Student's "fabulous" debut role

AN acting student has bagged an “absolutely fabulous” part as her first professional role.

Otillie Mackintosh, who is in her final year of a BA (Hons) Acting degree, will be playing the part of a young Joanna Lumley in Little Crackers, on Sky1, next week.

Otillie has recently played the lead role in Manchester School of Theatre’s production of The House of Bernada Alba, but said she did not expect to get the part in Little Crackers.

“I heard about the part through my agent and auditioned over the summer while I was on holiday from university,” she said. “It was enjoyable, but I didn’t expect to get it.”

Complete star

The 21 year-old, who is originally from South West London, said she loved working with megastar Lumley, who directed the programme.

“It was her directorial debut which was really interesting,” said Otillie. “She was absolutely lovely, a complete star.

“It was helpful that she was directing because you could have a chat – she was creating the world she lived in in the 60s. Their clothes, their makeup, their hair, they were all absolutely beautiful.”

Otillie says after graduation she would like to build a career as a theatre actress, and is a particular fan of Shakespeare, although she added: “I’ve been doing a lot of different roles, so I would like to continue that.”

Dedicated student

For now she is concentrating on finishing her studies. She said: “The course is brilliant – we work long hours but it’s really fulfilling.”

David Shirley, Subject Leader for Drama, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for Ottilie and we are really delighted for her. She works extremely hard and is very dedicated to her craft so it is very gratifying to see that she is already attracting attention from the industry.

“She has just played the title role in our production of Lorca’s ‘The House of Bernarda Alba’, so she has been very busy and will, I am sure, continue to be so in the future!”

• Little Crackers will air on Sky1 on Monday, December 10th.