'I still remember poems I learnt at school'

THIS WEEK'S COLUMNIST Actor and Jane Asher

- Jane Asher

I love acting, but it's so full of angst. You're doing something make-believe that's probably not going to change the world, but because you care about it, you worry. I still get nervous when I walk on stage on a first night. It's like being a child in a school play.

When you're opening in a play, it's terrifying. When I was younger, there were no such thing as previews, so the first time it was put in front of an audience would be with all the critics there. If I was doing a comedy, I never knew when or if people were going to laugh. At least now you get the chance to try things out for a few shows, but to a certain extent, you're kind of standing up to be shot down. That's just part of the job.