News that Dr Who has been cast as a woman was met with an indignant frisson of column inches and opinion pieces. Because how could a time-travelling scientist/doctor be a woman?

Lauryn Redding is facing a similar barrage as she turns one of Shakespeare’s most laddish curmudgeonly drunkards into a female character, her depiction of Sir Toby Belch part of the new Twelfth Night line-up.

But as the replacements for Shakespeare’s Globe at The Bodleian, she promises a “brilliant, bold and strong” adaption of the famous comedy.

Set in the 1920s jazz era, between the wars, The Watermill’s set boasts a hint of post modern juke box, and as Lauryn is an all-singing, all-playing actor, is perfect for the role.

“I play the baritone sax, clarinet, drums and double bass in this,” she says. “Music is a massive part of the show so that’s its almost integral.

“So it’s music hall-esque in a way and set in the Elephant Jazz Club where Sir Toby is the leading lady until she starts turning into a bit of a rogue.”

Is the Bodleian ready? “It’s exactly what it needs,” Lauryn says convincingly. “It’s a really good show. We’ve just got back from Germany where we performed in the replica globe theatre in Düsseldorf and received standing ovations every night.

“And this is the first time the Watermill and Oxford Playhouse have done something together like this and we hope it’s the start of an exciting new relationship because performing in the Bodleian quad is such an amazing opportunity.”

Directed by Paul Hart of Propeller fame, Lauryn attributes its immediate success to the lauded directer.

“It’s a joy to perform because we are so free and that’s down to Paul and the way he works by allowing us, as actors, to bring so much of ourselves to the performance.

“And that’s the joy of this production. You never get bored because you haven’t been constrained. You aren’t shoe-horned into anything. So it really works. It just means you look at it in a different way. But it’s still funny. It just has a bit more humanity. Sir Toby is more than just a clown.

“But that’s what I love about Paul. He really thinks outside the box and has worked a lot with Propeller, which is an all male company, meaning gender becomes irrelevant.”

So was Lauryn nervous about taking on such an iconic but controversial part? “Paul chooses his actors through his ability to trust them and their acting instincts.

“So he let’s you get on with it, which means you come up with some really interesting things to play with as a cast. People will be excited by what they see because it’s so fresh.”

Plaudits aside, performing one of Shakespeare’s most famous male characters as a woman must have been daunting none-the-less? “?ell it’s a play about men dressed up as women and visa versa,” she says defensively, “and yet Shakespeare is so heavily male dominated that it’s obviously more balanced and relevant today with a 50/50 ratio.

“Paul hasn’t staged it like that just the sake of it, but playing Sir Toby Belch as a woman obviously has some interesting repercussions regarding her relationships with Sir Andrew Aguecheek and Maria.

“To start with I did wonder how I would play a bumbling, overweight, alcoholic 60 year-old man, and it has been a real challenge for me,” she concedes, “but I’ll never get the opportunity again to star in a production like this.”

“But then good acting isn’t just performing on stage it’s being able to reignite yourself every night as if you’ve never performed the play before and that is a real skill and craft . You have to be resilient and adaptable because we roam the country adapting and shifting depending on the location.

“With this show it’s not difficult because Paul has a great take on it and having worked in Oxford before I know they love an uplifting ensemble piece.”

And what of the competition? “I’ve done a few Shakespeares where each actor plays a lot of people which can be hard work but there are 10 of us in the cast so we only play ourselves.

“Oxford is an amazing place to be over the summer and to be at The Bodleian - what a place to perform!

“So we are more than happy to fill the slot left by The Globe. In fact, we can’t wait.”

Twelfth Night

Tuesday July 25 - Thursday August 3

Bodleian Quad

01865 305305

oxfordplayhouse.com