Stage Door Jonny

Jonny is joined this week by the actor who is the current toast of Broadway for his portrayal of Oedipus in Robert Icke’s updating of the great tragedy, Mark Strong. They start off by talking about Simon Russell Beale, original inspiration for SDJ and the way talent is sometimes undecodable. Being told what Mark’s “thing” was at drama school, the attraction of charm, his very unusual origin story, the importance of Steven Berkoff and fronting a punk band in making him a performer; the difference between being an artist and an artisan, working with the late Helen McCrory and Ian McKellen, a debate about Al Pacino- and uncontrollable crying as Oedipus. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a second half lightly underscored by the Wagner seeping in from Glyndebourne’s Parsifal, Jonny hears how the doyenne of modern lighting designers spent her formative years in the creative ferment of Theatre de Complicité, the tough love from another designer that propelled her, what makes an experience on a show great for her, the two types of directors, splitting up with Katie Mitchell, what makes light walk into a room, the change in the aesthetic she championed in the modern theatre, why she’s retiring, her relationship with fear, bothering Nathan Lane, missing her kid’s birthdays, why she’s never wanted to be a cinematographer, the fundamental change in the culture and what she wants for young artists today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stage Door Jonny gets well classy this week, with a double episode recorded in the gilded environs of Glyndebourne. One of the greatest influences in the modern theatre on how we see and experience a world onstage, Paule Constable is the nonpareil of modern lighting designers. The most nominated artist in Olivier Award history (17 nominations, 6 wins, 2 Tony awards) Paule has defined a visual aesthetic in modern theatre. War Horse, Curious Incident, Wolf Hall, His Dark Materials, the 25th anniversary production of Les Mis, Paule has her fingerprints all over modern theatre. But she’s retiring! Jonny goes in search of why. They talk rock’n’roll lighting, running over the South Downs to work, learning to look, torturing a performer with light, what happens sometimes when you put light to music, the loneliness of the long-distance lighting designer, how to make an actor glow and the spirit of her fighter pilot father that made her bold enough to pull off the audacious lie that started her career. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The second half of Jonny’s conversation with Ewan McGregor kicks off with reminiscences of Oscar Isaac’s covid-era Oedipus. What Ewan needs from a director like Michael Grandage and their most recent partnership, Lila Raicek’s My Master Builder; scenes with Kate Fleetwood that felt like dancing and giggling together in the wings afterwards; Ewan’s battle with fear, drying onstage and being willed on by supernumeraries; drying in the middle of a song in Guys and Dolls; seeking the utopia of relaxation; being put in a chokehold on the set of Black Hawk Down and the insight it gave him into Iago; his admiration for Alan Cumming; what pisses him off about theatre and the tantalising plans he has to get back to it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back! A slightly lengthy hiatus comes to a close with this, the first episode of Jonny’s Festive Season. And what more festive guest to kick off with than Ewan McGregor? There’s a distinct frisson with the Stage Manager, the question of whether actors should just shut the fuck up, being frustrated by some theatre interviews,Ewan’s three plays with Michael Grandage, learning his lines before rehearsals begin (and crying over Iago), how acting has changed for him over time, starting his career working backstage, sticking pornography in a senior actors folder, the huge influence of his uncle, Denis Lawson. How being beaten up in Glasgow gave him a key to unlock his acting, Little Malcolm and his Struggle Against the Eunuchs, naked and slipping (arse-first) towards an elderly matinee audience in Salisbury, his farting co-star and how he learned to steer an audience to make a play land. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the second half of Jonny’s chat with actor and writer Denis O’Hare, we hear the harrowing tale of a confrontation at a French airport, its relationship to his investigation of male violence in his play An Iliad, performing it for an audience of soldiers, not understanding what just happened after performing a show, how bad blocking once made him cry, why some plays can’t be left at the curtain call- and the experience of working on Sondheim’s last work.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tony Award-winner, 2,800 year old vampire, bona fide American Horror and one of the most thrilling actors on the modern stage or screen, Denis O’Hare is Jonny’s guest this week. In his dressing room at the National Theatre in London, far too close to the time to go onstage, Denis and Jonny discuss what learning means to an actor, brutalist architecture, why he’s a bad director, saying “why?”, the influence of his friend and virtuoso writer John Logan, the indignity of his first role (a pig), music and poetry in his work, contradicting a legendary director of comedy and celebrating not working with the people he shouldn’t.