29 Nov 2005
It’s amazing how often the public will ask you if you are exhausted after seeing you in a show. The answer is ‘very rarely’.
In my current production, I am on stage for about 55 minutes, and only start talking after another 15 minutes. Am I exhausted afterwards? No, not really. Acting is not like going down the Welsh mines. And now that we are in Malta with THE RETURN, enjoying an amazing adventure at The St James Cavalier Theatre, I feel less and less like a miner!
There is however one role which I can state quite confidently is the most exhausting part in the British theatre. And that is the role of Dad in GEORGE’S MARVELLOUS MEDICINE. You are only on stage for 20 minutes but it feels like you have climbed a mountain. Our current climber is Jim Low and you can see him this week in New Town. Catch him at the stage door after the show and ask him if he is exhausted. He will only just have enough breath to answer!