Oct 6, 2026 · 30 min · 10 segments
Send us Fan Mail With *The Cherry Orchard* now playing at the Harold Pinter Theatre, Shubham Saraf sat down for an intimate reflection on his return…
Shubham SarafGuest
Carlos TsengHost
I mean, it's also been a few years as well since we last saw you on stage doing An Enemy of the People.
What would you say you've sort of missed the most about being on stage as well yourself?
So I think what's really nice about routine of getting on stage is it becomes this sort of pocket of your life that is like just yours and it really it sort of is this sort of space that you can just let whatever's going on out and you know that it's going to happen every evening at 7 30 eight times a week and It's a great, it makes me feel like myself.
Like these two years have been amazing and so much has happened, but it's been almost slightly quite discombobulating because you just kind of have to like carry on with real life.
But yeah, it's sort of like, I'm not making it akin to therapy, but it's a space that's outside real life.
And to be given that chance every day, it feeds me and makes me feel like myself.
the me that will always be me, no matter what age I am, this feels like the identity that is mine that doesn't depend on anything else and i get to do it
yeah i mean the last few um shows that you did you know when winston went to went to war with the wireless you know father and the assassin an enemy of the people as well they were all quite political pieces as well um was that something that you were quite conscious of and was that part of the reason why you were drawn to them as well when you were doing them um
i was drawn to them because they were work Well, I think, look, I think theatre in itself is a very political art form.
Like, I think it's hard to put anything on stage in front of a group of people that are living in a time and not it be a political thing.
not to be political that in itself is a political act do you know what i mean because money time and people have come together to make something which i think is the definition of what societies do and therefore you kind of can't escape it which in which i think has bled into like what i do and how i do hire me is because i think when i'm in a room working on a play i'm very aware of what it means now and why it's important that people see this because otherwise what the hell are we doing um so i am always trying to one challenge myself and the room that i'm in to as to like no, we have to do this.
We have to, you know, because this is going on, so we have to sort of go down this route or whatever.
So I've been very lucky to, one, be a part of plays that sort of tap into that.
I think that's also why I get hired, because I try really hard to sort of, go, no, but why now? And why? What's the point? And why should this matter? Because I know how hard it is to put them to play and get stuff on.
And so when something reaches the there's these processes so many writers so many playwrights so many creatives that are trying to get stuff out in the world and can't so when you're part of something that is actually getting out there in front of people it has to matter it has to deserve its face so yeah
I mean, it's also been a few years as well since we last saw you on stage doing An Enemy of the People.
What would you say you've sort of missed the most about being on stage as well yourself?
So I think what's really nice about routine of getting on stage is it becomes this sort of pocket of your life that is like just yours and it really it sort of is this sort of space that you can just let whatever's going on out and you know that it's going to happen every evening at 7 30 eight times a week and It's a great, it makes me feel like myself.
Like these two years have been amazing and so much has happened, but it's been almost slightly quite discombobulating because you just kind of have to like carry on with real life.
But yeah, it's sort of like, I'm not making it akin to therapy, but it's a space that's outside real life.
And to be given that chance every day, it feeds me and makes me feel like myself.
the me that will always be me, no matter what age I am, this feels like the identity that is mine that doesn't depend on anything else and i get to do it
yeah i mean the last few um shows that you did you know when winston went to went to war with the wireless you know father and the assassin an enemy of the people as well they were all quite political pieces as well um was that something that you were quite conscious of and was that part of the reason why you were drawn to them as well when you were doing them um
i was drawn to them because they were work Well, I think, look, I think theatre in itself is a very political art form.
Like, I think it's hard to put anything on stage in front of a group of people that are living in a time and not it be a political thing.
not to be political that in itself is a political act do you know what i mean because money time and people have come together to make something which i think is the definition of what societies do and therefore you kind of can't escape it which in which i think has bled into like what i do and how i do hire me is because i think when i'm in a room working on a play i'm very aware of what it means now and why it's important that people see this because otherwise what the hell are we doing um so i am always trying to one challenge myself and the room that i'm in to as to like no, we have to do this.
We have to, you know, because this is going on, so we have to sort of go down this route or whatever.
So I've been very lucky to, one, be a part of plays that sort of tap into that.
I think that's also why I get hired, because I try really hard to sort of, go, no, but why now? And why? What's the point? And why should this matter? Because I know how hard it is to put them to play and get stuff on.
And so when something reaches the there's these processes so many writers so many playwrights so many creatives that are trying to get stuff out in the world and can't so when you're part of something that is actually getting out there in front of people it has to matter it has to deserve its face so yeah
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