ICW: Tara Lee, Actress and Musician

Tarantino Live is an exciting new rock musical-rock concert-film spectacular, the likes of which the UK has never seen. Or at least that’s what I’m piecing together after my chats with four of the stars of one of London’s newest shows, brought here from LA by For The Record. With a super diverse cast of some of theatre’s greatest talents, and a killer soundtrack played live every night, it promises to be a great night out - even if you don’t know Tarantino’s films! TBP got to speak with cast members Anton Stephans, George Maguire, Karen Mavundukure and here you get to enjoy the chat with Tara Lee. We spoke about the show, making a character as iconic as Mia Wallace her own and still paying homage to Uma Thurman, how important the arts have been throughout her life, adjusting to life in London after moving from Dublin, and a bunch more. Read/Listen below!

Brianna (TBP)
So what is Tarantino live because it's sort of a new concept to the UK theatre scene. So tell us about it.

Tara
So the concept is, all of Tarantino’s movies, amalgamated together and brought to life with the music from his films. And For The Record, have done this with some of like, the greatest directors, but for me the Tarantino one is so special, because music is such a huge part of how he writes and how he makes film, like he'll be inspired by a song before anything else. So the music is really, really important. And it's been running in LA, I think, for 15 years. It's been everywhere. So it's kind of like, I can't believe it's only now coming to London, because it makes so much sense to be here. And yeah, as a huge Tarantino fan, like it's, it's pretty cool. So I, when I first heard of it, I was like “Okay, make this make sense.” And then, when I saw what they had previously done, and saw the script and saw and really read into the concept, I was like, this is - this makes sense. There's some scene work, there are some scenes like brought to life. But it's the, the focus of it really is the music. And the songs in his movies are insane. So it's a great, great score. It's sick.

Brianna (TBP)
Yeah, his music is like iconic. It's one of those even if you've not seen the film, you'll hear the song, and you'll know what it was from.

Tara
Yeah, and it's so weird because I had a Tarantino themed birthday party, like two years ago. And I made a playlist with all of the music from his films. And it's so funny, because when I was, when I got the script through and I was trying to make a playlist with the songs that were there, and I was like, “Wait, I've already got this because I've been like listening to this at like every house party I've had, like forcing this on strangers and loved ones.” Like, the songs are just like, they're just that yeah, they're sick. It's such a good score. And yeah, like there's some songs that you may not have heard of, if not for his movies, like personally like Little Green Bag when I hear that I’m like, Reservoir Dogs. It's the Reservoir Dogs song. Or Streetlife, which is my all time favourite Tarantino song from any movie. I'm like, oh, yeah, well, I wouldn't know that song necessarily, unless it was for Jackie Brown. And now that's like my get up and go song. So yeah, he really - he knows what he’s doing.

Brianna (TBP)
He really does! So, how do you fit into the show?

Tara
So I play - I essentially play Uma Thurman's characters. So I play Mia Wallace and Beatrix from Kill Bill. And they've kind of - they've gone very meta with it. Because if you're a big Tarantino fan, there's a kind of a speech that Mia Wallace gives in one of the scenes with Vince in Pulp Fiction, where she talks about this TV pilot that she did. And she talks about - I think she actually says it's Fox Force Five and there’s these women, and there's the blonde girl, and she basically explains the plot of Kill Bill. So then what they've done is basically made Beatrix and Mia Wallace linked as the same person. And yeah. So it's, it's basically playing Uma Thurman’s characters, and I dip in and out in other places. But yeah, I get to sing some really, really great songs, which is exciting.

Brianna (TBP)
What's your favourite one to sing?

Tara
My favourite one to sing is well, I love the staging, and the vocals with like, the harmonies with the other girls, for Son of a Preacher Man, it's just such a fun one to do. Yeah. And it's funny because like, when I was a kid, my mom used to listen to that song all the time. And she was like, I think you could sing this song quite well, like it would really suit your voice. So she used to like, have me singing it when I was a little girl. And then now to sing it on stage surrounded by these like, insanely powerful backing vocals and harmonies. And this really cool staging with a Mia Wallace wig is a little bit surreal. But then at the same time, I really, really love - we sing a version of Bang Bang with just the electric guitar, and I just love that in those kind of moments of like, you get to be a little bit freer, and really kind of let the lyric speak for itself. So yeah, I think I don't know. Probably I feel like Son of a Preacher Man, you could just have fun with it. But bang, bang, I really feel it every time because you're just like, so raw and like naked on stage, which is quite nice.

Brianna (TBP)
I'm so excited to see it. I like the concept that it's like, it's almost like a concert? Like, I feel like I'm coming to watch you guys do a concert.

