British Actress Finds Home in Alexandria’s West End

Claire Carroll’s hiking trip around the south of England with her husband was nothing short of a disaster.

Yet one good thing came of it—”Beef Encounter,” a one-woman play Carroll wrote and stars in that features a woman who gets lost on a hiking trip. The woman, Belinda, finds herself in a field of cows—the audience—and talks to the “animals” about her life, love and insecurities.

“When we were on this trip, I started to write a little diary of the horrors of it,” Carroll told Patch.  “And I was going to make a little book called ‘The City Girl’s Guide to Walking Holidays—Everything You Need to Know they Won’t Tell You.’ That sort of thing—be warned, don’t do it. And then I read a piece out loud for a friend of mine. My husband heard this and said, ‘You should make this into a one-woman show.’ ”

She did. The play has been featured as part of the Capital Fringe Festival, and Carroll has performed it in England, her native country.

Carroll, a Cameron Station resident, moved from London to the United States with her husband, who is in the Royal Navy and posted at Bolling Air Force Base. She previously worked in travel and tourism public relations but became an actress after a midlife career change.

She initially earned a degree in fine arts with the intention of becoming a makeup designer for film, TV or theater and joined an amatuer dramactics group to practice makeup.

“When I was doing the makeup, somebody said to me, ‘Why don’t you audition for a part?’ ” she said. “I said, ‘Oh God no, I’m very happy behind the scenes, thank you very much.’ But the seed was sown, and I thought about it, and I thought about it, and in the end I auditioned for a part.”

Her first role was small—an “absolutely dreadful” part, she said, in an Agatha Christie mystery. Still, her knees were knocking before she went on stage. She was killed off in her first scene. “Much to everyone’s relief,” she said with a laugh.

But Carroll was hooked. Four plays later, she was acting in the lead. She went on to attend school at Drama Studio London.

In this area, Carroll has also acted at the Source Festival, in a play called “The House Halfway.” She also did a play called “Big Love” for the Hub Theater in Fairfax. “Beef Encounter” earned two four-star reviews at the Fringe Festival.

Carroll also a photographer. You’ll find her selling photograph greeting cards at the West End Farmers’ Market. This season, she’ll also be selling full-size matted prints.

For more information, visit www.beefencounter.com.