It was one of those serendipitous moments where a friendship was forged and a new career path emerged for an Aberdeen youngster.
Laura Main admitted she was often at “a loose end” during her teenage years at the city’s Hazlehead Academy, but one day, she ventured along to Danscentre and met its inspirational mentor, Karen Berry in what became a “life-changing” development.
The actress recalls: “I went to tap school in a T-shirt and trainers and loved it. I was so inspired by Karen I wanted to go to all her classes and I learned so much from her.”
The seed had been sown and Laura threw herself into myriad artistic endeavours, whether acting, singing or dancing and appearing at the Phoenix Theatre.
At university, she participated in student shows with such unforgettable titles as The Good The Bad and the Buttery, Scaffie Society and From Rubislaw with Love.
And now, the 44-year-old star of the hit TV series Call the Midwife is joining pantomime legend Alan McHugh to host a brace of shows for The ARCHIE Foundation.
Laura Main saw the amazing work being done by ARCHIE on a panto visit
It’s a cause close to her heart and she is proud to be a patron of the organisation which was formed in 2000 to support the creation of the Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital.
The charity started with a simple mission – to make a difference for local sick children, providing much-needed extras which were not already catered for by the NHS.
But, as it celebrates its 25th anniversary, its influence has spread to the Highlands and Islands and Tayside and Laura talked movingly of her involvement with the group.
As she told me: “I was doing a pantomime in 2019 and the cast visited the hospital, dressed up in our costumes, and we tried to bring a bit of Christmas magic to the wards.
“I listened to Alan delivering an impassioned speech, asking people to support ARCHIE, and I went as the Fairy Godmother, aiming to make wishes come true.
“And I looked at the brilliant work which everybody was doing to make the lives of the children and their families a bit easier in what were often very tough circumstances.
‘The work they do makes a difference’
“You have family members travelling down from the islands and other places and they need help with accommodation, medical information and, sadly, bereavement issues.
“The staff at ARCHIE do all that and more to complement the wonderful NHS. So, when I was asked if I’d like to become a patron, I thought it was a humungous honour.”
Laura was less interested in talking about herself than emphasing the positive aspects of the charity, the affirmative powers of youngsters becoming involved in the arts and forming a connection with a teacher such as Berry – the pair are still friends.
She hasn’t forgotten the benefits it can bring, whether boosting confidence, encouraging strangers to join forces in a collaborative venture, or fostering a sense of camaraderie.
‘These shows are about the kids’
And she and Alan will ensure that the focus is not on them but the callow participants when they present the second Archie Foundation Variety Shows at The Tivoli today.
She said: “The youngsters have been rehearsing hard for these events – there will be two performances – and I’ll get a few tips from Alan, who is experienced at this sort of thing.
“I watched the show last year and had a terrific evening, but I thought it would be good to be more involved this time. So here I am. I think it’s going to be very uplifting.”
Nobody, least of all Laura, could have anticipated that Call the Midwife would become such an enduring staple of the TV schedules – complete with a Christmas Day special every Yuletide – when it arrived on our screens in January 2012.
Yet, over the course of 14 series, it has tackled a plethora of often controversial subjects including abortion and unwanted pregnancies, birth defects, poverty, epidemic disease, prostitution, incest, religion, racism and prejudice in Britain in the 1950s and 1960s.
The Aberdonian was there from from the outset, originally cast as Sister Bernadette, who left organised religion to become nursing sister Shelagh Turner.
And she has been one of the strongest performers in the ensemble drama, which has featured acting luminaries including Jenny Agutter, Judy Parfitt and Vanessa Redgrave.
Laura doesn’t know what will be in the scripts prior to filming and there’s a strictly-observed code of secrecy about future plotlines which keeps everything fresh.
This has only been breached on one occasion – in the second series – when Sister Bernadette contracted a life-threatening disease, leaving her fate uncertain.
She recalled: “I got a knock on my trailer door from the producer and he said: ‘Okay, so there’s going to be a script coming and your character gets tuberculosis.
“He added: ‘But don’t worry, you will survive,’ which was pretty nice of him. I think he was worried I would get my hands on it before I was meant to and get a bit concerned.”
She told me: “Looking back, the way [the programme] has developed is unbelievable and we are about to start shooting series 15. And everybody involves really loves it.
“It deals with often difficult issues, starts conversations and its themes are universal which means that people all over the world can relate to it.
‘You never take anything for granted’
“Back in 2012, I could never have imagined this wonderful job would last so long and I am very grateful for all the things it has allowed me to do.
“And I certainly couldn’t have guessed that Call the Midwife would become a part of so many people’s Christmas Days. I have so many things to be thankful for.”
It helps, of course, that Laura has a fine singing voice and a penchant for melody.
The old showbusiness adage decrees that you should never work with children or animals, but that has never proved a problem for the versatile Laura. And why?
Keep singing to stop the tears
She explained: “I’ve got a really good trick – I sing a nursery rhyme. I’ll be doing a round of Row Your Boat, so we are all singing away and they don’t cry then. That’s my top tip!
“It’s very rewarding when you know you have captured something great on screen. I get really involved in that – I actually get great satisfaction out of it.”
It’s a gruelling filming schedule on Call the Midwife, occupying up to six months of the year, and yet one doesn’t detect any feeling of Laura being discomfited by the demands.
Quite the contrary. She once said: “Playing a nurse and midwife has taught me to think more about putting other people’s needs ahead of my own.”
But I wonder. Given the fashion in which Laura spoke about being a champion for The ARCHIE Foundation, it’s obvious she wants to make a difference and help others.
Maybe Shelagh Turner and Laura Main are cut from the same cloth.
Tickets for the variety show are available at the Tivoli Theatre website.
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