20 Questions With…Richard Dormer

After graduating from RADA, Northern Irish actor Richard Dormer‘s first role was playing the lead in Billy Budd at Sheffield Crucible. Since then, he has made his mark on theatre in the UK and Ireland and across the pond.

Dormer went on to take parts in Beautiful Thing in the West End, Una Pooka at the Tricycle and In the Heart of America at the Bush. His regional credits include Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme, Three Sisters, Silverlands in Dublin and Philadelphia Here I Come! in Belfast and then on a US tour. He also performed in Mojo Mickybo at the Yew York Festival.

Dormer’s film credits include A Further Gesture, Puckoon, The Escapist, The Mapmaker and Red and Blue, which he recently finished filming for the BBC.

He is married to Rachel O’Riordan who directed Hurricane. O’Riordan trained at the Royal Ballet School, with the Kirov Ballet and at Central School of Speech and Drama. She has
worked extensively as a choreographer and movement director and is artistic director of Ransom Productions, which commissioned Hurricane.

Hurricane won Dormer the BBC Stewart Parker Award for New Writing and The Stage Edinburgh Fringe Best Actor award. It now comes to the West End’s Arts Theatre for a limited six-week season, which follows a regional tour and an earlier run at London’s Soho Theatre.

Date & place of birth

I was born in Armagh on 11 November 1969.

Lives now in…

I live in Belfast with my wife and cat.

Trained at…

RADA (the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art).

First big break

I suppose this (Hurricane) is a big break, but my first was Billy Budd at Sheffield Crucible, which I got straight out of drama school. I was playing the lead and it was directed by Tim Supple so it was a huge thing for me.

Career highlights to date

Well, actually, I was sitting in my dressing room the other night (in Sheffield when on tour) as the show went up an hour late because of technical problems, so I was feeling pretty miserable. In the main stage, Alex Higgins was playing Jimmy White – which is quite exciting to be doing the show next to where he’s actually playing – and there was a 200-strong audience. I was listening to this over the tannoy, and when Jimmy White’s name was announced, there was a roar that shook it almost off the wall so I thought, ‘oh dear, nothing will follow that’. But when Alex was announced the reception was unbelievable. I was moved to tears because I realised what Hurricane has done for him. It’s helped bring him back into the limelight and I’m part of that. That was quite a surreal moment. He beat Jimmy White four frames to three.

Favourite productions you’ve ever worked on

Hurricane. And also Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme because I think it’s a really moving story about sacrifice, faith, loss and friendship.

Favourite co-stars

I feel like I haven’t acted with anyone in years! Everyone I’ve worked with I’ve enjoyed, I’ve been lucky so I’ve no particular favourites.

Favourite directors

My wife, Rachel O’Riordan. She’s the best director I’ve ever worked with and not just because she’s my wife. She’s intelligent, visual and imaginative. Also Mick Duke who directed Sons of Ulster. He’s a very human director, very intelligent as well.

Favourite playwrights

Well, I’ve two favourites who I like in equal measure: Brian Friel, who wrote Philadelphia Here I Come! which I did an American tour with, I like him because he’s a beautiful poetic writer and very passionate; also Frank McGuinness, who wrote Sons of Ulster, for the depth, poetry and emotion in his plays.

What roles would you most like to play still?

I suppose Hamlet‘s the one everybody says. The only ones that spring to mind are from Shakespeare – Iago, Cassius and Hamlet are the tasty ones.

What’s the last thing you saw on stage that you really enjoyed?

I saw Twelve Angry Men at the Edinburgh Festival, directed by Guy Masterton. I was really moved by that and I was blown away that the cast was made up of 12 comedians. There was another play at the Donmar recently, The Hotel in Amsterdam, which was great because of Tom Hollander‘s performance. That’s what it’s all about, he has a magic about him.

What what you advise the government to secure the future of British theatre?