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the second half of their chat, the artistic director of the Old Vic, director of the internationally acclaimed hit musical Matilda and perhaps modern theatre’s pre-eminent master of comedy, Matthew Warchus, discusses laughter, audience noises, not having a plan, the illusion of fusion and the philosophy that it will all work out in the end; the obstacle of fear, the unknowability of an actor’s courage, loving Michael Gambon and not hassling him about his lines; how watching a good rehearsal spikes his blood sugars, being in an elevator with Harvey Weinstein, being trapped in a relentless loop of dissatisfaction, his legacy- and the nights sitting in that beautiful Old Vic auditorium that will stay with him forever.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of the titans of the English-speaking theatre joins Jonny for a deliciously insightful chat this week. Sitting in the storied auditorium of the Old Vic, outgoing boss, Olivier and Tony award-winning theatre and film director, Matthew Warchus guides Jonny through a decade of coming into that space to think; why directors should be waiters, Tragedy and whether or not he sees the point of it, under-rehearsing and why vagueness is important, what not to say in America, his foundational relationship with Mark Rylance and the awkward eavesdropping that shaped his approach to being a director; turning mathematics into emotion, using distance onstage and why not all laughs are equal.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the second part of their chat Indira reveals to Jonny that she didn’t know she is the Best Reviewed Actor on the British stage: they discuss sharing the boys dressing room, whether or not she thinks chemistry is bollocks, what she makes of her theatrical partnerships with Ralph Fiennes, Andrew Scott and Ramy Malek and whether as a woman she’s ever felt a lack of space onstage or in the rehearsal room. They discuss not playing the title role, learning to talk to the audience from Judi Dench, the thrill of playing non traditional spaces, her very particular butterfly effect, what she absolutely doesn’t need from a director, why she’d make a good acting teacher but a bad director, working with Harold Pinter, the great advice he gave her and the unstinting honesty he showed her in his famous shed. At the end of this gloriously comprehensive chat the discuss leaving a show before its even started, ticket prices, people of colour at the Oliviers and auteur directors. CONTAINS VERY STRONG LANGUAGE! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's episode Jonny shares grapes, birdsong and theatrical butterflies in the garden of “Britain’s best reviewed” theatre actor (J Cake)- Olivier award-winning star of Game of Thrones, Indira Varma. Indira talks about her calmness under pressure, what she thinks rehearsal should be, what daring to fail actually means, seminal experiences working with Katie Mitchell, the Maly theatre and Martin Crimp. How children teach us to be and not to perform, her desire to an actor of the body and not just the head, trying and failing to please her dad, embarking on Tim Crouch’s experiment in radical storytelling and the challenges of Jamie Lloyd’s production of The Seagull.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Act 2 of their chat, J Smith Cameron talks Jonny through the rich stew of differing ideas that went into making the West End Juno and the Paycock and the difficulty of reconciling different opinions in the rehearsal room, especially when war is waging in the world outside. J ruminates on whether it’s harder for an artist to be soulful when they get successful. She talks about the part that made her feel like a race car driver, acting through grief and the parts that she and Jonny felt like they shouldn’t have attempted after the death of a parent; the weird assimilation that sometimes happens between actors and their characters, how female actors don’t get to take up the space of their male counterparts and Kenneth Lonergan’s genius advice for writers and actors- including how her husband helped her to play the scene in Succession where Roman wants Jerry to be mean to him so he can attain orgasm. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The star of Rectify and the unforgettable Gerri Kellman in Succession sits down with Jonny to talk about her storied life on the New York-and now West End- stage. From the tyranny of acting to the influence of her sister Joanne, what she owes her and the influence of sibling order on being an actor (John Hurt had strong feelings about it), to a life changing trip with her sister to New York, being winked at by Dudley Moore and the break that brought her her first leading role on Broadway, which also happened to be her first job in New York; what “preparing properly” for an audition really means; the hellish preparation J had for playing Juno in Juno and the Paycock opposite Mark Rylance; what was hard about revisiting a part she had played 10 years before; how Kieran Culkin changing blocking can make her forget lines- and the mysterious nature of memory.