Tara
Yeah, there's actually been moments where, especially when - I suppose because the times where we get to step back and look are when it's the men singing because we're not doing vocals for those songs. And there's been moments where I've, kind of sat there and I'm like, this is like the world's coolest rock band. They’re playing, like some of the guys are playing their instruments live as well as like with the band. So it's really immersive. And that was - I really think that was a feeling that was really important to Anderson as well was to be grounded in the music. Like it's like, this is a band, this is a rock band. It's not - it's felt, it's like very kind of earthy which is cool.

Brianna (TBP)
So obviously, Uma Thurman’s characters and all of Tarantino's characters - they're so iconic, and they've been crafted and developed by actors we all recognise. So how do you go about making this Tara Lee’s and not just an impression of Uma Thurman?

Tara
Yeah, and I actually, I think that is so key. I am such a huge fan of Uma Thurman, that it would just seem, it would seem silly to try to just replicate her performance. I don't think that it would be, it would just it wouldn't - it wouldn't work. I would have no interest in doing that. So I actually think what is interesting about this project is it's like it's like your - the songs themselves, obviously, it's never going to be a replication because the characters don't sing the songs - but the scene work that you do is almost like, let's have fun whilst we get into the music. So for me when I'm playing her in those scenes, I'm more interested in how I see her. I'm bringing that to life rather than what I saw her do and repeating that. So for me, like I think, for example, like Mia Wallace is famously really, really cool. But actually, in my opinion, she is really vulnerable and she's playing cool. And so I kind of wanted to play it more like that. Yeah, so for me, I was more interested in playing my version of like, how I saw her and the vulnerability side and just kind of like tapping into that a little bit more. And to me, Mia Wallace is actually quite cute, and probably a little bit lonely and maybe doesn't have people asking about that TV pilot that she did because no one around her really shows any interest. So that for me is where I was kind of coming from, and where I, yeah, where I kind of pull from I think.

Brianna (TBP)
I love that. Are there any little ways you pay homage to Uma through your performance?

Tara
Yeah, I think there are - well, I think the melody in how I speak and the tone of my voice, I think naturally - I haven't done it on purpose. But I've kind of picked up a couple of times where I'm like, “that is a very kind of Uma thing to do.” Even with like, my hair, little things like that. I'm like, kind of a little nods to her. My entrance I'm barefoot, a little nod to Uma. I think obviously, you don't want to just be like, “I'm Uma Thurman”, because it’s Mia Wallace and Beatrix. But I think, you know, Uma made those characters. So whatever you do, it’s Uma Thurman. So yeah, I feel like yeah, there's definitely some nods to her in there. I'm a huge fan. So I'm just like Jesus, it's a little bit wild to even be playing her iconic roles. But here we are.

Brianna (TBP)
So I was doing a bit of research before coming on here. And you've got, like, all of the arts in your background. Like you're a singer-songwriter, you've acted in TV and film, and on stage. You've done ballet since you were three - like clearly, the arts are basically what makes you you. At what point did you kind of know like, I don't want this to just be a hobby, like, this is what I want to do. And then what were the steps you took to make that shift?

Tara
So that's a fun question. So when I was three, I started doing ballet and I was really into dance. And then when I was four, my - well music is a big part of my household. My dad is a film composer. And so music and film were hugely important, growing up. So I remember just being four and being like, “I’m obsessed with David Bowie, I’m obsessed with Britney Spears, I need to find a way of making that my entire personality. That's just got to be it.” So I, yeah, I remember my dad brought me and my brother into a music school. And he was like, pick an instrument, it’s really important that you have that as a child, and I picked the piano. And so I was trained to play. And that's how I kind of started songwriting. But I think for me, like I always wanted to - I was like, “I want to be a dancer and I want to be a singer.” When I was 16 in my dance school, there was like a casting director who had an office upstairs, and she was casting for something. And they kind of just like, threw me in the room. They were like, just see what happens. And I was like, but acting? Like, that's just not me. I actually found it a little bit like am I meant to, like pretend to be someone else. I don't really understand that concept. And they just threw me into this room. And she was like, okay, you're not right for this, but you are right for this. And I ended up doing a TV series for two years and just falling in love with acting. I was like, okay, this is something that really feeds into something in me that I get to be creative with a group of people and from start to finish, build something. And so then it's just kind of taken many forms, I guess, because I always wanted to sing and dance. I still wanted to do that, as well as acting, but this is really exciting for me, because I've always wanted to do a musical, but I've never been able to make them coexist together. Film and TV is on a completely different timeline. And it's hard to kind of do both routes. So I think this overlap for me, especially with the emphasis on like, I have a distinct core memory of when I was about five. And I was sat in my dad's studio and I was watching him he had like, the movie that he was scoring, he had it on like three screens. And he - because he was really building his career from when I was a kid as well, like he started from the ground up. And so I kind of got to see that which is like quite cool. And I was watching him write music whilst it was playing. And I was just fascinated by the idea of matching music to a picture. And the fact that you could just feel that out. So like music videos and stuff to me, I've always loved. So this for me is a real overlap of like, everything that I love. And it's a musical. And it's a musical, but it's based on film, and Tarantino's like, you know, one of my favourite directors. So this is kind of like a weird all encompassing thing. There's like, I don't personally get to do a lot of the choreography, but like, there are like some little things in there. So this is really kind of like, “right everything that you've” - this is like, you know, in a hero movie, where they’re like learning all these skills, and then they fight someone at the end, and they get to use them all together. So this is that, it feels like that for me.