Money, more money, basically. I mean, it’s difficult because a lot of money is thrown at things that are not particularly good, and new companies who do exciting work are not a ‘safe bet’, so are struggling because they are ignored in favour of commercial projects.

If you could swap places with one person (living or dead) for a day, who would it be?

I was going to say Jesus, but may be that’s not such a good idea… If I could be him on the feeding of the 5,000 day, that would be good. Or Mohammed Ali, at the Rumble in the Jungle – he was on top of the world then.

Favourite holiday destinations

I like Crete. I’m kind of taken up with Greece because of its ancient history. Also the ruggedness and barrenness of the landscape and the colours.

Favourite books

Either To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck or Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks.

Favourite websites

The Hurricane show website because my brother-in-law designed it and he’s an amazing designer.

If you hadn’t become an actor, what would you have done professionally?

I’d probably have been an artist, a painter or a writer, which has kind of happened now.

What made you want to write & perform in Hurricane?

I always thought Alex Higgins was an incredibly charismatic and intense figure in the past. Although I didn’t follow snooker, my mum and dad did, and of course, during the 1980s there was a big buzz about him, everyone was discussing his professional and personal life. Then I met him three years ago in a train station in Dublin and he said “You remind me of me at that age”. I was hooked by his intensity and so I thought, I’ve got to play this guy.

It was Rachel’s idea to do a one-man show. I had been trying to write a screenplay and it was going to take years, and we realised if we did a one-man show, we’d have complete control. Also his life was a one-man show, just him and his suitcase travelling around, and that’s what I’ve been doing, so it works. He was on his own against the world.

How difficult is it playing a real person who’s still alive? Does it allow room to manoeuvre creatively?

Oh yeah, there was a lot of room to manoeuvre. I was concerned that it wasn’t going to be another exploitive story, so Alex is getting 33% of my writing royalties. I wanted to do justice to him and show the highs and lows. It’s been a great thing for me and for him, another chance for him to be remembered. So it’s paid off artistically and in a kind of karma way too, it’s nice.

Has Alex Higgins seen the show?

He’s seen it about seven or eight times, he loves it. He’s been coming to first nights, and he likes to get up for a curtain call. The first time he saw it, I was terrified. He came to rehearsal with his solicitors to check it out, so I did the first 20 minutes for him and it was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. Afterwards all he said was, “That was great, you’ve got a lot of energy kid!”

What was it like working with your wife?

We’d worked together before. We met doing a production of Twelfth Night at the Lyric in Belfast. She was assistant director and choreographer and I was playing Sir Andrew Aguecheek – how she fell for me in tights and a bald wig is still a mystery. That was five years ago. We hadn’t really worked together since then. But there were no problems because of the trust. There’s a lot of trust there and that’s the most important thing. Also, we’ve developed a theatre language and we don’t take it home.

What’s your favourite line from Hurricane?
It’s the last line, but I won’t tell you what that is. The first line’s a favourite too – “Well that’s that fucked” – which kind of sums up a lot.

What’s the oddest thing that has happened in the runs to date of the production?

There was an incident when we were at Soho Theatre where I had to throw a drunk out of the auditorium. This guy was ruining the show for everyone so (in character) I told him to shut up and called security, but no one came, so eventually I grabbed him by the seat of his pants – I didn’t know he was about six foot four but I was galvanised – and I dumped him out in the hallway. The audience cheered and clapped. Little did I know, Peter Hall was in that night!

What are your plans for the future?

I’d like to do some film. I’ve mainly been doing theatre so far. I think it’s important for an actor to earn his badge on stage before he goes into film and I’ve done that. I also have a lot of writing projects. I’m writing Hurricane the screenplay. The plan is to do a feature film, I’m to play Alex and Rachel will direct, we’re in talks at the moment with several producers. So we’re going to try to create a wee bit of magic hopefully.

– Richard Dormer was speaking to Hannah Kennedy

Hurricane opens 30 March 2004 (preview 29 March) at the West End’s Arts Theatre, where it continues its limited season up to 8 May.