Actor Katherine Kingsley was born in Cambridge and studied at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. In 2009, she earned her first Olivier nomination for her portrayal of Marlene Dietrich in the Donmar production of Piaf. Her turn as Lina Lamont in the Chichester Festival theatre production of Singing in the Rain led to a second Olivier nomination in 2012, followed by a third earlier this year for her performance in Michael Grandage Company's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, opposite David Walliams and Sheridan Smith. She has also made numerous television appearances and toured with The 39 Steps. Kingsley is currently starring with Robert Lindsay and Rufus Hound in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at the Savoy theatre.

Book: The Lie by Helen Dunmore

The Lie is a story built around two boys who grow up in the same Cornish community but are called up to join the Great War, one as an officer and the other as a private. It's a very good description of the hellish nature of the trenches and the nearly impossible task of slotting back into civilian life. I love literature and read all sorts of books, but The Lie was particularly gripping. It's got a very present feel to it because it's about something that we're now very conscious of, in the psychologically friendly world that we all live in. Back in those days, people didn't always understand.

Art: Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs, Tate Modern, London

I think the geometry of it all and the composition is what's so appealing – I'm the daughter of an architect – even though it's not the most complex [work] to a lot of people. It can seem quite naive, but it's actually beautifully balanced. When I'm doing a theatre run, I try very hard to make sure I go and see an exhibition at least once a month, just to broaden my horizons a bit – otherwise you can find yourself very much stuck in a rut of theatre. Doing the same thing every night is a kind of madness in itself.

TV: Happy Valley

I think Sarah Lancashire's performance was remarkable and the thing I like most about it is that it's written so well for women. It deals with difficult subject matter but it's beautifully handled. Lancashire notoriously became famous playing a bubbly blonde in a soap and I've admired her choices from that point. She plays a police officer whose daughter was raped by a very disturbed young man and became pregnant. She has a very complex relationship with her grandson, whom she's now bringing up. She has really proved herself as one of our strongest actresses and I think this is a particularly good role for her.

Radio: Front Row, BBC R4

I listen to the radio a lot in my dressing room because I have a late entrance [in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels]. I really enjoy Front Row, particularly listening to Simon Russell Beale talking about Shakespeare's sonnets, which are so beautiful, and to hear them is particularly nice. Simon Russell Beale is a phenomenal actor and a real theatre animal; he's done everything. I love the fact that he mixes up his work so brilliantly and is very versatile. I already knew about Front Row because it reviews shows but now that I have the radio on in the background, it plays around the right time for me and I've started to really appreciate it.

Place: Corsica

I'm about to go to Corsica and I'm really looking forward to it. The trip coincides with my first wedding anniversary. It will be so nice to have some time away and, I hope, eat some fresh fish, lounge around, have some rest, read and sleep. I'll also really enjoy the evening aspect of it. The transition from day to night is something that I miss when I'm doing theatre and I think that will be the magic hour for me: having a glass of wine, maybe sitting on the terrace, hearing the birds sing and watching the sun go down. One of my missions this year is to learn a language – I've bought one of those CD packs where you learn from listening and I've done a little bit knowing that I'm going to Corsica. I've been saying it for years, but now is the time to act on it.

App: 8tracks

I really like this music app. If you're feeling relaxed, you can say: "I just want relaxing music" and you get a playlist of music by different artists that users have created. Spotify has something similar but 8tracks is really brilliant. It's free streaming, basically, [but] you can put it in "party mode" or "chill out mode" or "bath time"! Rufus Hound recommended it to me; he's always playing really cool music, so it's a little trick that I've picked up from him. I'm terrible with technology, absolutely shocking – in fact, we spent about an hour going through how to put 8tracks on the iPad. I've got an iPhone too, but I only use it for calling, texting, email and Google - I'm really not savvy when it comes to technology.