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FIRST&LAST ZINNIE HARRIS The Edinburgh-based playwright’s version of the Ionesco classic Rhinoceros returns to the capital after a successful outing at last year’s International Festival. Here she discusses worrying less, walking more and Winona Ryder
First record you ever bought ‘Girls Just Want to Have Fun’. Last extravagant purchase Two tickets to Berlin.
First film that really moved you Pete’s Dragon, aged six. Last lie you told That everything would be OK.
First date movie Scandal. Last time you cried With laughter: last weekend.
First thing you do when you’ve got time off work What time off work? I suppose something outdoors. Preferably with my kids. Drag them around Blackford Hill. Have fight about how soon we can go home. Go home. Put TV on. Think about how I should probably be working . . . Last great meal you cooked Christmas dinner for ten. Took all day. Never again.
First crush Brian Cant in Play Away.
Last book you read A Legacy of Spies by John le Carré. First great piece of advice you were given To worry less. This was from my grandad, the greatest worrier on earth.
Last time you were starstruck Often around other writers. Both Jez Butterworth and Caryl Churchill have rendered me mute. 96 THE LIST 1 Feb–31 Mar 2018
First thing you’d do if you ran the country Make lying to the electorate illegal and punishable with a long prison sentence. And then deportation.
Last time someone criticised your work Everyone criticises it: friends, relations, critics, neighbours, bods on buses. Luckily most people forget your worst moments in time, except, of course, family. First three words your friends would use to describe you Never home. Full on. Bit eccentric. Which my kids have edited to: Absent. Demanding. Nuts.
Last time you made an impulse buy and regretted it Anytime I have been to IKEA. First job Worked in the box office at Theatre Workshop in Stockbridge. Never got the hang of the VISA machine.
Last person you fantasised about Not sure but I had a really weird dream about Winona Ryder after my Stranger Things binge watch recently.
First word you spoke Gandalf: the name of my aunt’s dog. Last crime you committed I stole a strawberry.
First book you read for a second time The Child in Time by Ian McEwan. Last song at your funeral Dunno. Something cheery to send them home humming. ‘In the Mood’?
First person you’d thank in an award acceptance speech Always thank the actors first. If I’m getting an award for something it’s probably because they have been brilliant.
Last thing you think of before you go to sleep All the things I forgot to do. First thing you think of when you wake up in the morning All the things I have to remember.
Rhinoceros, Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, Fri 23 Mar–Sat 7 Apr. See more of this Q&A at list.co.uk.
NEXT ISSUE 1 APR After a one-year break, we welcome back Glasgow International, the innovative arts fiesta in the west. This year, the likes of Stephen Sutcliffe, Kapwani Kiwanga, the iQhiya Collective and Corin Sworn will be there. In Edinburgh, we’ll be checking behind the Hidden Door for a further instalment of their multi-disciplinary extravaganza which this year takes place at Leith Theatre and the old State Cinema. Plus, there’s a preview of our annual Eating & Drinking Guide, which will assuredly whet your appetites ahead of its publication on 18 Apr. Mmmmm......