A De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) graduate has landed a role working alongside her idols in a smash hit West End show.
Victoria Blunt, who graduated with a Drama degree back in 2006, is currently working as the understudy to Katherine Parkinson in Dead Funny at The Vaudeville Theatre.
Victoria says she has ‘always been a massive fan’ of Katherine and says it is a hugely rewarding learning experience.
Katherine is best known for her BAFTA award-winning performances in The IT Crowd, as well as the BBC's Sherlock and Channel 4's Humans. She stars in the play alongside The League of Gentlemen's Steven Pemberton.
Victoria said: “At first it was quite intimidating, but watching Katherine Parkinson and Steve Pemberton rehearse has taught me so much. The play is very demanding in places and technically it requires accuracy, so watching them hit those marks is amazing.”
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She added: “The cast all make each other laugh and it is totally infectious. I think I’ve become a funnier person from it.”
Victoria believes that the drama degree she took at DMU really helped to shape her. She said: “I think university was a great time for making mistakes, figuring out who I was, and it exposed me to so many aspects of performing arts.
“The teachers were very supportive and their passion and enthusiasm really shaped me in the sense that I was taught to be very curious about everything – you should never stop learning.”
Since graduating, Victoria has managed to combine a love for acting and travelling. She even set up her own touring theatre company with the help of Rob Brannen, the Head of the School of Arts at DMU.
She said: “After touring with my theatre company, I really wanted to travel so looked for work abroad. I found a small theatre company in Italy which toured schools and had a brilliant time. I ended up travelling and working for about four years, in Germany, Spain, France and Japan.
“When I came back to the UK I worked mostly in theatre, performing at the Soho and the Unicorn in London and the Watermill. Working on the West End show has been a whole new experience, and one I hope to repeat.”
But it doesn’t stop there, Victoria will also be performing in Twelfth Night at the Watermill Theatre from March, and then she will be touring across the UK and Germany.
She added: “I have some exciting auditions coming up as well so who knows what else is in store.”
Posted on Tuesday 31 January 2017