THE RENDITION MEETS GABRIELLE BROOKS
Image Credit - Mark Berner
Gabrielle Brooks is no stranger to powerful storytelling. From her Olivier-nominated performance as Rita Marley in Get Up, Stand Up! to her screen roles in Shadow and Bone and J’Ouvert, she’s built a career defined by fearlessness, heart, and intention.
Now, she brings that same energy to Coven, a new British musical reimagining the Pendle Witch Trials through the eyes of the women who lived through them.
Directed by Miranda Cromwell and featuring music by Daisy Chute, Coven combined history, myth, and sisterhood in a fierce reclamation of women’s voices.
Would you rather star in theatre shows for the rest of your life, or be on TV?
Theatre is my first love, but TV does pay some very good bills. If I was going with my head and my bank balance, I would say TV. But if I went with my heart, which I normally do, I would choose theatre for the rest of my life.
How did you get into acting and if you weren’t an actor, what other career would you have pursued?
Probably a journalist. When I was doing UCAS back in the day, I didn't know what a sensible decision would be for me to make. Half of my applications were for drama schools and the others were universities. I thought, whatever offer I got would be fate deciding for me. Anyway, I got into all the universities and drama schools, so it didn't help at all! I just had to go with my heart. I had a very Type A personality and so I think journalism could have been a good option for me.
Coven reimagines the story of the Pendle Witch Trials through music, history, and powerful female voices. What first drew you to this production, and what excites you most about telling this story on stage?
So much drew me to this production.
First of all, it is a new British musical, which is exciting and risky.
In my career, I want to take risks and do exciting things, and it's a privilege to delve into British history in such a raw way. There's a critique of the system and the way that we treat women which I love. I will always advocate for women, past and present, and this show does that. It truly empowers us in a way that feels relevant, and that feels like it holds women in high regard. Also, Miranda Cromwell is one of my favourite directors, so I was immediately invested. I hold her opinion in high regard, and genuinely cannot say no to her.
She creates a room of true community and has a lot of respect for every creative who is involved.
As an actor who has shaped roles in major productions like Get Up Stand Up, how does it feel to be part of a brand-new British musical? What are the unique challenges and freedoms in helping bring Coven to life for the first time?
One challenge, which is also a sort of privilege, is that I'm playing a real person, and with that comes a weight that I happily carry, because it means I've got to maintain a level of respect and integrity when I'm playing the role. I'm constantly advocating for this woman whose story has never been told before. It's a challenge that I embrace, and is similar to a role that I played before. You end up falling in love with that person. There is freedom in our show because it is completely new.
Every creative is saying “please bring yourself to this role”, and that’s incredibly freeing.
“I will always advocate for women, past and present, and this show does that. It truly empowers us in a way that feels relevant, and that feels like it holds women in high regard.”
The play explores women accused, silenced, and ultimately finding power together. How do you connect personally with these themes, and what resonance do you think they have for audiences today?
I desperately hope that audiences will resonate with it, but I don't think there's any question that they will. Women are still persecuted today. We're still silenced, still punished for speaking out.
The system distorts truth. There's a lot of disregard for our bodies, for our personal safety, for how we present. We’re still fighting for equal economic rights, bodily rights, and personal safety. Every woman can resonate with that. I'm playing a particularly religious character and there’s a lot of pressure on me to uphold a certain way of being. This is definitely something that I can 100% relate to as a Black woman who was brought up in the church.
It's a very sensitive, vulnerable rehearsal room, because there's no one who's unaffected by some part of this story.
Coven features an all-female cast. How does that influence the rehearsal room, the storytelling, and your own experience as a performer?
There's a gorgeous feeling when everyone is female and we're telling a story through an entirely female lens. There's safety in the room, there's community, there’s a lot of empathy, but there's also laughter. There's a sort of joy in not romanticising our trauma, but examining it. It's beautiful. I'm really enjoying this process because everything I say is being read in the way that I mean it to be. To be seen in any aspect is amazing, but to be constantly seen as a woman every time you go into work? That’s really rare. There's an additional layer for me personally, because I'm a Black woman, and there aren't as many Black women in this industry. I'll always feel a little bit different, but I’m lucky to constantly feel like I'm being held.
As someone who’s moved fluidly between stage and screen, how does this project fit into your artistic journey and/or push you in new directions?
Having played a lot of women who were victims, were readily silenced and didn’t have a lot of autonomy and drive, I've been hungry for this. I’m at a point in my life right now where I speak out quite a lot. I wrote an article the other day about how I feel the industry has handled all things Black Lives Matter in the last five years. I like to advocate for myself and other people - specifically those who look like me. I feel like everything I've done in my life has led me to playing a role like this, where I don't have to be quiet in the room and on stage. I have agency as a person, and the person I'm playing has agency.
Image Credit - Mark Berner
“There’s safety in the room, there’s community, there’s a lot of empathy, but there’s also laughter. ”
Many of your past roles, whether Rita Marley or in J’Ouvert, explore resilience, heritage, and women’s voices. How has your identity shaped the kinds of roles you choose, and what does representation on stage mean to you within the context of Coven?
Starring in J’Ouvert and playing Rita Marley in Get Up, Stand Up! was very culturally specific to me, while Coven is a bit further away. J’Ouvert spoke directly to who I was growing up. It was an exploration of Black British women who have grown up with Caribbean heritage, trying to find their way in a society that tells them that they don't belong. But there's this one day a year where not only are you the majority, but you belong.
What's interesting about this role is that Miranda made a conscious decision to make sure that there is diversity in this space, to ensure that it resonates with a modern audience. That is important to me; in the erasure of these women, we're also representing the other types of women that are often erased. And I think my place on the stage is important for that.
You co-founded Mawa Theatre Company. the first all-Black all-female Shakespeare theatre company. What motivated you to do this?
It was an absolute labour of love for all four of us, and it felt like a necessity at the time. We started Mawa in 2020, in the middle of the pandemic. We were at home on our computers, and needed to do something with the disappointment we felt towards the industry. They were suddenly telling us that they were going to do something to help, and we wanted to hold them to account and get them to put their money where their mouth was. And what better space than a space that has been claimed by the majority race in the country, which we have often been excluded from - Shakespeare. We went to the Shakespeare's Globe, who were very open to us. We also took it to the regions, which we felt was very important; too much theatre is concentrated in London. Some of my favourite shows have been in the regions and I will continue to shout about them.
For audiences discovering Coven for the first time, what do you hope they leave the theatre thinking or feeling? And why do you think now is the right moment for this story to be told?
I want them to leave with their own imperative questions about how the system operates, how it affects them and how we have to change that as a collective. I want people to feel empowered, but also question and analyse the system that we are being manipulated and controlled by. I’d like for people to leave with open minds and a broader view of what musicals can be.
In an ideal world, I would love for everyone to leave there a feminist, if they didn’t walk in as one.
I think the question of “why now” will come up a lot for this play. I would say to anyone reading this: there is a rise in prosecutions for abortion. There is a rise in pregnancy loss. Women are being persecuted for speaking up. They are not being believed. There is harassment. Women are not being respected. Our agency is being taken away. In big 2025 we cannot afford that, and all that we can do as artists is highlight these issues.
With Coven, Gabrielle Brooks steps once again into work that challenges, provokes, and uplifts. Her performance continues a legacy of artists using theatre not just to entertain, but to confront the systems that silence women and rewrite who gets remembered.
Coven opens at Kiln Theatre on 31 October and runs until 20 December.
