IN FEBRUARY THIS YEAR, Kirsty Paterson was, she says, "a bit lost". At 29, she had worked for an estate agent for five years and hated it. When she was diagnosed with ADHD, she realised a nine-to-five office job was never going to be a good fit. "It's quite hard, because you try to do things like everyone else, and you think: 'Why can I not be as organised?' or 'Why can I not just sit still?' That's the big thing for me." Paterson retrained as a yoga teacher and was building a clientele, doing bits and bobs on the side. She's always loved performing. "I need creativity, I need stimulation, something different every day. Acting is my perfect job: I have no fear in front of crowds, it's something I was born to do." She had done musical theatre and dance, as well as kids' entertainment and performing with fire.
So an ad on the employment site Indeed, looking for performers for a weekend, seemed ideal. She applied, and got a call on a Friday afternoon. "I was expecting an audition. I'd actually been practising stuff with my friends. But they were like: 'You've got the job." They said she needed to be there to collect her script - in an hour. The job would begin the following day - at Willy's Chocolate Experience. Yes, that one...
So Paterson went to the venue in the Whiteinch area of Glasgow, Scotland, and picked up the script, a baffling document that didn't seem to have any connection to Roald Dahl or the Willy Wonka she knew. "It was gibberish, rubbish.
I love the Willy Wonka films, but I was so confused. There was this character called the Unknown. I went home and watched the original film and was like, this doesn't make any sense." She needed the money, though, so the next morning Paterson went to work.
Esta historia es de la edición August 23, 2024 de The Guardian Weekly.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición August 23, 2024 de The Guardian Weekly.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
If kids get protected from online harm, how about the rest of us?
The Australian government has proposed a ban on social media for all citizens under 16.
'It's not drought - it's looting'
Spain is increasingly either parched or flooded - and one group is profiting from these extremes: the thirsty multinational companies forcing angry citizens to pay for water in bottles.
Life in the grey Zone
Neonatal care has advanced so far that babies born as early as 21 weeks have survived. But is this type of care always the right thing to do?
Out of tune? Band Aid under fire for Africa tropes as it turns 40
Forty years ago this month, a group of pop stars gathered at a west London studio to record a single that would raise millions, inspire further starry projects, and ultimately change charity fundraising in the UK.
Deaths shine spotlight on risks of drinking on party trail
Vang Vieng is an unlikely party hub. Surrounded by striking limestone mountains and caves in central Laos, it morphed from a small farming town to a hedonistic tourist destination in the early 2000s.
Different strokes My strange and emotional week with an AI pet
Moflin can develop a personality and build a rapport with its owner - and doesn't need food or exercise. But is it comforting or alienating?
Strike zone Waking up to the rising threat of lightning
When the Barbados National Archives, home to one of the world's most significant collections of documents from the transatlantic slave trade, reported in June that it had been struck by lightning, it received sympathy and offers of support locally and internationally.
Cheap pints and sticky carpets: the old-school pub is back
In the Palm Tree pub, east London, barman Alf is taking only cash at the rattling 1960s till.
Brain gain Can a radical tax scheme convince the country's brightest to stay?
In the autumn of 2018, I moved to Lisbon for a month-long course at the Universidade .de Lisboa.
Fear and sympathy in small town divided over asylum camp
A year after anti-immigration riots, a site for asylum seekers faces hostility while some locals try to help new arrivals
