In another life when I trod the boards, I once played Peter in the Bard’s classic romantic tragedy ROMEO AND JULIET. Not a major character, but the one charged with adding comic relief to the sad tale – the story of my life.

Peter was the loyal servant of Juliet’s Nurse, a major character who acts as a go-between for Romeo and Juliet and is the only person besides Friar Laurence to know of the star-crossed lovers’ wedding. I say this as a feeble intro and my loose connection to the Nurse, a major role in Shakespeare’s archetypal love story.

Meera Syal plays the Nurse in the Kenneth Branngh Company’s latest revival at the Garrick Theatre in London. The comedian, writer, playwright, singer, journalist, producer and actress is probably best known for her portrayal as one of Britain’s most loveable Indian personalities, Sanjeev’s grandmother Ummi in THE KUMARS AT NUMBER 42.

Meera signed this sketch for me as she arrived for Saturday’s matinee.