Sarah Hadland on Dance Nation: 'I wish I'd seen a play like this when I was growing up'

Miranda star Sarah Hadland said she wants more teenage girls to see her new show to counter the “horribly misleading” way adolescence can be portrayed online.

The actress, 47, plays a schoolgirl dancer in Dance Nation and says the story of friends growing up together shows the reality of life for teenage girls. The play, by US writer Clare Barron, takes a frank look at their ambitions and rivalries alongside the girls’ growing awareness of their own bodies. Hadland said: “While I can imagine some parents might be nervous because of the language and some of the content I wish more young people could come and see it.

“My argument would be that your child can access much more incorrect information, horribly misleading and damaging information from the internet and from their schoolmates. This play is accurate and I’ll hedge my bets and say there won’t be a word a child over 10 has not heard.

“I would have loved to have seen a play like this when I was this age. I think it would have made me feel a lot more comfortable about myself.”

The actress, who played Miranda Hart’s sidekick Stevie in the sitcom, said the play at the Almeida in Islington brought back memories of her own adolescence. She added: “It’s a really crucial part of your life. Even at my age things happen and I feel like I’m that girl again. It’s a really weird sensation because I think some fundamental things about your character are formed at that age.

“It’s the time you first become aware of sexuality and relationships and there are things that happen, revelations, emotional things.”