A MENTION of Billingham surprises the star of Brave New World Sophie Ward who had no idea that Aldous Huxley’s 1931 novel was partly inspired by Sir Alfred Mond’s creation of Teesside’s ICI works as an “ordered universe in the midst of the larger world of planless incoherence”.

The world premiere tour of Dawn King’s adaptation of Huxley’s disturbing look at the future heads for Darlington Civic Theatre for the week of November 10 to 14 with the brave new world of theatre turning the author’s male Resident World Controller of Western Europe from male to female.

“I think that although Huxley has envisaged many things that has come to pass and were extraordinarily prescient in his knowledge of the future, he hadn’t noticed how gender equality would work out. So the book was very male-heavy and I think it was felt that this wasn’t helpful and my character was changed to female without changing anything else,” says Ward, the daughter of the late actor Simon Ward, who both found fame on film and TV as well as the stage.

“We’re very keen on outings and I’m sure we’ll be looking into Billingham while we’re here,” she says.

Ward points out that the work of Mond and Henry Ford made a big impression in the 1930s because society was moving towards new technology and mechanisation replacing people.

“Fordism was a keyword but we’ve taken those references out because it no longer applies. The spirit of Ford is there but the character himself is now missing from the play. And there will be a day when even Steve Jobs seems old hat,” Ward says

While Brave New World is now an often-used expression the 85-year wait for theatre production is surprising.

“I think that the book is quite challenging and the idea is quite potent and has stood the test of time. The material of the books is quite challenging and it’s amazing that Dawn King has managed to make the play such a fluid piece because when you read the book it is quite hard to visualise. There have been a couple of film adaptations with limited success I would say because the tone of the book is very hard because it’s got this hedonist quality, but in order for it to work the world and the people in it have to be believable. You can’t play it as satire, because the tone is still here. That’s probably why it’s not been done before,” says Ward.

She feels that the play has been helped enormously by original videos and a soundtrack from These New Puritans to create a multi-dimensional world.

“We were lucky to have These New Puritans because it’s so much fun as an actor to have an original score running every night that is often punctuating the scenes,” she says.

Ward admit she was tempted to rush out and re-read the book, but felt there was a time when you have to put the source material away because the playwright has already done an adaptation for the actors.

“Usually, it’s quite truthful to the original but it’s helpful to keep saying, ‘...in the book there was this or that’.

“You deal with the text you’ve got because after all that’s all the audience is going to see, so you have to make sure this version is comprehensible,” Ward says, paying tribute to the Touring Consortium which is helping to keep drama alive in the UK’s provincial theatres.

“It’s fantastic to look out from the stage and see the young people in the audience. I think Brave New World is on the syllabus, but it’s not being studied that much because pupils now have a choice of which book to study. It ties in well with other dystopian novels and films like The Hunger Games and the Insurgent series. There’s a lot of similar challenges and issues and people that have been coming to see the play will find that it fits in well. There’s also a huge amount of Shakespeare, so that also fits in with English departments,” she says.

Ward has tried not to be influenced by characters like Jeanine (played by Kate Winslet in Insurgent) but feels her part of Margaret is quite interesting in her own right and has enough qualities “not to be looking for more”.

In Huxley’s view of futureworld, 50-year-old Ward would only be allowed to live another ten years because of Brave New World’s life limit of 60.

“I know, that’s all a bit daunting that side of things, but that’s the world he created and we do very much stick to the ideas. It’s very much about the theories and the way that people relate to each other,” says Ward, adding a joke that it was a pity she couldn’t travel to theatres by copter (another innovation predicted by Huxley).

“The trouble with Brave New World is that it’s a very seductive world, unlike 1984 where people are being frogmarched to torture rooms, it’s one where we willingly go and I think there is a tempting idea of a commercial world with people anathematizing themselves with anti-depressants and using social media. It’s all ways of not having to engage with one another and there will be a lot of recognition when the public come to see the play. There will be some moments of reflection about what personal choices we are making now,” she says.

ITV’s Heartbeat has been one of Ward’s star vehicles in the past and remains a North Yorkshire link to the career of the mother-of-two who currently livens up the web with her Sophie So Far blogs which intelligently reflect on everything from the ITV drama Acting Lessons to Tipping.

“I’m busy at the moment because I’m on the road, but I could always do with any suggestions you might have,” she says.

Lamely, I tempt her with thoughts of work for older actresses.

“I think that traditionally the young person’s life is one of the stages that gets examined over and over again and a time of life that people are incredibly attractive and working out who they are and these are fascinating things. But we also have a large older population and I think some writers are tackling that, but there aren’t as many books and plays with women at the centre. Sometimes there is only one or two women alongside 20 guys. It’s going to take us a long time to catch up.”

n Brave New World, Darlington Civic Theatre, Tuesday, November 10 to Saturday, November 14.