This week sees the release of a new adaptation of children's classic The Secret Garden. National treasures Julie Walters and Colin Firth are the biggest stars in the cast, but it's also a showcase for a new wave of young talent. Dixie Egerickx takes the lead as the spoiled orphan Mary, supported by Amir Wilson's Dickon, Dan Hayhurst's Colin and Isis Davis's Martha. For Isis - an actor and writer who, among other achievements, is on the writing team of the next series of Killing Eve, the role is the fulfilment of a childhood dream. She explains why to Grazia...
As a child growing up in Ladbroke Grove, West London, amidst the heartbeat of the Notting Hill Carnival, my life was full of many extremes. Being read The Secret Garden at bedtime was a place for me to escape to, a world I could enter into in my imagination and get lost in; it sounds cliche but it’s true. I had many tough times during my childhood and having places to get lost in were lifelines to me. Never in my wildest imagination did I think that one day I would be receiving a call from my Agent to say ‘Marc Munden wants you to tape for the role of Martha in the new movie remake’, but here I am.
I had worked with Marc the previous year on The Channel 4 series Electric Dreams and to know that he was considering me for the role of Martha was incredible. I gave my all in that self-tape and in the audition that followed, and getting the call to say that they wanted me to play Martha really was a dream come true. The irony of it all is that I had spent the previous four years pushing hard on the fact that I was a classic example of bad girl turned good and had thought that the portrayal of my troubled youth would be the breaking moment for me as an actress. However, that wasn’t the case because just like when I was a child The Secret Garden drew me back in. To have the chance to put my own little stamp on the role of Martha fills me with warmth and indescribable pride.
I have been asked a lot recently what it means to me to be the first Black/Mixed race actress to play the role of Martha, and to that my answer is EVERYTHING!
I feel extremely proud, because this iconic role is known and loved by so many millions of people over several generations. I loved the book as a child and I was a huge fan of the 1993 film version. However, my one disconnect was that I never saw anyone who looked like me. It’s well overdue. I feel really honoured and I’m sure Amir [Wilson, who plays Dickon] does too, to be the first mixed race actors to be cast in these beloved roles.
I am a proud mixed race, working class, gay woman and believe me when I tell you that I have been on quite a journey to get to where I am today! As a writer and as an actress I draw on my personal experiences to bring to life the characters that I portray, whether that is on the page, on screen or on stage. My race, sexuality and upbringing certainly shape the contribution that I make to the industry, not just in a creative sense, but as a tool to push for continued change in representation, in front of and behind the camera.
Sadly, many black students have spoken out in recent months about their struggles at drama school. Whether it be microaggressions or blatant and upfront racism, it has been seriously affecting the journey of many of our young talented performers. If this is the struggle we are facing from day one, surely we all have to look at the grassroots of the problem.
On screen, we are slowly starting to see the positive effects of a long overdue push for realistic diverse representation. Behind the camera however, there’s still a long way to go. Systemically massive changes need to happen in society as a whole, and our industry is no different. Every one of us have a responsibility to speak up, reach out, challenge, question and push for change and it is something I do with great pride and absolute intent.
I am hugely grateful to have the support of a fantastic team behind me who work around the clock to promote me and push forward other opportunities, and I carry those strong ethics with me on each stage of my journey. For me, after seven years of solid commitment, focus and resilience, the release of The Secret Garden and now being part of the writing team for Season 4 of Killing Eve has given a platform to all the hard work that goes on in the background to get to this point.
While these two big projects have come to light this year, I also have an incredibly exciting slate of work bubbling away in the background both as an actor and as a writer. I am proud and thankful to know that there is more to follow which I can’t wait for people to start hearing about.
The Secret Garden is in cinemas and on Sky Cinema 23 October
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