Don't Tell Me I Can't: Rediscover My Childhood Hobby

Esther Wane realised it was a shame to leave her talents in the past

- Saskia Murphy

Sitting down in front of the microphone, an annotated script sitting on my lap, I get a familiar happy sensation and I’m instantly reminded that performing is what I was always meant to do. Whether I’m recording a new audiobook, or rehearsing for a play, I love being back in the spotlight. It’s just a pity it took me two decades to find my way back here. The stage was my second home as a girl, and I had a flair for anything dramatic and creative. By six, I was going to drama class every week, and by 15, I was having lessons at a local theatre school. I took pride in being word-perfect,and as a teenager had lead roles, playing the White Witch in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, and Jane in Jane Eyre.

Yet, the time came when I had to choose what I wanted to do with my life. I dreamt of becoming an actress and of being under the spotlight every evening. ‘It’s very competitive,’ warned my school’s career counsellor. So I took the ‘safe route’, taking maths and science at school, then doing a law degree. ‘It’s the right thing to do,’ I told myself – it was sensible and practical.