An Anglo-Norwegian cast of guest actors join Doctor Who for It Takes You Away. Blogtor Who takes a look at the career of one of them – Lisa Stokke, who plays Trine
Lisa Stokke will be a new face to many Doctor Who fans watching It Takes You Away. But as a well known theatre actor in her native Norway, Stokke has had a career which has seen star in many major productions. She’s even been the originator of roles you probably know very well. Coming to the UK to train at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts, she immediately set her sights high. Her very first audition was to play Eponine in the immortal West End show Les Miserables. Though she didn’t get that part, she was soon to win one arguably infinitely better.
Thanks to a hit movie, and its recent sequel, the role of Sophie in Mamma Mia! will be associated with Amanda Seyfried. But in 1999 it was Lisa Stokke who won the iconic role to become the first Sophie. If you have the original cast recording on CD or stream it online, that’s Stokke singling those classic ABBA songs. Mamma Mia! has been in continuous production since, and transferred and toured all over the world. Despite the obvious appeal of ABBA’s music, there’s little doubt that if it weren’t for Stokke’s vocal power and charisma in creating Sophie, the show would have mortally wounded from the beginning.
There are few major musicals which haven’t featured Stokke in a leading role
She’s been in demand ever since for lead roles in musicals, both on stages in London and in Norway. Among of host of others, she’s played the central role of Florence in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Chess, Sarah in Guys and Dolls, Emma in Assassins, and as Miss Farrell in Annie. She’s also proven a regular in providing Norwegian language voice-overs to animated films – most notably playing and singing the role of Elsa in the Norwegian dub of Frozen.
On television, Stokke was a judge on NRK’s talent show Showbiz. She also had her own reality show on NRK – Lisa Goes to Hollywood. Each episode of Lisa Goes to Hollywood explored the trials and tribulations of trying to break into movies. Notably, the Christmas special Satan’s Chimney placed her character Jodee in the crosshairs of Jonathan Creek (Alan Davies) as a suspect in the murder of Vivian Brodie (Doctor Who companion Mary Tamm). It was a remarkable performance considering it required the Norwegian Stokke play an American actor playing an English character. And doing so flawlessly.
Lisa Stokke’s character Trine doesn’t appear until late in It Takes You Away. But it will be a pivotal role in an episode fans will want to make sure they watch live on Sunday night.
The adventure continues…
Doctor Who continues this Sunday at 6.30pm GMT on BBC One and at 8pm EST on BBC America with It Takes You Away by Ed Hime. For further broadcast times in your region, check local listings. Series 11 stars Jodie Whittaker (The Doctor), Mandip Gill (Yasmin Khan), Bradley Walsh (Graham O’Brien) and Tosin Cole (Ryan Sinclair).
It Takes You Away guest stars Kevin Eldon (Ribbons), Eleanor Wallwork (Hanne), and Lisa Stokke (Trine) and is directed by Jamie Childs.
On the edge of a Norwegian fjord, in the present day, The Doctor, Ryan, Graham and Yaz discover a boarded-up cottage and a girl named Hanne in need of their help. What has happened here? What monster lurks in the woods around the cottage – and beyond?