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the second half of Jonny’s al fresco chat with Daniel Aukin, we hear about Sam Shepard and The Pocket, the ten year journey, the challenges and the “electrified horror” of making the triumphant, Tony record-breaking Stereophonic, David Byrne’s opinion of the band, the struggle to make a living wage in the theatre- and a plan to change that. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the second half of his conversation with a hyper-talented young performer already making waves in the acting world, Jonny and Rhea discuss the differences between acting for tv and the theatre, never taking a phone to set, the beautiful words to “Maybe This Time” and not going under playing Sally Bowles. On struggling sometimes with contemporary writing, Rhea’s interest in female rage, why she’s drawn to Hedda Gabler, what pisses her off about the theatre- and plans for her “flip a coin” show.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Two weeks after she finished her West End run as Sally Bowles in Rebecca Frecknall’s triumphant staging of Cabaret, Jonny sat down with Heartstopper star, Rhea Norwood. They discussed her illustrious predecessors in Cabaret, Alan Cumming’s dressing room being sponsored by a booze company, her Sally Bowles feeling like a car crash (in a good way), wild wee-ing, coping with repetition and the sad story of Jonny being ordered to get stoned by a director. They share memories of the same drama school, being pigeon-holed and wanting her training to be more traumatic; the complications of going off and becoming a global star- then returning to drama school; and how social distancing made her walk towards Kit Connor in an odd way.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the second half of Jonny’s chat with the great Christopher Hampton, Sir Chris continues the story of the race to turn his play into the Oscar winning movie, Dangerous Liaisons- and get it out before Milos Foreman‘s rival film; doorstepping a startled John Malkovich; the Queen being sent to sleep by the inaugural play at the National Theatre; the difference between translation and adaptation; his relationship with Paul Scofield, seeing his Uncle Vanya 30 times, why he thinks Scofield was incomparable and the moment when an accident with a gun in Christopher’s play Savages prompted an unforgettable moment of improvisation from the great actor and Yasmina Reza’s horror at what Christopher had done to her play at the first night of Art.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Jonny’s guest is on British theatre and film’s Mt Rushmore of writers. Two time Oscar winning screenwriter Sir Christopher Hampton is one of the finest playwrights of the 20 and 21st centuries and in Christopher’s office in Notting Hill that spawned so much of his work they discuss the conditions he needs to write, sometimes needing to go to a posh hotel to finish a script and writing his first west end play in the pub at 18. The crown prince of youthful prodigies tells Jonny about the lesson of terrible reviews, acting with Leonardo di Caprio, why a Christopher Hampton part blighted Jonny’s daughter’s baby photos, the importance of relationships with theatres from Vienna to LA, winning an Oscar and then being unable to get a film made for six years, why writing plays is hard and writing film is a joy- and the remarkable story of Les Liaisons Dangereuses and its journey to becoming the Oscar winning Dangerous Liasons.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the second half of his chat with the Ladies of the Hills of California, Jonny hears about the differences between Broadway and the West End, the realities of being a woman in the acting industry, trigger warnings, whether or not they’ve all been ruined by Jez Butterworth, singing for Sam Mendes and the incredible joy of the shared endeavor they are all undertaking onstage. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Jonny’s guests are four actresses: Helena Wilson, Ophelia Lovibond, Leanne Best and Laura Donnelly, who together embody the Webb Sisters in Jez Butterworth’s play, The Hills of California. Currently running on Broadway, Jonny and the ladies chat interesting name rebrands that would turn heads on a Broadway marquee, life-changing cookies, harrowing early stage experiences, holding a kind of theatrical fire in their hands onstage, what happens when Jez Butterworth radically rewrites the play you’ve done 150 times, moving like seaweed together, Jez’s addiction to emergency and what its like to be directed by Sam Mendes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.