Thomas More from Sir Thomas More performed by Janine Watson  

“The Comedy of Errors – the received perception of it is lightweight, thin, a bit of fluff, a diversion; actually it is quite the opposite... it is a play about people trying to find themselves, and connect to love. “ 

This week on Speak The Speech, we are joined by award-winning actor and director Janine Watson. In this episode, Janine discusses directing and discovering the complexities, nuances and physicality of The Comedy of Errors. She shares the process of transitioning into directing from acting, how a cast recreates a performance night after night on tour and the balance between collaboration and leadership in the rehearsal room. 

Janine is a graduate of the National Theatre Drama School in Melbourne and has trained with the SITI Company in New York and Zen Zen Zo Physical Theatre. For Bell Shakespeare she’s appeared in Antony and Cleopatra and The Dream, and directed a production of Romeo and Juliet for young audiences. This year she directed Bell Shakespeare’s national tour of The Comedy of Errors. In 2016 she won the inaugural Sandra Bates Directing Award at the Ensemble Theatre and went on to direct Unqualified, Nearer the Gods and Unqualified 2 for the company. In 2018 she won a GLUG Award for Best Supporting Actress for Red Line’s A View from the Bridge, and was also nominated for a Sydney Theatre Award. In 2020, she won the Sydney Theatre Award for Best Female Performer in an Independent Production for The Happy Prince, produced by Little Ones Theatre.