Cheryl Campbell is one of the leading serious actors of our time but when she appears in Bromley it will be in a hilarious farce, Noises Off. She told reporter Will Scott she loves to hear the audience laugh

Are you a fan of Michael Frayn's work?

Yes, I did a play in the West End about 12 years ago called The Sneeze.

What had been your most pleasing or satisfying role in your career?

Probably A Dolls House [by Henrik Ibsen].

You won a SWET award in 1985 for your part in A Dolls House what is a SWET?

It is an Olivier Award in its original format, which stands for the Society of West End Theatre. It became just an Olivier Award after Lawrence Olivier died.

Is there any particular part that you want to play?

I'm glad to be doing some comedy for a change. When I was younger I did a lot of comedy and musicals but since I did A Dolls House, Pennies from Heaven, and Testament of Youth [she won BAFTAs in the latter two] I have been asked to play a lot of serious stuff. You have to try hard to get away from being typecast because you can only choose between the work which is offered to you. I have had a good variety of work in my career, which is nice, but I'm doing this because it's funny. It's an incredibly clever play. He is a very funny writer. It will be nice to hear the audience laugh a lot instead of crying.

How did you get the part was it offered, did you have to audition, or did you ask your agent to get it for you?

No, I was asked. I have come to the stage in my career when I don't need to [audition] anymore.

Who is your favourite actor?

I don't have a favourite, I like lots of different actors but I don't tend to like the ones which are given big series regularly on the television. They are the ones chosen by the money people, such as accountants and the executives. They make choices which have no relation to what the actors or even directors think should be going on. This is very restricting for actors thanks to [Margaret] Thatcher, who wanted to bring in accountants to run things. The creative decisions were then taken away from creative people so we now have to operate within those guidelines. Hopefully things will swing back the other way in the future.It is so upsetting to be on our side of things.

Do you prefer theatre or television?

Theatre half kills you because it's very exhausting and television is very frustrating now because you don't get rehearsal these days so it depends really.

How do you relax when you're not working?

When I'm not working I enjoy my garden. I love gardening but it's quite difficult when you're working. You just have to rest when you can. It's a bit boring really. Two days a week your day begins mid-morning until about 11pm and then the rest of the week it begins later in the day when everybody else is coming back from work.

What are your plans after the play ends?

The show runs until August and we are taking it all over the country. After that there might be something but I'm not sure yet.

You can see Cheryl Campbell in Noices Off, Churchill Theatre, High Street, Bromley,

Jan 31-Feb 8, Tues-Sat 7.45pm plus Thurs & Sat 2.30pm, £24/£16, 020 8460 6677

Noises Off premiered at the Savoy Theatre, London, in 1982. The show, which ran for nearly five years in the West End, recounts the misadventures of a third-rate British theatre troupe as they tour with a sex farce.

The audience watches both the front stage rehearsal of the play, Nothing On, and the developing back-stage shenanigans before the actors set off on tour.

The two farces begin to interlock as the characters make their exits from the front stage only to find themselves making entrances into a worse nightmare back-stage.

Frayn decided to write a farce which depicted the backstage exploits of actors after watching a performance of a farce he had written for Lynn Redgrave. He said: "It was funnier from behind than in front."

Will they make it to the end of the show? All will be revealed at the Churchill Theatre.