Anna Maxwell Martin, whose stint as Sally Bowles in the West End musical Cabaret comes to an end this week, is taking on a different sort of role in her next project. The film I Really Hate My Job, a comedy, is out at the end of the year, and portrays one evening in the life of five women who work in a Soho cafe. Filmed in east London, it is directed by Oliver Parker - who is about to start shooting St Trinian's, with Rupert Everett and Emily Watson - and co-stars Shirley Henderson, Neve Campbell and Danny Huston, son of John.

Maxwell Martin admits that she is relieved to have a break after Cabaret. "I haven't stopped for a year and a half. It's been hard both physically and emotionally." The film wasn't all sunshine and roses, however: her character is less sympathetic than Bowles.

"I loved playing her," said Maxwell Martin. "Even though lots of things go wrong, everyone hates her and we filmed it in a 110-degree heatwave last summer. It is a funny, quirky film and we had such fun making it."