The next interview in our stagey chat series is with Debra Baker. Debra is set to play "Mum" at Edinburgh Fringe in brand new commissioned play, My Mother's Funeral: The Show next month. The show will then embark on a UK tour in September.

Hi, Debra, how are you? Thanks so much for chatting to Stage to Page today! Would you mind introducing yourself and telling our readers how you first got into acting?

I'm Debra Baker, an actor from London and I play 'Mum' in the show. I first got into acting when I was a small child - I went up on stage aged about 3 when my sisters did a show and fell in love with it.  After that I joined a tap-dancing club and did lots of shows as a child. However, I didn't go to drama school until I was 36, as I'd been put off it by the Careers Advisor in school and ended up becoming a secretary for 20 years first! It was a long route in, but I never stopped acting and got there eventually!

My Mother's Funeral: The Show is set to open at this year's Edinburgh Fringe before embarking on a UK tour. Can you tell us about the story?

It's about a girl called Abigail who finds out the true costs of death and being working class when her mum dies. Not only can she not afford the funeral, but the local theatre will only commission something from her that is based on her 'real' life.

The play explores grief, loss and death in depth, as well as how art can help memorialise death. Is this something that initially attracted you to the piece? It sounds like an incredibly important piece of theatre. 

Yes, myself and lots of my very close friends have lost our mums in the past few years, and it leaves such a big hole behind. For most people their mum is the first and most important person in their life and when they go you have to become that parent for yourself.  In that sense the play speaks to a whole range of people who have been through that. With regard to being working class, I have seen and experienced how we often don't get the freedom or power to be creative in our own right. Theatre was always gatekept by a very limited group and it's only in the last few years that the working-class have broken through and been acknowledged and allowed to make work that is not just about their 'trauma'.  When I read the play I could not stop laughing - I recognised so many of the people and situations in it.  It was so clever, funny and different to anything I'd read and I really wanted to be a part of it.

My Mother's Funeral: The Show is a new production. Is it more exciting or daunting to open a new play, and what are the challenges that come with this?

I absolutely love new writing, so it's always very exciting for me to be in a new play, as you are the first person to be a part of it, and none of the audience have experienced it before. It means you are there in the moment and get to see everyone's initial response and reaction to it, and that is such a thrill. The challenges with new writing are that changes can be made to the script right up to opening night, and that means the it can change on a daily basis, which in turn can affect the blocking or staging, and makes it quite challenging to learn! It certainly keeps you on your toes.

A question I ask everyone we chat to - my blog is called Stage to Page. But if you could turn any book, from page to stage, what would it be and why? 

I would probably want to turn a book about personal development or spiritual growth into a play, as I think theatre has the power to connect to so many people and allows them to see and experience things in a different way. One book that really changed my mindset when I was young was 'Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway', so maybe that one!

And finally, why should anyone reading this book tickets to see My Mother's Funeral: The Show?

If you have a mum, if you've ever experienced grief, if you know and love theatre and if you want to be entertained then come see the show. Follow Abigail as she goes through both the worst and best time of her life, all colliding in one moment. Will she manage to make the show and pay for the funeral? 

You can book tickets to My Mother's Funeral: The Show, here.