SHE may be playing one of the iconic roles of 1980s cinema, but Roseanna Frascona admits she has never seen the original blockbuster Dirty Dancing – which starred Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey.

“I’m not sure whether I had a deprived childhood,” she laughs as she brings her reading of Jennifer Grey’s central character Baby to Oxford, her former university town, ready for Christmas.

“The character I’m playing is completely based on the script – although I get lots of tweets and Facebook messages from fans, and even reviews, saying I’m exactly like Jennifer. Watching the film now might throw me off – I’ll watch it when I’m no longer doing the show.”

It was the role of Frances ‘Baby’ Houseman which attracted Frascona to the touring version of the West End hit.

Dirty Dancing focuses on the emotional and sexual awakening of a teenage girl in the early 1960s, as she vacations to a Catskills holiday park with her family one magical summer.

When Baby catches sight of an all-night dance party in the holiday park’s staff quarters, led by resident instructor Johnny Castle and his dance partner Penny Johnson, she starts to enter a whole new world.

“She’s an absolute gift for an actor to play,” says Frascona. “The story is about her journey which is what makes it so relatable. There’s something for everyone in the characters she meets along the way.”

But Frascona believes there is much more to the feelgood musical than just the dancing and songs, which include hits from the original movie soundtrack Do You Love Me?, Hungry Eyes and the Oscar-winning (I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life.

The story touches on the burgeoning civil rights movement of the 1960s, abortion and a love story crossing the class system.

“The show feels even more immediate when you become aware of what is going on in the US today with the aftermath of the Ferguson shooting,” she says.

“We were in Glasgow for the Scottish referendum – when we did a scene which was deleted from the original movie about voting there was a reaction from the audience.

“And we were talking about abortion in Dublin, where it is still not legal. For a story set in the 1960s and written in the 1980s some things still haven’t changed.

“The show doesn’t ram it home though. Baby stands up for the things she believes in and calls her father out as a hypocrite. When her father isn’t speaking to her and has almost lost faith in her it becomes a very difficult journey. It makes it all slightly more real than just another love story.”

The love story between Baby and Johnny is told on the dancefloor, backed by a live band accompanied by a cast of dancers and singers.

“The band tell me what’s lovely for them is they are not pushed to the pit where they can’t be seen,” says Frascona. “They are such a central element.

“The singers and the dancers are knock-out, and hopefully I’m making people believe in Baby.”

Essential info

7.30pm Mon to Sat, 5pm and 8.30pm Fri 16, 2.30pm matinees Wed 14, Sat 17, Thurs 22 and Sat 24. Tickets from £29. Call 01323 412000.