Sarah Thom Interview
Today, we’re shining a spotlight on actor Sarah Thom who is currently playing the infamous ‘Dr’ Linda Hazzard in psychological thriller Fast which opens at Upstairs at The Gatehouse on Halloween.
Q. Sarah, congratulations on landing the leading role. Hazzard is a fascinating character. Can you tell us about her?
A. Yes, thanks very much – she certainly is! Linda Hazzard was a fasting specialist with slightly dubious qualifications who ran a sanitarium, Wilderness Heights in Olalla, Washington in the early 1900s. Her clinic was nicknamed ‘Starvation Heights’ by the locals, several of her patients died under her care and Linda was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment. She was pardoned after two years on condition that she move to New Zealand, where she continued to practise. She eventually died 25 years later after subjecting herself to her own treatments. History has named her a serial killer, the Starvation Doctor.
Q. As an actor, when playing a famous character who people will recognize, how much research is involved in portraying them accurately?
A. I really love playing real people because there is so much materiel to base your work on. I played both Margaret Thatcher and Bette Davis and with both of them there was film and audio footage so much to work with. With Linda Hazzard I just have photographs, newspaper articles, books, hearsay and her own writings, so there is room for a little more artistic license. So in answer, a good deal of research – but the key I think is to find some empathy or at least understanding for their motivations so that you can bring them to life with some credibility.
Q. Hazzard had her critics, but there were many supporters too. What is your view of her work?
Following on from my last point… she is a hard nut to crack. The place where I have found empathy for her is in her own writings. Her book ‘Fasting for the Cure of Disease’ is clearly well-researched and obviously a process she fully believed in. And as you say there were supporters of her work – which is how she managed to get her sentence quashed. What is harder to swallow is the element of fraud and swindling which went along with the decline of her patients. Whether that was all her, or her mysterious husband, Samuel (played by Karl Wilson), I am not so sure…
Q. Can you tell us more about the play and how much of Hazzard’s life it covers?
A. The play focusses on a the case of the patients that led to her manslaughter conviction, – the Williamson sisters (played by Maia von Malaise and Imogen Gray). Two English girls, Claire and Dora who began treatment in the clinic in 1911. Only Dora was to walk (or be carried) out alive. The story though is told with Hazzard as her own narrator who guides the audience through with her own backstory. We also have the character of Horace J. Cayton (played by Jermaine Dominique) – a journalist who exposed her practise in the press, which gives an insight into Hazzard’s own battle against publicity as well as giving an opportunity to hear her arguments in court before she was sentenced.
Q. The play is described as a psychological thriller – an ideal entertainment for Halloween. Do you think audiences will find Hazzard scary?
A. Well our stage manager, Jack Evans, is already having nightmares…
Q. As well as appearing in Fast we understand your voice can currently be heard on the BBC. Can you tell us more?
A. Yes, I’ve worked on many plays and comedies with the BBC Radio 4. I won the Norman Beaton Fellowship in 2012 which was a fantastic introduction to the world of radio. My most long-running role was as the (slightly on the edge) Joan in ‘Clare in the Community’. I also loved working on Doctor Who Redacted as Monica Proctor. And I’ve just played the (put upon) Affery in the new adaptation of ‘Little Dorrit’ which has just aired and is now on BBC Sounds in the Dickensian series
Q. You’ve worked extensively in television, radio and theatre. What have been the highlights for you?
A. My highlights would be all things radio, playing Dido in ‘Dido, Queen of Carthage’ at Kensington Palace, touring the UK as Thatcher in ‘Thatcher the Musical!’ – fascinating to play someone whose politics I completely disagreed with (!), working at the National Theatre – and my comedy work. I really loved working on ‘Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle’ with the BBC and I was delighted to finally write and perform my own comedy, ‘Beak Speaks’ which was nominated for a Standing Ovation Award at the Hen and Chickens last year.
Q. With Fast opening this coming week what are you looking forward to the most about playing ‘Dr’ Linda Hazzard?
Having the time to develop her relationship with the audience. She speaks as much to the audience as she does to the characters on stage and obviously I cannot really have those conversations until the audience is there. Linda Hazzard must have possessed a great deal of charm in order to get her patients to comply … so I’m looking forward to seeing if I can get the audience on side… or not!
You can see / listen to Sarah in the following productions: Fast – Upstairs at the Gatehouse, Highgate Village from 29th October – 17th November; Little Dorrit – BBC Sounds.
Sarah Thom was interviewed by Stephen Cambridge
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