Tamara Lawrance is the name on everyone's lips right now. The British star has set the acting world alight with her role as Jennifer Gibbons, one-half of the sisters portrayed in the real-life inspired story in the upcoming new film The Silent Twins.
The 28-year-old's performance alongside Letitia Wright, who plays June Gibbons, is utterly fascinating, astounding and downright impressive. So much so that both actresses recently scooped up the coveted gong for the Best Joint Lead Performance at the British Independent Film Awards. And with critical acclaim showing no signs of stopping, we're sure plenty more trophies will be added to their mantlepieces in the coming months.
While the film relies on the synchronicities between two characters, Tamara truly holds her own and has done so for years. Taking on projects that resonate with her on a deeper level, she already has an impressive set of acting credentials to her name.
The RADA-trained actress played Prince Harry's republican girlfriend in the BBC drama King Charles III and a high-flying businesswoman in the legal drama series The Split, amongst a slew of other film and television roles. Her work with the National Theatre is also awe-inspiring, having graced the stage in productions such as Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and Twelfth Night. And honestly, things are only set to get better for Tamara, who is now hoping to change the gloom-ridden public narrative of June and Jennifer Gibbons, identical twins who communicated with no one but each other, in the new movie The Silent Twins.
Here Tamara talks to GLAMOUR about her experience filming for the biographical drama film, what she hopes viewers will take away from the story, and what she has learnt during her celebrated acting career so far.
GLAMOUR: We're so excited about your new film, The Silent Twins, which is already gaining much critical acclaim. What drew you to take on such a complex character?
Tamara: I was really enamoured by the complexity of both characters. It's not often that you get to be someone that has really lived and also has a platform from such a niche, nuanced community of Britain. So I thought there were so many things that this film was doing. It's also trying to rewrite some parts of history, such as sharing the actual truth of what these twins went through. I felt it would be a very, very special project to be involved in.
Were there a lot of negative misconceptions surrounding the twins that were popularised by the media, and then everybody went along without those beliefs?
Yes, 100%! I feel like, as you said, there was a sort of bandwagon frenzy of painting them as these mystical and sinister duo that nobody could understand, which ultimately catalysed their own demise. I think the media didn't really take any responsibility or give much context for the things that they'd experienced and why they behaved the way they behaved, which was because of a lack of understanding because of their speech impediment, their social anxiety, and also the nature of their relationships. I think it was easier to create a hype and a folklore around them that news journalists latched onto at the time, and it meant that there was a lack of sympathy for their case, and I think potentially that might have impeded the justice that they were entitled to.
How did you research the role, and were there things that surprised you about the twins and their lives?
So we had the book that Marjorie Wallace wrote (The Silent Twins, published in 1986), which was a crucial part of our research. We spent lockdown reading that book with our director and taking notes from every chapter, which also helped shape the script as the development of the story went along. We also saw the documentary, and there were a lot of articles that were written about them at the time. There are plays that have been based on them, songs that have been based on them, podcasts and documentaries about the twins. We also read Inside Broadmore, which is a book that speaks about different facets of the high-security institution they were at. We used all that to build the different worlds they were in, which you see throughout the film. They sort of lived in the world of their bedroom and then the world of Haverfordwest and then the world of the institution.
What I found surprising was how teenage and relatable they were. I think I was really expecting to not understand them or to find something that perturbed me about them when I did my own research, but the more I went into it, I realised that it really was a scandal of the criminal justice system to represent them the way that they did. I think they were very quirky young girls, very creative, very funny, and very, very shy. They really desired to belong. That was the one thing that stood out to me, how much they actually really wanted to connect with the environment.
There were many times in their diaries where they spoke about feeling disappointed in themselves, that they weren't able to say what they wanted to say at that moment or how somebody moved a teacup, and it made them anxious because it was in a different place to how they expected it, and if they had to reach for it, then it would draw attention to themselves. There was a lot of nervousness about them that was misread as stoicism or something but actually, I think that they really wanted to be accepted. So that was one of the main things I got from it.
