THE GHOST of a Russian Army Colonel, a pregnant stepdaughter, and a cantankerous mother who can't see the good in anyone. . .

Take these ingredients and you have the potential for a hugely intriguing play.

The result is Take The Rubbish Out, Sasha, by Natalia Vorozhbyt and translated by Sasha Dugdale and it's part of Oran Mor's Ukrainian season.

Jenny Hulse stars as Oksana, the pregnant daughter.

"It's quite a complex play," says the actress, taking a break from rehearsals.

"The play is set in the Ukraine, and begins as my stepfather, Sasha, has just died.

"We discover Oksana doesn't have a partner, and she has a very overbearing mother, (Katya, played by Jill Riddiford)."

Nothing Oksana does is quite good enough for her mother. In fact, she got on better with the late step-father than her mum.

But while the late stepfather is exactly that, he appears in the play. As a ghost.

"There's one aspect of the play that's very naturalistic, but there's the other side which offers a heightened surreal aspect," says Jenny.

"What this allows for is the ghost to appear on stage."

Sasha's sensibilities, his influence continue to affect mother and daughter.

"I guess what the play is about is grief," says Jenny. "It's about coping with the loss of such a character.

"But what's also interesting is that the play was commissioned before the current Ukrainian crises, but as the writer was coming up with the story, the crises kicked in and has become a backdrop.

"This is reflected in the plot. Sasha is emasculated, he doesn't have a role to play in the changing Ukraine. And he turns to drink which kills him.

"But the other aspect to the play is his wife had no time for him. She didn't respect or understand why he was at a loss.

"And of course, when he died a drink-related death, she didn't accept this as valid. She believes he would have had honour at least if he'd died on the battlefield."

The play sounds rather intense however Jenny points out it's 'darkly comic.'

And that makes sense, given it's hard to ignore comedy potential when you have a ghost wandering around an apartment chipping in with a running commentary.

"That's true," says Jenny, grinning.

Jenny Hulse's personal story reveals she always wanted to act.

"I knew from a really early age," she says. "I would do school plays and youth theatre shows but I was always more excited when my mum and dad didn't come to see me.

"That's because it felt more professional."

She adds, grinning; "I probably took the idea of acting too seriously."

Jenny, who grew up in Edinburgh, went on to attend Glasgow's RSAMD.

Her parents were entirely accepting of her decision to become a thespian.

"Well, both my parents are classical musicians," she says. "So they were part of the arts world. It was far more weird for them when my brother announced he wanted to go into property.

"They were quite taken aback and declared; 'That's not very arty!'"

Despite the parental influence, Jenny never considered becoming a musician.

"I don't play any instrument," she says. "I guess I was kicking against them as a kid."

She adds; laughing; "I guess this was my way of rebelling."

At drama college, Jenny felt she was part of a world she belonged in.

"That was the case, although when you leave, it's demanding. You're no longer protected. And you have to find work so it's quite a shock."

Her first job however was 'thrilling'.

"I played the murder victim in Taggart," she says, smiling. "My character was thrown down a mineshaft."

The hardest part for any young actor of course is keeping hope alive between jobs.

"You have to be really prepared when you go into auditions," she says.

"The fear never goes away but you get better at dealing at it."

Jenny has played a range of great roles in theatre.

But what was her most demanding role?

"It was in a play called Wonderland" she says of Vanishing Points 2012 production.

"It was a story about the pornography industry and I played a porn star. And it was fascinating, telling the story of a girl who wanted to become famous, but fell into the world of porn.

"It was all about discovering how she lost control of her life."

Did the work allow Jenny to understand the human condition a little more?

"It did. And this Ukrainian play adds to that."

She adds, grinning; "I'm now seven months pregnant and living in a tiny apartment in the Ukraine. How can you not learn from this experience?"

*Take The Rubbish Out, Sasha, Oran Mor, until Saturday.

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