Brianna (TBP)
I was gonna say it must be like the absolute dream, it's film, it's music, it's a little bit of dance. And also for your dad, he must be like, this is the coolest thing you've ever done.

Tara
Yeah, my dad is very excited. And actually, because I live in London, and obviously, I'm Irish, and they happened to be - so he really was building his career, like for my whole childhood. And he has just had a really great career break, he did the music for the new Evil Dead Rise movie. So he was over in London, and we were celebrating that and the release of that, and I was on my way to meet them when I got the call saying, you've got the Tarantino job. So it's like, it was a real kind of full circle moment where he got to be there to celebrate that and I was there to celebrate him. And I think just that he's such an artist that the idea of like doing something live on stage in London, and it being film-based and music, like is such a vital part of it. I think for him, he's just like, well, that's fucking cool, isn't it? Like, I’ll see this one!

Brianna (TBP)
(Laughs) Is he not like that with your others!

Tara
He gets very excited about anything I do but you can tell when he’s being polite and when he’s like, yeah this is actually cool. When he’s like “Good job! You did that. Well, you were certainly in that one.”

Brianna (TBP)
What was the audition process for this one like? Was it closer to something that you'd have done for film, or was it quite similar to stage stuff? What was it? How was it?

Tara
It was actually weirdly similar to - it was probably the same process as like, when you audition for something like film or TV, like a TV film musical, rather than it being like a live show audition. And I think that was probably because the team are largely LA and New York based. I kind of got lucky because I think if I had had to go into a room and audition, the way musicals usually go, I would have frozen. So it was really, we've actually all talked about how it was such a kind of audition process. And it could have been, you know, it's not always the case. And they really, they really treated everyone with so much respect, and kindness. And they didn't drag us over the coals, they were just, you know, they put a lot of trust in people, I think, which is quite rare. Like a lot of the time people want to see you bend over backwards and do 10 different things. They were just like, you know, here's a couple scenes. Here's a song we'd like you to do. And this is in my case anyway. And then I also, I could see on, I could see in a script that there was that swing dance - or the twist dance sorry not the swing dance. So I I learned that and sent that as well, just because I was like, well, you're obviously going to have that in the show. And maybe it will help. So yeah, in my case, it was you know, a couple songs, couple scenes. And then I did the full twist dance routine. And I did have a moment where I was like, it's quite weird of you to be doing this really isn’t it, on your kitchen floor, but you're doing it anyway. And then yeah, I got a call maybe a week later. And yeah, and they were like, “Yeah, we want you to do it.” and I was like, what you don't want me to prove myself more? Well, that's quite nice. So yeah, it was really lovely.

Brianna (TBP)
So we all have people in our industries that we have looked up to when we were younger, and then once we're kind of doing it, maybe that changes who were yours? And have they changed as you've gotten older?

Tara
I would say so, when I was a kid David Bowie was, David Bowie and Madonna were like very huge figures in my life. And David Bowie, I think - actually probably both of them - represented this kind of like self-reinvention, which I think is actually largely why I like acting because I feel like you constantly get to tap into different aspects of yourself and literally pretend to be different people which is just so much fun. Acting-wise, I have always loved how free Angelina Jolie is. I just, I remember seeing like Girl Interrupted and just being like, you are not just like saying your lines, you're like really, your inhibitions are just out the window. And so I find that really inspiring because when I started out because I haven't been trained, I was so like self aware and a little bit stiff. So it's nice sometimes to kind of be like, okay, yeah, you can just have fun with this. Like, it's, it's fun. It's meant to be fun. There's definitely been like more added to that along the way. I remember also, because I was obsessed with the movie Moulin Rouge that like the entire cast of that I was just like, well, all of them are my favourite actors. So for me, yeah, like I guess, like, musically, I have quite a few influences and people that I admire. I really admire Kate Winslet at the moment. I think she's just really cool. And I think she's, I think now the people that inspire me are more people who have something to say in the industry. And so yeah, she's a big one where I'm just like, you've got your head screwed on, you’ve aged like a fine wine. And she's just cool. I just think yeah, she's cool. And Kristen Stewart, I’m a big Kristen Stewart fan. Yeah, she's pretty cool.