What was it like for you and Letitia Wright to film scenes together, particularly nailing the twins' communication, tactics, behaviours, and body language?
It was tough at times, but we had a great director that had also been working with the younger twins, so she was really great at making sure that there was symmetry between Eva-Arianna (Baxter) and Leah (Mondesir-Simmonds) and Letitia and myself. We also had a movement coach, a dialect coach, and the costume department working together to create as much unity in a shared body with us as possible. We had a lot of help in that regard to get into the twinship. With the stunts and the fight rehearsals as well, there was a lot of time given to those scenes because they knew that it was important that the fight scenes were shot properly because the violence is as much a part of their relationship as the love, friendship and connection. Being honest in the depiction of both was crucial to understanding how volatile their relationship was.
In today's society, there's this dominating message of independence and not needing anybody to do anything, but what did filming for The Silent Twins tell you about our desire to be understood by someone on such a deep level?
This film taught me that we all have a very deep human need for belonging and connection and that meeting people with openness and curiosity rather than judgment can actually evade a load of harm. So much of what happened to the twins was because people found it very easy to misdiagnose instead of interrogating their suppositions about them. I also think that they really struggled with wanting to be independent in society and felt like they didn't do very well at school. They tried to apply for jobs but weren't really able to speak to potential employees, so I think that there were many instances in which that desire to be independent wasn't able to be acted out because they didn't have much money or access to things that they could do except go to the beach and write, which was part of the reason why they wanted to become writers, to give themselves a sense of purpose and ambition and to make their family proud and to ultimately be able to say things that they were never able to say verbally. They found a sense of both connection and independence through their work as well.
You mentioned earlier that you were surprised to learn that the twins were very relatable. Do you think some behaviours were a way to claim their power back and achieve a sense of empowerment in the face of what they had been through?
Yeah, I think one element of it was definitely a sense of empowerment. I was very protective of them to create this pact. On some level, it was also a game as well, something that they did, a sort of shared joke amongst themselves to move as slowly as possible so that people wouldn't be able to tell them apart so that they didn't draw too much attention to themselves. Also, the silence was a form of protest. In the documentary, June said, "if we tried to speak, they couldn't understand us". And so she said, "if they can't understand us now, they won't understand us ever". So I think it was a way for them to reclaim some of the energy they were pouring out, and so they fed it into this bubble they made to protect themselves.
Did you feel that you could relate to them in any way, such as developing a coping mechanism in the face of adversity or discrimination yourself?
Yeah, definitely! I relate to sometimes not feeling heard. I relate to feeling silenced. I also relate to choosing to be silent at times when it feels pointless to speak. And I relate to art as a means of expression in terms of what they did to cope but also to thrive as well. I don't think the writing thing was purely a trauma response. I think it was in their nature from a young age when they were playing with dolls, they were always making stories up, so I think there was something about them that they wanted to create naturally.
You have done a lot in your acting career so far, and you're going from strength to strength. Has it always been a smooth ride for you, or have there been many hiccups along the way?
I think I'd be hard-pressed to find an actor that has had an entirely smooth journey. With freelance and creative career paths, there are always periods of quiet, periods of doubt, and extreme challenges, but I think all those things ultimately make life experience and growth. For me, there's definitely been highs and lows. Even in the last couple of years, everybody has shared those highs and lows, but I think I've learned a lot. Every job has taught me something about myself and also clarified for me the types of work I'd like to continue to do.
What about the world of acting resonates with you so much? Is this something you have wanted to do ever since you were a little girl?
I did, actually! I think I was in year three when I became pretty set on being an actor. Obviously, I didn't know half of what it would entail, but it was definitely something that brought me joy from a very young age. I think I'm drawn to it because I'm a real lover of words. I love etymology. I love things with the meaning behind it, and the way stories are basically the only thing that exists.
