A FEW days after she appeared on our TV screens in front of million of viewers, Theatr Clwyd's artistic director Tamara Harvey is still slightly disbelieving that she did actually win an Olivier Award.

The Mold-based theatre carried off the award for Best New Comedy for its production of Home, I'm Darling at Sunday's prestigious ceremony, where they were also nominated in four other categories.

The play, written by Laura Wade, was co-produced with the National Theatre and follows one woman's quest to be the "perfect 1950's housewife" in the present day and has since transferred to the West End after its original run in Mold last year.

"It was an extraordinary night," says Tamara. "I'd never even been to the Oliviers before, so to go for the first time with a show that I made with my best friend and I got to bring my husband and my mum had bought a ticket and was sitting in the upper circle, meant it was a really lovely event. The whole company are such an amazing group of people that it felt like going to a party with some of your best mates!"

The Olivier Awards were established in 1976 to celebrate the best in UK theatre, with this year's event held at the Royal Albert Hall and hosted by comedian Jason Manford.

"Laura and I met at university and 20 years ago we were making a play together in the basement of the Bristol Old Vic, and then we lived together in our 20s and she is my best friend, so I can't imagine a more special way to have your show recognised than by standing next to her," says Tamara. "We really didn't anticipate it and it really was a shock and it was all the more special for me because it was a difficult decision personally to get involved. I was pregnant and my child was going to be three-months-old when we started rehearsals, so that bit of it felt like insanity - it felt important to me because it was a moment when the world went 'it's ok - you didn't completely screw up'."

Tamara accepted the award live on TV in Welsh and dedicated the win to the many people back in Mold who had been involved at every level of Home, I'm Darling.

"It was an award for all of us," she says. "It wasn't about any one person but about a huge number of people coming together to make this thing, and that thing being made in North Wales felt very important."

The play returns to Theatr Clwyd later this month for a final week, with Tamara relishing the chance to bring it back to her 'home' patch.

"The company are so excited about coming back here," she says. "It's a beautiful full circle."

Far from basking in her success, Tamara is straight back into the fray this weekend with the opening of Tennessee Williams' Orpheus Descending, which opens in Mold before it moves down to London in May. Williams' plays include Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, A Streetcar Named Desire and The Glass Menagerie, but this is one of his lesser known plays and one that is rarely staged in the UK.

"It's a play that Williams kept coming back to throughout his career and one of the things I love about him as a writer is he never felt anything was finished," says Tamara. "The first play I ever directed professionally in London was Something Cloudy, Something Clear by Williams and it was a UK premier. I was also given Orpheus Descending by the director of the theatre I trained at in the USA because she thought it was one I should take a look at, and that was 20 years ago, so it's a play I've lived for a very long time and one I've wanted to do for a very long time.

"It also feels like an important play for now because it is about a small community and how that community treats outsiders. It's also about how you can be in a very dark place and feel like there is no hope left and still find some light at the end of the tunnel.

Orpheus Descending has a strong cast, with popular actresses Jemima Rooper (Lost in Austen, Kinky Boots) and Hattie Morahan (Inside No.9, The Bletchley Circle, Mr Holmes) both appearing.

"They are the most gorgeous company and I'd worked with Jemima before, so I knew that would be heavenly," says Tamara. "I knew Hattie a bit too and she is amazing. We're being very playful and we're really trying to continue a sense of experimentation and discovery right through the performance.

"It's a big old beast of a play but one of the great joys of my job is that I get to tackle a totally new work. The great thing about doing a play by Williams is that he is not going to turn around and say 'no' about whatever we're doing.

"Williams is unexpectedly funny: people think of him as poetic and lyrical but his writing is also beautifully observed and funny and the other thing I love is how messy he allows his characters to be. He embraces humanity in all its complexity, which is endlessly fascinating for a director."

With more big productions on the horizon, there is little time for Tamara to rest on her laurels and she is looking forward to another exciting year ahead at Theatr Clwyd.

"It never stops!" she laughs. "We have a new season announcement in a couple of weeks which is full of really exciting stuff. I have the best job in the world - even when it's a week when we've not won an Olivier Award!"

Theatr Clwyd & Menier Chocolate Factory present Orpheus Descending by Tennessee Williams at Theatr Clwyd's Anthony Hopkins Theatre from Monday, April 15 to Saturday, April 27, 2019 at 7.30pm. Saturday matinees at 2.30pm. Thursday matinee April 25 at 2.30pm. For more information or to book tickets, call the box office on 01352 701521 or visit www.theatrclwyd.com (no booking fees)