Reeves will be talking about Much Ado About Nothing at the National Theatre at 6 PM (tickets £3.50; £2.50 for concessions) as part of the National Theatre's Platform series.

Saskia Reeves was born in London and trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She played Beatrice in the highly acclaimed Cheek by Jowl international tour of Much Ado About Nothing. She recently spoke about her new book:

How easy or difficult did you find the process of writing the book? "It was very hard to start with, but I found it easier as time went by. It took longer to write than originally planned — not least because I was seven months pregnant when asked to write it!"

Do you read a lot yourself? "Yes! I'm an avid reader. I enjoy Simon Callow's work — he's done a book for the Faber series and will be giving a Platform performance, too [on July 11].

"I'm an actress rather than a writer, but I found the process of writing fascinating, and I hope it gives some insight into the process of creating a character. It was one I really enjoyed playing, and we toured Much Ado About Nothing around the world. That was an education in itself, performing theatre in very different conditions and cultures."

Talking in public about yourself and your work must be very different to performing on staging speaking someone else's lines? "It is! I've done some after-show talks before, and that can be fun, especially if the audience is receptive, so talking in public rather than acting doesn't feel too alien, but talking about writing the book will definitely be a new experience."