Curtains up for Charithra Chandran, who's taking centre stage
It's curtains up for Charithra Chandran, who is taking over London's West End with her stage debut, Instructions For A Teenage Armageddon. "I go to bed and I'm reciting lines, I wake up and I'm reciting lines, I'm even doing it in the shower," the 27-year-old actor tells us about preparing for the play over Zoom on a rainy Wednesday afternoon.
The play, written by Rosie Day and directed by Georgie Staight, follows a teenage misfit who joins a scout group after her sister’s untimely death by a Yorkshire Pudding, to help her navigate the highs and lows of grief and adolescence. It's a funny yet moving and powerful one-woman show that leaves you reliving your teenage years, whether you like it or not.
Now showing at the Garrick Theatre, Instructions For A Teenage Armageddon has received well-deserved, near perfect reviews and cements Chandran as a rising star – if her performance as Edwina Sharma in Bridgerton didn't already tell you that. In between shows, we caught up about her West End debut, a potential return to Bridgerton and what it's like being a leading lady.
"Something that I do with every character is I make a playlist," Chandran shares, adding that the songs and artists help her to feel the ebbs and flows her unnamed West End character goes through. "When I'm walking to the theatre, I listen to it – there's Taylor Swift, a lot of Olivia Rodrigo, Avril Lavigne and Destiny's Child. Britney's on it, obviously. It's just girl power."
As for what she was like as a teenager, Chandran was a self-described "neek" (that's British slang for nerd or geek, for the unfamiliar). "I wasn't angsty or rebellious, I was a goody two-shoes. I didn't go through a punk or goth phase, I was so boring and wish I had rebelled now. What I will say is I think I was really mean to my parents as a teenager, which I feel bad about now."
The film, aside from its comedic elements, has particularly heavy scenes that deal with themes of eating disorders and sexual assault. On how her and the team behind the West End show approached such themes, she said, it's about "finding the truth and purpose in them," but she adds that the portrayal isn't as severe as you may think.
"I don't know a single teenage girl who hasn't gone through something that my character is gone through. Is it extreme if everyone is experiencing these things?" she shares. "It's more normal for a young person to have a disordered relationship with food than a healthy one, one in three girls are victims of sexual harassment and assault. They're not extreme or unique, but we've been programmed to think that because no one walks to talk about it."
On how she unwinds after a day on stage, there are no early nights or bubble baths involved. "I'm living my dream so the adrenaline is pumping and I come off stage f***ing buzz. So, I want to dance. I'm a bit of a club rat and I definitely prefer a night out over a night in."
Many of us know and love Chandran as Edwina Sharma in Bridgerton, which is approaching it's highly-anticipated third season. While we may not see much of Edwina in the upcoming series, which is instead focusing on the love story between Nicola Coughlan's Penelope Featherington and Luke Newton's Colin Bridgerton, Chandran isn't saying no to returning to Bridgerton. "I call it the Bridger-verse. It's ever-expanding with spin-offs like Queen Charlotte. Never say never. I love the show, the crew, the cast," she spills. "It's got to feel like there's a reason Edwina is there, she has to serve a strong purpose. So, who knows?"
As I can't help but gush about feeling seen as a result of the South Asian representation that Bridgerton delivered, Chandran smiles. "It's the greatest thing to come out of it, all the brown people that come up to me and are like 'You have no idea what this means to me' and I'm like 'girl, me too!" She shares that the show's costume designer, Sophie Canale, even had jhumkeh, a South Asian-style of earring, made for Edwina inspired by Chandran's own jewellery. "To be respected that much as a newbie, props to Sophie for doing that."
Aside from starring in Netflix dramas and on the West End, Chandran is also set to star in her first film, How To Date Billy Walsh. She plays Amelia in the Prime Video production, who is the unrequited love interest for Archie, played by Heartstopper's Sebastian Croft. "I had an amazing time on set and what I really enjoyed was being a leader," she says of the role. "You feel a sense of responsibility being the top of the call sheet, and I loved helping and being there for the the young people on set.
"I want my career to be a good mix of stage and screen now. I don't think I can choose just one," she adds about where she sees her acting career going. On what Chandran hopes audiences take away from Instructions For A Teenage Armageddon, she adds, "That teenagers are really brilliant, emotionally intense and beautiful people.
"So many people thought the show wouldn't be so intense and more silly, but that reveals what people think about teenagers – they think that they're silly, especially teenage girls. But, they have such an intensity and emotional depth, so why do people make that assumption about young people? I want people to show teenagers more respect."
As for the advice she would give her teenage self? "Listen to your gut, it's always right. Advocate for yourself, no one is going to believe in you if you don't and no one should fight for you as much as you fight for yourself. Don't apologise for asking for more, especially as a brown woman. In Tamil, my mother tongue, there's a phrase that says 'the crying baby gets the milk,' which can be a good or bad thing. But, the point is that you have to ask in order to get and advocate for yourself."
Instructions For A Teenage Armageddon is now showing at the Garrick Theatre and tickets are on sale at Ticketmaster.
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