Two years after graduating from the Bristol Old Vic theatre school in 2008, Southampton-born Laura Carmichael was cast in ITV’s Downton Abbey and shot to fame. Since starring as Lady Edith for the last time in 2015, she has appeared in several films including indie comedy Burn Burn Burn and period drama A United Kingdom. She has also carved out an impressive stage career. In 2012 Carmichael made her West End debut in Uncle Vanya, opposite Anna Friel and Samuel West, and has since appeared in two of director Jamie Lloyd’s productions: last year’s The Maids and now Apologia, alongside Stockard Channing, at the Trafalgar Studios, London, until 18 November. Click here for tickets
1 | Restaurant
I’m obsessed with this Indian small-plates restaurant; I can’t stop thinking about it. I love Indian food anyway, but the food here is really exciting. They’re known for their fried chicken (which was their speciality when they started out as a street food pop-up), but they change the menu quite a lot. When I went, they had these amazing clams, cooked in balti sauce, and samphire pakoras, which were my favourite things. I keep trying to take people for dinner there; I told Stockard Channing I’d discovered this amazing restaurant and she said: “Is it Kricket? I’ve heard about it.”
2 | TV
It’s hard to say what this show is about, if it’s about anything, but it follows these two hilarious girls stumbling along in New York. I suppose the star of the show is the fact of their friendship. I don’t think you see that kind of female friendship on TV very often – [usually] the characters are always talking about their boyfriends or their jobs. These two girls are just excited to be together, hanging out and making each other laugh, and that seems very true of a lot of my female friendships: eating cereal on Skype, telling each other everything, knowing each other’s mums. That kind of intimacy feels very real, and it’s also somehow very funny. The fourth season is about to start and I can’t wait – everyone I introduce it to falls in love with it.
3 | Exhibition
Queer British Art, 1861-1967, Tate Britain
This is a really lovely exhibition because it’s full of so many interesting and heartbreaking stories of illicit worlds. I think when you’re acting, you’re always encountering stories and thinking: “Well that’s a film, that’s a film…” There’s the Cecil Beaton photograph of Madge Garland, for instance, who was the receptionist at Vogue and ended up in a relationship with the editor Dorothy Todd. Then there’s the enormous Duncan Grant picture, Bathing. That’s a real “wow” moment in the exhibition; you turn a corner and there it is, so cool, so impressive. I’d recommend it to anyone. I’m a big fan of Tate Britain itself; it has so many greatest hits that you can’t believe are hanging there and free to the public.
4 | Theatre
This is a last-chance recommendation, because it’s only on until 2 September. It’s directed by Robert Icke, who I think is a bit of a genius. He’s only about 30, and he makes it look easy to take on these big, classic plays and make them feel really fresh. This version of Hamlet is modern in a way that is never heavy-handed or cheesy: they use video cameras on stage, but even that feels natural. You understand everything, you’re hanging on everyone’s every word. Andrew Scott is incredible, as are all the company. You might think “do I really need to see Hamlet again?”, but if you see it you’ll be amazed.
5 | Book
My Name Is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout
Because of the nature of my brain, every time I read a book it becomes linked to whatever play I’m doing. I just happened to pick this up in an airport and it now feels tied to Apologia for me. It’s about a woman in hospital, delving into the painful memories of her childhood, and it so beautifully articulates that feeling of not really being sure if that terrifying memory [of childhood] you have – something that may have affected your whole life as an adult – was real or if you somehow made it up. Despite that, it’s a really joyful read.
6 | Podcast
What’s The Tee? with RuPaul and Michelle Visage
RuPaul, the drag queen, is such an impressive character. His knowledge of film and art and especially music is incredible, but the podcast is never too highbrow. He and the co-host, Michelle, are such good friends, laughing at old jokes while talking about Broadway and Hollywood and drag. It’s recorded while [his reality TV show] Drag Race is being made, so it features guests who are former judges and actors they know, and they have a wonderful way of being very professional and determined, while never taking themselves too seriously. I find that very inspiring. Anyone who feels like they can’t get enough of Drag Race, this is for you.
7 | Film
I saw this first when I was 17, and I remember liking it, but clearly I didn’t get as much from it as I did when it cropped up on Netflix last week. I was laughing at myself watching these very theatrical actresses in their dressing rooms while I was getting ready for a two-show day. I couldn’t believe how daring it feels even now, the way it allows the women to be so unlikable, and yet of course you care so much about them. It’s one of those films that makes you think: “I can’t believe this was made when it was.”
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