Bel Powley interview: The Real Thing (Vogue)

Bel Powley is fizzing with excitement and nerves when we speak on a humid London morning at the beginning of September.

The heady back-to-school mood in the air chimes with the actor’s own schedule. After the briefest of summers – which saw Bel do Glastonbury and squeeze in a quick trip to Greece with husband Douglas Booth – Powley has been in non-stop rehearsals for her return to the stage in Tom Stoppard’s The Real Thing at The Old Vic Theatre.

As she gears up for the opening night, it’s all face masks in the fridge, ice cubes on the face (“I don’t know about you, but as soon as I drink or eat salt, my face inflates”), tea drinking and steaming (“to preserve my voice!”) before curtain call….