12:48pm Thursday 11th October 2007
By Nancy Groves
A West End run has long been a Hollywood rite of passage. From Christian Slater to Nicole Kidman, they have all done a stint on Shaftesbury Avenue.
But how often does an all-American actor embark on a tour of the regions? "No, Scorsese, I can't take your part. I'm off to do rep in Wolverhampton."
So three cheers for Linda Gray as the former Dallas star heads up a world premiere production of Terms of Endearment, adapted from the five-time Oscar-winning film.
Yes, Sue-Ellen is hanging up her Stetson for a nice wooly hat and heading out to such glam locales as York, Darlington and Richmond-upon-Thames.
"The first thing I do in each new place is go for a wander," says Gray. "Dragging round your bags can be, well, quite a drag. But I pull on a hat and and wander out to peruse the town. I find out where the theatre is, I go buy flowers for my dressing room and I meet the local people. Really, I feel blessed to be doing this."
Gray was approached for the role during one of those aforementioned West End stints, in her case as Mrs Robinson in The Graduate, a film that her stockinged leg had promoted on posters 34 years earlier.
"I took a breath and thought: Oh boy! We have done Anne Bancroft and now we are going to tackle Shirley Maclaine and Jack Nicholson? How am I going to do this?" recalls Gray.
"But I was attracted by the character. Aurora Greenaway is not Sue Ellen or Mrs Robinson. She is her own quirky character. She can be funny and dramatic, but she comes from a good place and tells the truth, even to her daughter."
Playing that daughter is another TV-actress made good, Coronation Street's Suranne Jones, and along with John Bowe as love interest Garrett, the cast is "a little band of travelling gypsies", says Gray, hanging out together offstage as well as on.
Today, a trip to the latest George Clooney movie is planned. People still recognise Gray on the street, says the actress, and she enjoys meeting her fans. "I had to take a cab ride yesterday and the driver took a photo to show his wife. It was very sweet."
She contintues: "I really don't think there's a show like Dallas now and people miss it."
And, at 67, Gray shows no signs of retiring. "No one can predict the future but I love entertaining," she says. "It is not a steady job and sometimes I think: What am I doing?' But, the way I see it, if you love what you do, stay with it. Life is short and fragile, so you have to do what makes you happy."
Terms Of Endearment, Richmond Theatre, Oct 15-20, 7.45pm, Wed/Sat mat 2.30pm, £14-£28, call 0870 060 6651, visit richmondtheatre.net
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