Bringing Rika's Rooms to Life

How do we make sense of a life when memory begins to fail, and what happens when one woman’s private choices collide with the forces of history?

Gail Louw’s Rika’s Rooms is an intimate and compelling one-person drama, brought to life by Emma Wilkinson Wright in a performance that spans decades, countries and a host of different characters.

Ahead of its four-week run, Emma tells us why this deeply personal story feels so urgent today and what it takes to carry an entire world alone onstage.

1.⁠ ⁠Please tell us who you are, what role you play in this production and what the play is about?

I'm Emma Wilkinson Wright and I'm the actress playing Rika from the ages of 14 through 76 as she navigates fractured memories of her life through the lens of dementia. On a narrative level, the piece - which is based on the original novel of the same title - tracks playwright Gail Louw's mother's journey from Nazi Germany in 1939, via Palestine and Israel, to Apartheid South Africa and then finally to England where she succumbs to dementia. On a thematic level, this play is an incredibly rich investigation of love and loss, of choices and consequences, of the evils of imperialism, colonisation, war and genocide. Into morality and the moral compass at the heart of the human.

2.⁠ ⁠Why did you choose to do this play?

For me, the two most important questions in theatre are: “Why this piece?” and “Why now?” If there isn’t a good answer, the piece shouldn’t be on.

We are living in a frightening world, riddled with war, division, hatred, genocide and fear. Rika’s Rooms explores these themes in a nuanced and textured way, placing morality at its centre and examining the histories of Germany, Israel and South Africa with a critical eye. Nobody escapes scrutiny. It feels like a stark warning about what is happening again today.

I’ve worked with Gail and Anthony since 2023 and love both Gail’s writing and Anthony’s superb direction. I was also drawn to the challenge of portraying one woman from her teens to the age of 76, alongside the many other characters and voices within the play. It is a wonderful challenge for an actor.

3.⁠ ⁠How does the play echo relevant issues in today’s world?

It could not be more relevant. Collectively and individually, we are the sum of the choices we make - from where I am sitting, it seems like an awful lot of very bad choices are currently being made at the geo-political level. This piece investigates the horrors of Nazi Germany, terrorism in Israel and the Apartheid regime in South Africa with a very critical and condemning eye. It considers and exposes the evils of an imperialist mindset and invites the audience to reflect on the catastrophic consequences of not doing the right thing. And how this haunts us forever.

4.⁠ ⁠Have you always been an actor? Does anyone else in your family tread the boards?

I've been a professional actor for almost 15 years. I acted a lot when I was younger, but my parents encouraged me to get a “proper job” and pursue a more financially secure life than the ones they had experienced. I'm half-Roma, first generation off a travelling fairground, so – dutiful daughter that I was – I followed a different path.

In my twenties, I worked in strategy for a global management consultancy, as well as with the United Nations and the World Economic Forum. I lived and worked in more than 30 countries and learned several languages fluently. It was hugely enriching, but I wasn't doing what I really wanted.

After my second child was born, I returned to acting, retraining at City Lit, the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and then RADA, which was a dream come true. Since then, I've appeared in more than 50 theatre productions in London, Edinburgh and abroad, as well as in film, television and radio. Last year, I won Best Actor at the London Pub Theatre Awards.

I've had enormous support from my husband, family and friends, and I will always be grateful to them for believing in me. My youngest daughter, Effie Linnen, is now following in my footsteps. She appeared in Hamnet and recently played Lily Potter Junior in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in the West End. We've also made several films together, which has been utterly joyous.

5. ⁠When taking on a play like Rika’s Rooms which is a one-woman show based on a real person, what are some of the joys and some of the challenges?

Rika’s Rooms is my fourth one-person show since 2023, which has happened more by accident than design. I certainly didn’t wake up with a burning desire to perform four different 13,000-word plays in quick succession!

The joys are the autonomy and the physical and vocal challenge. I’ve always said that a theatre actor is essentially an athlete. I run, practise yoga, currently do six HIIT sessions a week and work on my voice every day to keep my body, voice and mind performance-ready. You simply cannot perform a two-hour solo show without being in good physical shape.

I also love working with Anthony Shubsall, who has directed all four of my solo shows. We now have such a strong relationship that we can practically read each other’s minds. I particularly enjoy portraying real people, which requires enormous care, research and respect.

The greatest challenge is that it can be lonely, and I miss sharing the stage with other actors. There is also immense pressure: however supportive the creative team may be, once you step onstage, everything rests on you. It is exhausting too, particularly on two-show days. During the Liz Truss show, I was effectively onstage alone from 3pm until 9pm, with only an hour between performances. I now take a portable futon to theatres so I can sleep between shows!

Ultimately, I love what I do, whether it is a one-person show or not. Whatever the joys and challenges, I genuinely wouldn’t want to do anything else with my one life on this earth.

Rika's Rooms plays from 1st to 25th July. Book tickets here.