing school, so I always appreciated when we could just let loose for a bit.

What was it like making your West End debut as Veruca Salt in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and what did you enjoy most about playing Veruca?

I was 12 at the time so going into it I had all these ideas of what performing in the West End would be like but had no clue what to actually expect. It was one of the most fulfilling experiences I’ve had as it really taught me you can do so much more than your mind is telling you and gave me a hunger to keep pursuing this as my career. Veruca was such a fun character to play as she is so unlike me so I got to be really playful in my performance. She is such an iconic larger-than-life character too so I really enjoyed trying to find a new spark to her that may not have been seen before, and playing off the other kids in the cast really helped with that.

What do you remember most from taking on the role of Molly in Annie at the Sheffield Lyceum Theatre in 2011?

To be honest, the exact memories aren’t clear since I was so tiny but I do remember the feeling before curtains up each night with us all laid on our beds just bubbling away with adrenaline. I think that’s when the thrill of performing in front of a live audience really captured my heart and I realised how much I loved entertaining. I do remember my favourite part being when I got thrown in the laundry basket during It’s the Hard-Knock Life!

On screen, you play Mawdie in Belgravia: The Next Chapter – recently released on ITVX; how would you describe Mawdie and how was it getting into character?

Mawdie is the Trenchard’s housemaid, she is very sweet, quite naive and wears her heart on her sleeve. This is her first role in service so throughout the series we really see her grow and find her feet within the household, through the help of Clara, Lady Trenchard. What I love about Mawdie is that despite understanding her place as one of the lowest ranked servants, it doesn’t stop her from asking questions; she’s always incredibly curious and I think through the series she starts to understand where she fits in the world. I hope audiences warm to her – she is definitely someone you can root for and I think her journey is really beautiful. Getting into character consisted of lots of historical research about the role of a housemaid in the 1800s, and I always make playlists for my characters so I would listen to my ‘Mawdie songs’ before stepping on set.

What was it like on set of Belgravia: The Next Chapter and being part of a historical drama series?

One part I really loved about this project was just before we begun shooting we had a talk with our historical advisor (Alastair Bruce) about etiquette and societal norms in the 1800s. I’m a bit of a nerd when it comes to the research side of roles so you can imagine how stuck in I got! Similarly, we filmed a lot of the series on location in gorgeous estates which helped transport you back in time immediately – it was mad to think that some people really live there as the rooms were so grand!

How did you feel booking the role of Mawdie and how was it having her as your first regular character on TV?

I had always wanted to work on a period drama so I was ecstatic when the opportunity came around! Mawdie was such a wonderful character to play and it really helped that she was in her first role in service as I could channel any nerves I had from being in a new environment into her story. It really felt like I grew as a person with her story, and having such a lovely cast and crew around made it such a lovely experience to be a part of.

You play Young Carly in the feature film Embers (written and directed by Christian Cooke), what can you tell us about this project and what was it like to work on?

Embers told a really powerful message about the work of sexual surrogacy in trying to rehabilitate a psychiatric patient with intimacy issues, and I played the girlfriend of the patient from when they were both going through a dark time in their childhood.

This was my first feature film experience so I was so grateful to get to work with Christian Cooke – he had such an immense responsibility being the writer, director and lead but was always so attentive and playful when directing, which I admired a lot. We had a night shoot for my scenes and I think we filmed in January because I remember being absolutely frozen as my character was in a short mini skirt and cardigan. I’m meant to be better with the cold as a northerner but I think that trait passed me by – I had three baths in the hotel once we wrapped!!

Where does your love of acting come from and how did you get into it?

I think I always loved entertaining and telling stories from a very young age. I started creating plays (if you can call them that) at my grandparents’ house when I was around three or four and would make them dress up as characters and film us all, directing as I went. That footage can never see the light of day, seriously! I started formally with taking baby ballet classes in Sheffield, then performing arts after school and slowly I started to get involved in theatre in Sheffield, beginning at the Lyceum Theatre when I was six. From there, I kept performing and eventually my teacher Cops suggested I audition for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as they were having open auditions. We definitely didn’t expect me to book it, but it was an amazing surprise and from there I fell in love with the acting side of performing and began training in screen acting with my mentor Dominique Moore at DMA London. I’ve never had any family or friends in this industry so finding a community of actors through DMA really helped me navigate the industry as a child actor.

What are some of your favourite films, TV and theatre shows to watch, and how do you like to spend your free time?

That is such a hard question as the list is endless but I love Black Swan, Frances Ha, Succession, The White Lotus, The Bear and my comfort watch is always Abbott Elementary as I am way more like Janine than I care to admit. Theatre-wise I thought Standing at the Sky’s Edge was beautiful and Hamilton is a favourite musical of mine. We’ve just got a new puppy at home so my free time is usually spent with her or watching Formula 1 as I’m a die-hard Lewis Hamilton fan.

As a writer, you co-wrote the play Youthquake, which was performed at The Yard Theatre in Hackney Wick, how was it writing your own play and having it performed live?

It was such an incredible experience getting to collaborate with fellow actors at DMA and have the freedom to create a play stemming from our own experiences about the current teen mental health crisis. We really wanted to make something that challenged our audience’s preconceived ideas about teens and performing it in front of a live audience meant we could confront those notions head on.

We understand you are also a dancer and won the IDTA Theatre Craft Awards, can you say about your dance experience?

Dancing was always my first love; I started when I was three and haven’t stopped since! I trained in all different styles locally growing up but ballet had always been one of my favourites, so I began training at Northern Ballet in their Associates Program too. I think what I love so much about dance is the freedom it grants you – when I’m on stage in those moments you forget about anything else going on and can just immerse yourself in the music and story.

What are you hoping this year brings for you and do you have any projects coming up that you can talk about?

I’m really looking forward to what this year will bring! I hope it includes lots of learning, fun and new experiences, and I’m so excited that Belgravia: The Next Chapter is now out on ITVX!

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