Brianna (TBP)
She's very cool. She's very cool. How did you find the adjustment when you moved to London from Dublin, because my family is also from Dublin, and I remember going back-

Tara
No way!

Brianna (TBP)
Yeah, they're from Tallaght! (Disclaimer requested by my family, they also lived places other than Tallaght, and felt it was important you all knew this.)

Tara
Oh my god. Wait, that's crazy. So I'm from Blessington, which is just under Tallaght. I spent, like half my childhood in Tallaght, and my bus was like, the Tallaght bus. That's so funny.

Brianna (TBP)
When we went back my family, it was like “we have to go to Blessington Lakes, like that’s got to be a first thing.”

Tara
That’s literally where I was raised, that is so funny.

Brianna (TBP)
So funny! It’s like that Irish stereotype of “Oh you’re only ever like one person away” and we’ll be like “no, we don’t all know each other” but -

Tara
We are!

Brianna (TBP)
It’s a very small island and there’s not a lot of people.

Tara
Yeah, and every time people are like “Oh yeah, so my cousin -” and I’m like what’s his name? Like as if I’m gonna know and then I’m like “Oh yeah, I actually do.”

Brianna (TBP)
It’s true!

Tara
But I think like, that's what - Well, I had, to actually be honest with you, I had a baptism by fire. Like, I moved over, when I just turned 21. And it wasn't even a question. I was like, that's just gonna happen. I think I had a thing in my head of like, when I do three UK jobs, I'll move to the UK. And I made the choice to like, I think because my brother had moved over a year previously, I kind of watched how he had done things. And I was like, Cool. That's how you do it. You like, you live with flatmates, then you have some friends. You get a job in a bar because then you got like access to like nightlife and stuff. So that's literally what I did. I came over and I moved in with five Central St. Martin students in a tiny tiny flat, where I couldn't even open my door fully, like my door knocked off of my bed. I actually remember like speaking with my dad being honest, like I remember they drove over with like, some of my stuff because obviously I couldn't pack it all into suitcases. So we did like a drive over on the boat, which was very Saoirse Ronan in Brooklyn of me. He showed up at my flat and he just didn't speak. The entire time he brought things in he just did not speak and I was like, he is making so many judgments right now. And so I I was immediately immersed into like, I was in Haggerston in East London, I've never left East London, I'm obsessed with East London. And with these crazy students and these crazy nights, and I literally on day two, I was like, okay, you’ve got to set up your bank account, you’ve got to get your National Insurance number, and then you’ve got to go and get a bartending job. I was like, these are the three things. So I did that. And then to be honest with you, like it was a pretty easy adjustment because I've spent so much time in London beforehand, but what I wasn't prepared for was the level of harassment on the street. And that really, I had a really, really hard time probably until I moved into a slightly nicer safer apartment with like, heavier doors and like that just felt like I was a little bit more protected in a nicer, safer kind of neighbourhood. And it's, you know, it still hasn't fixed it. But yeah, I wasn't prepared for the level of it. That was really disturbing. So that was an adjustment, but you know, unfortunately, it's the way it is. I don't think it's going to be changing anytime soon. Yeah, you just have to kind of learn to protect yourself and that's what I did, I did some Krav Maga courses and now I’m like I dare you.

Brianna (TBP)
Try it. See what happens.

Tara
Yes. Yeah, exactly. Let's see.

Brianna (TBP)
So last question. What can people expect from Tarantino live and why should they come and see it?

Tara
Right, I think it is - So first of all, you can expect to be like you won't want to sit down. The music is so good and the voices and the band are so on it, that you will not want to stay seated, you're going to want to dance you're gonna want to sing along and that that is encouraged. You can expect to feel empowered the way that they have joined these films together, and really focused on you know, the Fox Force Five, these, like really powerful women. It's just so cool. And I still get goose bumps in - we've been running this for weeks now and I still get goose bumps at these little kind of nods that they do and the way that they play these characters together. So you can expect it to be you know, loud, empowering, quite out there in terms of some of the language is uncomfortable, it's hard-hitting. But it's, it's brave. I think it's really brave, and it's really fun. And you're gonna leave and you're gonna want to watch all of his movies after you go out probably to SoHo. So yeah, it'll be a really, really fun night.

Tarantino Live opens today, June 9th, and runs until August 13th at Riverside Studios Hammersmith. Get your tickets here! Use code BP20 to get 20% off your tickets.