Howard Booth - Two weeks out
Two weeks out from the opening night of Eric Chappell’s “Heatstroke” and some very interesting decisions have already been made about both the production, and my character.
The Play calls for three main characters who are all in their 50’s (A good thing for us middle-aged actors), which isn’t common, and – being a farce – All three must have some sense of comic timing. I joined the production at the first read-through stage because of the Director’s problems with casting the role. The other two ‘fifty-somethings’ already cast are friends of mine, not only play a married couple, but actually are one in real life, and (like me) both have an English comedy background, so the rehearsal process has been an enjoyable one. Playing English characters, together with the colloquium’s and turn-of-phrase comedy that the piece demands, we have also agreed to approach the production with a different mind-set that has made the process enjoyable and challenging.
For those that know this kind of play, there is a clichéd way of playing it: To get your laughs. Sadly, the theatre we are performing at has a history of presenting both these plays and the style that so often comes with it. In the past, I have stopped going to these productions because of this approach. The cast has decided to not act this way, but to play the story for real. After all, Farce is simply an ongoing tragedy that is played for laughs. How do characters react to a worsening situation that they have created? The laughs could come from the uncomfortableness of the audience as they see the story lurch between disasters as real people repeatedly make the wrong decisions. For the role of Howard, I have been attempting to portray an individual too desperate to get past his current life. His fears drives his actions and motivations forward, and it is the glaring differences between who he is and what he is trying to achieve where the fun comes from – he is also the character that all of the slapstick events happen to, so the more proud, arrogant, and smug I can make him, the funnier he is. Going out of my way to play an unlikeable character has been the biggest challenge for me.
Howard Booth is an actor whose heyday was 20 years in the past. He lives on the memory of how popular he was then, and thinks that he is still relevant. His fear of ageing also means frequent affairs with much younger women. Clues within the play show his outrageous dress style (So, I have the shoes!), and there are three small speeches that I have decided to play very seriously, to show how desperate his life has become: penniless, ageing, within his third marriage where he isn’t the major breadwinner, and a long list of affairs that threaten this less-than-perfect situation. He is arrogant, smug, frightened, and has ceased to be anything other than a reflection of his public persona so long ago that this has become his real personality.
At the beginning of a ‘dirty weekend’ with his Mistress in a Spanish Villa belonging to his Agent, it is clear that she already has ‘one foot out of the door’ of this relationship. He cares so little for this young actress that when the opportunity comes to escape with a case full of cash, he tries everything he can to leave her behind. It is only when he realises that she can help, that he includes her in his plans. But for how long – and does she, too, only want the money? Of course, another couple have arrived at the Villa, taking the opportunity of Howard’s announced cancellation, to reconnect their own marriage. They want the money, too, and have the sob story of every middle-aged marriage to justify its theft.
Add to this mix two other characters – a Police detective and an axe murderer – that want the money, and know where it is. Of course, the two couples are never sure which one is which, who is telling the truth, and who is to be feared. The plans to get away from the each other (And, perhaps, their partner as well.), and the ‘bad guys’ becomes more and more arcane as lies build on fabrications, on little untruths, and the need to ‘win’ becomes more and more important to everyone.
The entire cast is attempting to make their character’s very real fears, hopes and entrapment the source for of the comedy, making it much more real than simply the usual staged way of presenting this kind of comedy. Of course, the speed, delivery, and stage choreography is also part of this, and the speed of movement and delivery (based around the panic of the situation) accelerates as the panic of this unreal situation gets out of hand.
The script is dense and full of one line conversations between characters. I’m still hacking my way through this jungle every day, and with a longer run than usual, I’m looking forward to continue to explore what is possible throughout the run, based on who this character actually is – a man to dislike.