Everything is a story of sorts, like this story that you tell yourself about who you are, the stories that we opt into about what society is and where we fit into it. All of the media is, on some levels, also marketing. Advertising is storytelling. It's getting people to buy into something, an ideology. I'm also very acutely aware of the ways in which stories have been used for treacherous means in the past, and I think I'm curious about what it would mean to rewrite your own story and take ownership of your own story on a personal level but also to be involved in shifting desires through stories that have the opportunity to pierce consciousness and make you think about how you treat yourself and others.
When choosing a role, what is the main thing you look for? Is there a certain type of genre you're more drawn to than others?
When choosing a role, I look for an arc, like if the character feels like they've changed in any direction from beginning to end. I'm really curious about human psychology as well, so if a character is flawed or maybe doesn't have self-awareness or something like that. I'm also curious about characters that need that psychological revolution as well. But always, I try and choose jobs mostly off instinct. I've always, from when I left school, promised myself that I wouldn't do something just for the sake of it. Especially knowing that on the other side of it (filming), you have to represent this part or talk about it in some way.
I'm always committed to doing things that I really care about, so I have to be drawn to the role instinctively. It doesn't always have to mean drama or true crime or psychological thrill or something, it could be a comedy, and it could be something light. If the role is doing something important in some way, and I feel proud to be a part of it and excited to work with all the people involved, then that's great. More and more, I'm also thinking a lot about who else is involved in the project because so much of the work is the time you spend with the other people as well, so I know that moving forward, I'm going to be specific about the people I want to work with as well.
Who have been your role models growing up, and what have they instilled in you about the value of life?
I'm really inspired by my friends. I feel really lucky. I have a lot of good friends who are really talented, kind and clever. The way the people around me carry themselves, the things that they stand for and then the constant refinement that they seek in their work, not only in their work but personally, I'm really inspired by that. I think growing up, obviously, there are people you see on TV that are doing cool things, but I don't really remember having necessarily one favourite actor. In recent years, I just feel really inspired by my peers.
I think my friends teach me that life is about self-acceptance. And for me, where I'm at right now, I don't know if that's self-change, but I think working towards being able to look at yourself fully and accept yourself, with all the things you might see as flaws or weaknesses as well, I think is one of the things that's most invaluable about life, because then you're able to do that more healthily also for other people.
Tissues at the ready…
Something I'm trying to figure out at the moment is how to give yourself what you need so you don't have to seek it from other people. But for me, I think life is ultimately about spirit. I was saying this to my friend the other day, like, it's so interesting that as long as life is about something that is material, the bar can always be moved. Do you get what I mean? If life is about things that are material, then it stops being about consciousness, which is immaterial. Then, when life is about the corporal, the standard of that is variable, and it constantly changes. So people are always vying for this thing when society or the media is continually moving the bar. But what's keeping you alive is your breath, AKA your spirit, then why don't we just invest more in that? Life is actually about investing in the spirit above all things and working out what that means for you because, for different people, it's different things. So, I'm in a place where me and my friends are trying to figure out how to instil spirituality as a practice and healing as a practice amidst work and other things.
What advice would you give to young girls who look up to you as a role model?
Oh wow... I'd encourage them not to look at me but to look at themselves. To understand what they see anybody else doing, they have the capacity to do themselves and then actually work towards deepening a connection with the truth of who they are, rather than trying to fill that gap with who they think they should be or to compare themselves to others as well, which is very difficult and especially in this career but I think there's a lot of freedom in understanding that everything you need, you already possess it.
Lastly, back to the film, what do you hope is the main takeaway viewers have when they watch The Silent Twins?
I hope that viewers are pleasantly surprised by it, that they're enlightened, that they see it and then see the twins in a new light, and that they're encouraged to go and do some more research and figure out the truth of what happened. Read the book, watch the documentary, and see the humanity in them rather than the tragedy or the pain.
Catch Tamara Lawrance in The Silent Twins, releasing in UK cinemas on 9 December.
