‘How many husbands have I had? Not enough!’ Vanessa Redgrave meets Miriam Margolyes

They have been friends for 50 years. With theatres closed, they reflect on the joy - and hidden drama - of a life in acting

Theatres around the UK have been kept dark by Covid, and it could be months before they are able to open. So we're celebrating the stage by bringing together some of our greatest actors to share highs and lows from their careers, what they have learned from performing and how they feel about theatre's precarious future. Vanessa Redgrave and Miriam Margolyes, mates for 50-odd years, start the series off with a chat about nerves, Chekhov and Barbara Windsor. The Guardian's stage editor, Chris Wiegand, listens in.

Miriam Margolyes: I'm in Italy, doing a lot of voice work. I've rigged up a little studio, in the back stable of my farmhouse, using Ikea curtain rails covered with duvets. I crouch in the middle with a microphone and computer.