She may be best known for portraying Summer Spellman in Coronation Street, but Harriet Bibby has completed an “incredible” new project away from the ITV soap in recent weeks as she took to the stage.
The actor collaborated with Ian Kershaw on a retelling of My Name Is Rachel Corrie, a “multi-award winning” one-woman play which detailed the life of the titular activist, who worked with the people of Gaza until her death in 2003.
The play, which was originally staged in 2005 with direction from the late Alan Rickman, is told using real-life diary entries and emails from the activist, with the latest retelling taking place at Manchester’s 53two theatre earlier this month.
ITV
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Following the conclusion of its run, Bibby took to Instagram to commend the cast and crew, with the post including a photo of her alongside Kershaw and his wife, former Coronation Street star Julie Hesmondhalgh.
“I’ve been on quite the journey telling Rachel’s story,” wrote Bibby in the caption. “What a privilege it has been, to speak Rachel’s words, to work with incredible people and to share this story with every audience who came to listen.
“Thank you @ijkershaw what a JOY to work with you, and @grantarcher, @becxharrison and @jhesmondhalgh, the @takebacktheatre team – alongside @ge0rgemiller – You are all superstars.”
The post was met with a warm response from followers and famous faces in the comment section, with former soap co-star Daniel Brocklebank writing: “You were wonderful darling.”
Georgia Taylor, who portrays Toyah Battersby in Coronation Street, added: “Knocked my socks off darling. As I knew you would. Keep being [the] brilliant, open, beautiful, inquisitive you.”
Sally Dynevor, who plays Sally Metcalfe in the soap, noted that Bibby’s performance in the play was “wonderful”, while Dylan Wilson actor Liam Mccheyne wrote that his co-star had “smashed it”.
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In a previous post on Instagram, Bibby had shared that she had finished rehearsals for the production, with Coronation Street co-stars Elle Mulvaney and Mollie Gallagher being some of the faces to share their support.
While Bibby will now focus on life on the cobbles of Weatherfield, co-star Andy Whyment was asked if there could be a big storyline for his character, Kirk Sutherland, in the near future.
Coronation Street airs on weeknights at 8.30pm on ITV1 and streams on ITVX.
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