Growing up in Adelaide, Sarah Snook won a drama scholarship to the city’s prestigious school Scotch College. “It had a really good performing arts program there. Strangely enough, my drama teacher there, who was excellent and a great inspiration, he wanted to put on Joan of Arc whilst I was there, for me to play Joan,” says Snook. “It never eventuated but he’d always be like ‘you should play Joan at some point’, and I was like ‘yeah, maybe I will’, so it’s nice coming full circle like that. I wanted to email him and tell him it’s on.”

Sarah Snook as Saint Joan. Photo © Rene Vaile

Snook is about to star in George Bernard Shaw’s Saint Joan for Sydney Theatre Company, directed by Imara Savage. Telling the story of the 15th century French military figure, who was only 19 when she was burned at the stake, Shaw’s play premiered on Broadway in 1923, three years after Joan of Arc was canonised by the Roman Catholic Church, before arriving in London the following year.

Snook has gathered a head of steam since graduating from NIDA in...