Actress Iris Roberts’s version of Maid Marion is no longer a damsel in distress, she tells Lorne Jackson.
Maid Marion has never been the most aggressive character in the Robin Hood mythology.
She doesn’t have the stature of Little John, or provide the arrow-thunking thrills made famous by her nob-knobbling boyfriend.
All she does is swoon, shriek and allow herself to be bundled over Robin’s shoulder.
The unpalatable truth is that Maid Marion is a staid Marion; as flimsy and fragile as an After Eight. (And being the daughter of a wealthy baron, just as minted.)
However, in a new version of the Hood legend, Marion is feisty and frothing after adventure – just like all those Lincoln-green lads.
The Heart Of Robin Hood is playing in Stratford-upon-Avon at the RSC this Christmas, and stars Iris Roberts as Marion.
She’s a talented young actress who trained in Birmingham.
“This version of the story is completely different from what people are used to,” she says. “It’s still about Robin, but it focuses a lot more on Maid Marion. She’s not the damsel in distress. She kicks butt!”
In other words, she’s a damn hard damsel.
So is it completely different from previous Robin Hood adventures?
“People will recognise certain iconic situations, but they’ve all been turned on their head, including all that Errol Flynn stuff.
“In our version I actually wear the green tights.”
Flynn, who played the role of Robin in a memorable Hollywood movie, sported a fetching moustache.
Will Iris be taking her role swapping antics this far?
“No!” she laughs. “There will be no hairs growing under my nose.”
Iris admits that as a child she was a scrappy individual.
“Now I’m an adult, I’m a very girly-girl. Though what I do share with Marion is that I’m very independent. But as a kid I was quite a tomboy, because I grew up with two brothers so I’m used to defending myself and having fights with them.”
Did she ever defeat them in mortal combat?
“Sometimes. My brother taught me the round-house kick from The Karate Kid. Actually, there’s a bit of karate in the show. That’s probably where that’s come from.”
Iris was brought up in Liverpool, and maintains her accent, though she’ll be playing pukka posh in Robin Hood. She’s glad she never dumped her original dulcet tones.
