Directors and Actors….the age old story, battles, wars, egos etc etc. I know one or two great actors who had very little time for their Directors. One among them was Peter O’Toole …….another current, famous actor ( no name this time)…”3 takes and you’re done”. It is a quandry, Directors want to make their mark, put their stamp on a film or a play, but too often it seems they want their name to be remembered, not the writer, nor the actors, nor indeed any other member of the hard working team who puts on the entertainment for that often forgotten, important ingredient of a production’s success – the audience. And we people in the ENTERTAINMENT business, disregard that at our peril. People have feet and often they tend to walk! Or worse, not buy to start with!
I have just read a review of the new production of ROMEO AND JULIET. Eagerly awaited because of the appearence of young bright star Tom Holland. However judging from one review, he is being given little chance of shining in this new production as it seems that the Director wants to be the Star – ” the actors are reduced to chess pieces to be nudged here and there by an invisible hand”. This appears to be this particular Director’s “raison d’être”… to be the star of any show he turns his hand to. His early and recent work seemed to fortell good things and his reputation has earned justifiable acclaim. But as ever it seems that ego wins the day and his productions are becoming more and more “look at me”, I am a fan of James McAvoy, but the recent production of “Cyrano de Begerac” by this same Director, Jamie Lloyd nearly put me to sleep.
Why wont he let his actors, the writer shine and dazzle the audience as intended? Why make every production dull and banal. The new “Romeo and Juliet” sounds a very dreary affair… Romeo in a hoodie, too much video and technology, actors talking to themselves, into mics, not to each other…where is the magic in that ?
Early in my career I was lucky enough to work with John Dexter, difficult, sometimes cruel, but a master of giving life and excitement to everything he did and bringing out the best of everyone involved in his productions, witthout trying to be the only one talked about.
I recently saw a wonderful production of ” Banging Denmark” at the excellent Finborough theatre. Everyone was a ‘star’ in the production, the Writer, the Actors, the Director, the Set Designer. The energy, the enthusiam and pace were thriliing. I want to see Tom Holland on stage in something like that!
So clearly Jamie Lloyd will never cast me in anything after this, but I just had to say it…”Mr Lloyd give your writer and your actors a chance to shine as they should and thrill the audience as they can”
