Actor and singer Clara Lioe sat down with fairypowered to answer 20 questions. Clara is currently playing Emilie/Baby Joey on tour in War Horse. Due to appear at Leeds Grand Theatre until 6 September, tickets available here
Let’s start with a few favourites
Favourite show (whether you have been in it or not)?
Prima Facie dir. by Justin Martin, written by Suzie Miller
Favourite book?
Room by Emma Donogue
Favourite theatre?
The Lyric Theatre, Belfast – my sister got married there! One of many lovely memories at the Lyric
Favourite song?
So difficult to answer – but let’s go with Freedom by Beyoncé ft. Kendrick Lamar
Favourite music?
R&B
Favourite food?
A huge bowl of spicy ramen
Favourite drink?
Builder’s tea
What is your favourite role?
Probably Emilie from War Horse; it’s so joyful playing a child, and theatre definitely scratches the itch I have for performing more than screen work has thus far in my career
What was your first role?
One of my very early roles when I was a child was playing Jasmine in our primary school production of Aladdin
And what role would you really like to play?
I would absolutely love to play a real person, dead or alive. The research and psychoanalysis of character work is my favourite part of the job a lot of the time, and when you’re playing a real person the research is even more important
If you weren’t a performer what would you be?
I was good at languages when I was at school, so probably a French or Spanish teacher, or maybe a psychotherapist
What made you decide to be a performer?
I did a play about male mental health when I was 16, written by a local Belfast writer Patrick J O’Reilly. It really made me realise that good writing makes acting so thrilling, rewarding and can change people’s lives. Shortly after I started applying for Drama Schools and the rest is history
Do you enjoy touring?
I do enjoy touring, it’s a great way to do some travelling whilst working – which I’ve dreamt about in the past! Sometimes it can be a bit stressful and you just want your own bed, but I’m very lucky to be able to tour with my job
What advice would you give 16 year old you?
Don’t worry if you wanna do something different to all your peers. Just take a chance and see where it goes – it might actually go pretty well!
Do you fancy branching out in Producing or Directing?
I’m not sure if I have the passion for producing/directing or the leadership-type personality to do the job, but maybe in 10 years time after some more career experience.
What was the last stage show you saw and really enjoyed?
I saw an immersive production of Midsummer Night’s Dream at The Bridge Theatre in London. It had acrobats on trapezes, incredible costumes and most importantly – Love On Top by Beyoncé. I would love to do some crazy Shakespeare some day!
Favourite line from any show?
This is a movie quote, sorry! – “If I could find a real life place that made me feel like Tiffany’s then I’d buy some furniture and give the cat a name!” – Holly Golightly, Breakfast at Tiffany’s
If you could be anyone else for the day, who would it be?
Randomly, I would love to be Cillian Murphy for the day. He’s very well respected without having to be a huge personality for the sake of his career. He seems to live a very peaceful life in Dublin. The dream!
What are the nicest/weirdest things you have ever received from fans?
N/A
Can you tell us what you will be up to next?
You’ll be seeing me in a new Rom Com called “CC: Emily” around Valentine’s Day 2026, and I finished filming for a Netflix series back in May, but that’s all I can tell you about that.
War Horse is on tour around the UK. Tickets can be found here