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13 Questions: actress Donna Lavin
8th July 2009
Donna Lavin is a 26 year old actress from Leeds with physical and learning difficulties. She started her career training at Mind the Gap, a theatre company for people with disabilities. There, she took part in two national tours, one with ‘of mice and men’.
When Donna gave this interview , she was just about to play the main character in ‘Womans Hour Drama, the pursuits of Darleen Fyles. It’s about a woman with learning disabilities on the road to independence, dealing with boyfriends, accommodation, learning who to trust and starting a new job. It's recently been adapted for television. We could feel Donna’s excitement about the role as she answered Ouch’s 13 Questions.
When Donna gave this interview , she was just about to play the main character in ‘Womans Hour Drama, the pursuits of Darleen Fyles. It’s about a woman with learning disabilities on the road to independence, dealing with boyfriends, accommodation, learning who to trust and starting a new job. It's recently been adapted for television. We could feel Donna’s excitement about the role as she answered Ouch’s 13 Questions.
Uppermost in my mind today is ...
Tonight. My boyfriend is coming over and I’m cooking him a meal. I’ve already been to Morrison’s today, running around the isles like a woman possessed. I’m doing a fry-up because that is the only thing I can cook.
People think I'm ...
Whacky, have a good sense of humour and am fun to be around. To be fair though, if you ask my friends and family, they would probably say I’m a bit bossy, very lazy, like things my own way and have pie in the sky dreams. You’ve got to have goals in life though don’t you?
I want to ban ...
Prejudice. Everyone is so quick to give out labels; fat, thin, gay, straight, disabled. I try to judge only when I’ve seen and met the person.
Not a lot of people know that I ...
Have a scar on my right leg. Hmm, that is a tough question though because I like to think of myself as an open book. Once you have seen me and met me, that is me. I have no dark secrets and I’m not deep.
The best piece of advice I would pass on is ...
Learn from yesterday, live for today and dream about tomorrow.
I struggle with ...
Carrying stuff. I have CP and only have the use of one arm so I need people to help me when I am out shopping.
I couldn't live without ...
My boyfriend. I’m so in love with him and I’m a hopeless romantic. We have been together for 18 months. He loves building computers.
If I didn't live in the UK, I'd...
Adopt an Island as my own. It would be called the Donna and Paul Love Island.
Where do you spend most of your time ...?
Between my flat and my boyfriend Paul’s flat. I’m absolutely terrible at running to a schedule. I get up in the morning and decide whether I feel like going out, staying in or going for a walk. My boyfriend hates it.
My first job was ...
When I was 16. I had to be a dinner lady for my own school. I got quite good at buttering bread actually. I’d rather die than not be an actress. When I’m not working though, I get so bored. Sitting on the sofa watching TV, thinking that I should be doing something but I don’t know what.
My favourite drink is ...
Tea. I love a good cup of tea first thing in the morning. I never drank alcohol often but don’t at all now because my boyfriend doesn’t like me when I’m drunk and once I start I can’t stop.
My favourite food is ...
Chinese takeaways. I love Sweet and sour king prawn with egg fried rice. Talking about it is making me feel very hungry!
I decided to play Darleen Fyles because ...
When I first got the script I burst into tears; it was a little bit like reading my own life. It took me 4 years to get this flat. I left my mum when I was 17 and lived with my dad for a year. That didn’t work out so I went to a care home for 4 years, miles away
Living independently is …
Brilliant but it took me 4 years to learn the skills. Mum and her husband taught me how to cook, dad always tells me to tidy my room and my boyfriend is a clean freak so he reminds me not to leave the washing up until the last minute.
• Catch Donna in I Am Darleen Fyles on ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ iPlayer.
• The first photo was taken by Tim Smith, the second by Les Parkinson.
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Comments
If you want to drink alcohol, then drink alcohol. Not doing it because your boyfriend doesn't like it when you're drunk is a silly excuse. You're your own person.
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