  Fiona-Jane Weston trained in Australia and played
principal roles in rep in plays including The
Canterbury Tales and Ring
Round the Moon. She then lived in China, studying ethnic
minorities' theatre styles and featuring in film before returning to her
native England to help found the Radical Actress Guild. She went on to work
with some of the best-known names in theatre and light entertainment, including
Sir Donald Sinden, Dennis Quilley, Bill Bailey, Milton Jones and Bill Oddie,
and played leading parts at the Westminster Theatre, the English-speaking
theatre in Switzerland and on several tours. Her film work includesFour Minute
Mile, Moving Image Madness and Overseas Chinese. As a vocalist, she has
featured with a jazz duo in various London hotels and restaurants and at the
London Palladium. Fiona-Jane played to capacity houses both in London and New York in her one-woman show 20th Century Woman-the Compact Cabaret featuring drama, poetry and songs from some of the finest writers and composers of the last century and present one. She is very excited to be launching her latest project Loving London: the Capital Cabaret and has started a campaign with www.wedidthis.org.uk/marketplace to raise funds for the production of the show. Do take a look at that site and maybe support Fiona-Jane's show. In your professional
life, what is the single best thing about what you do?
Very hard to single out one thing. I love to perform
particularly with words and music. I really enjoy the creative process of
researching and deciding on songs and spoken pieces from plays, literature or
poetry that will tell a story on a theme, often a historical one. It is very
special when other people let me know they have been
inspired/moved/amused/educated by something I’ve presented. It’s important to
me that the audience gets something not only entertaining and a great night
out, but that keeps them thinking or questioning for a while. Do you have a
creative hero/heroine and if so, why?
There are so many! One is Margot Fonteyn – for her grace,
elegance and iron self-discipline which got her through both professional and
personal difficulties. Another is Laurence Olivier – for his constant work at
his craft, interpreting characters and playwrights’ words to create a
performance masterpiece. And Dusty Springfield – who also wouldn’t compromise
on quality.
What piece of advice
do you wish you had been given at the beginning of your career?
Recognise where there are gaps in your knowledge and get the
education you need to fill those gaps, but whilst doing that, keep believing in
yourself. Don’t let anyone (including yourself!) make you feel inadequate or
dampen the fire in your belly. Know what you are good at now, and what you will
be good at when you’ve worked at it a bit longer. This means accepting the
truth when others say you bring them pleasure by doing what you do, even if you
personally feel critical of your own performance. If you hit a
creative block, what is your top tip for getting through it?
I bounce off other people a great deal. I talk it through with
people I respect, particularly my husband, and am constantly inspired by
listening to the experiences and perspective of other creative artists. There
is also a time to leave something that is causing you bother and return to it
later – I often find it has sorted itself out somehow, and then I wonder why I
found it so difficult in the first place! And finally, for
fun, if you were a shoe, what type of shoe would you be and why?
Hmm... something very beautiful and elegant, but supportive,
deceptively comfortable, flexible and one you can run and dance in. The best
possible partner in life – both professionally and personally. |
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