'I always carry clean knickers with me!'

THIS WEEK'S COLUMNIST Actor Miriam Margolyes

- ELLA DOVE

Going on tour is a wonderful experience, although if it’s a busy one with lots of dates, it’s quite possible to forget whether you're in Ipswich or Sunderland. Thankfully, the voices tell you, because when you go through England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, the accents change up and down the country. For me, that’s absolutely fascinating. I always try to absorb the different accents, which I'll then try to copy.

As an extrovert, meeting people is the best part of touring. However, I do think it’s important that I listen as well as talk, and I hope I do that when I chat to people. I believe that making my documentaries has taught me to listen and really take in people's stories, because we all have them.

The theatre should be for everyone. Since living with a disability myself, I've realised just how many barriers people with a disability face; others forget about them or they look at them differently.