Three in three years in Chichester for Rachelle Diedericks

It runs from Friday, May 3-Saturday, June 1. Two years ago Rachelle was in the Minerva with the landmark production Our Generation; last year she was on the main-house stage with A View from the Bridge. Now it is three in three years.

“My friends are starting to say that I have gone to Chichester more than anyone they have ever known!” Rachelle laughs. “But really it is just the way it has worked out. I always love going back to Chichester and I have been so lucky to be in the position where I've done it once a year.”

The House Party is her first return since Justin Audibert took over the programming as artistic director from Daniel Evans – and she is loving the continuation: “It was a big thing with Daniel and it's a big thing with Justin as well. Both are making work that draws in new audiences. A lot of the work is along those lines. Daniel said he wanted to bring a bit more spice and oomph and now we have got the same thing. It has continued and it just makes it a really exciting place to be. There's just so much buzz about being around Chichester.”

The House Party takes Rachelle back into the Minerva: “And it is going to be great fun. It's going to be really immersive and it will give us the intimacy that the play needs. But I love playing the main house as well which is like a great big spaceship which brings its own challenges which are also fun to deal with. But Our Generation was my first experience of Chichester and that was in the Minerva and I think the Minerva is maybe my favourite, though not by much. They are both gorgeous spaces.”

The House Party offers a wild party, a friendship, a cherished pet – and a night that changes everything. It’s Julie’s 18th birthday, and she’s throwing a party in her father’s extravagant townhouse. Rachelle plays her long-suffering best friend Christine.

“(Playwright) Laura has done such a gorgeous job of weaving it all together so subtly but it is still the same reason why the piece happens (that you get in the Strindberg) and the rehearsals have been electric. I get to watch Josh (Finan as Jon) and Nadia (Parkes as Julie), and they are so fabulous to watch. My take-away is that it's just so exciting. You never know what is going to happen next. We're playing teenagers who are trying to deal with their emotions but have got teenage hormonal brains and you're thinking ‘Oh gosh I remember that when I was a teenager!’”

Essentially, it's a three-hander: “And there is so much to learn. You are thinking ‘I will get a break in the script at some point’ but that just doesn't happen. I'm constantly playing catch-up and trying to get on top of everything. And the dynamic between the three characters is just so complex and so intricate. Working on the play is so intense with just the three characters. It's been fantastic, three characters that change each other's lives in an evening. No spoilers but ‘Wow!’ It's going to be very muscular!”