Ellena Vincent on the fierce family drama The Book of Grace at Arcola Theatre

We spoke to actor Ellena Vincent about the UK premiere of The Book of Grace, taking place at Arcola Theatre later this month. Written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and Tony nominee Suzan-Lori Parks, it's is a fierce family drama directed by award-winning and Olivier nominated director Femi Elufowoju jr OBE and stars Ellena Vincent, Peter de Jersey, and Daniel Francis-Swaby.

Can you tell us a bit about the show?

Grace is a hopeful woman desperately seeking positivity in the world and lives with her abusive husband Vet, a patrol officer on the Texas-Mexico border. Grace invites Vet’s estranged son Buddy to join them at a ceremony where Vet is to receive a medal for his services. Grace hopes to heal the rift in the family, however Buddy has other plans.

What drew you to this particular production, and what aspects of your character, Grace, resonate with you the most?

This is actually my very first play and I was so excited at the prospect of working with Femi our director. The play itself fascinates me, all the characters are deeply complex with their own agendas and there are so many universal themes within the story itself that just drew me in. Grace’s outlook on life is the thing that really resonated with me. She is always searching for the good in every situation, every moment, and the hope she has for her family and for the world as a whole is inspiring. She is also an absolute survivor.

How are you find rehearsals so far?

Rehearsals are going great! We’re really starting to gel as a cast/crew and we laugh a lot which is sometimes very necessary as we’re dealing with really heavy topics at times. Femi has made our rehearsal room such a safe space to be free and creative and it’s really feeling like a collaborative process which is lovely. 

What do you hope audiences will take away from the play, and what discussions do you think it will spark?

It’s always hard to say what you think the audience take aways will be but I would like to believe they will leave with some sense of hope. Also like I’ve said (without giving too much away!!) there are a lot of hard topics that are covered in this play, such as domestic violence, racism and terrorism which allows for plenty of discussion around them.

Do you find that there's a difference in your approach to theatre versus television roles?

There’s definitely similarities and differences in preparing for theatre vs television roles. Delving into the text and getting inside your character for example are things that apply to both. But on stage you always have to remember you need your performance to resonate with every single person in that theatre no matter where they’re sat. Which is slightly different to being in someone’s living room on a screen! 

The Book of Grace is being performed 16 May – 8 June 2024, more info and tickets can be found here: https://www.arcolatheatre.com/whats-on/the-book-of-grace/