Interview

Chris Colquhoun

By Phil Wilmott

19th January 2006

Actor Christopher Colquhoun, who played bad guy Simon Kaminsaki for two years in TV's "Casualty" was in a buoyant mood when I met him on a grey London afternoon. He has every reason to be cheerful. He's currently starring in the Royal Shakespeare Company's hit revival of "The Comedy of Errors" in the current season of the Bard's comedies, at the newly named Novello theatre at the top of the Strand.

Q: How long have you been with the company now?

A: Since May but it's been bitty because I'm only in one play in the season. The productions alternate so I'm not always needed.

Q: That's quite a long time for an actor to be tied up with a show.

A: Well, the first time I was with the RSC it was for almost a year.

Q: And you were playing quite small parts back then weren't you?

A: Oh yes, I didn't really have much to do except in a production of "Moby Dick".

Q: So it must be great to now go back as a leading actor.

A: I have to admit that does feel nice.

Q: Is there still a bit of magic about working with the Royal Shakespeare Company? That was so what we all wanted when we left drama school.

A: Well, we all wanted to be there playing Hamlet, not necessarily carrying a spear.

Q: But it must be nice getting that wage slip with the RSC insignia on the top.

A: Hmm. I think, like most actors, I just wish there was more money in it. But seriously, of course I'm proud to be here but it doesn't matter what company your working for, the important thing is that you're doing work that you believe in.

Q: Tell me about "Casualty". How long were you there for?

A: Three seasons.

Q: What doers that mean?

A: I was in 46 - 48 episodes a year for two and a half years.

Q: Wow, it must be exciting to develop a character over that long a time. Do you miss him?

A: Actually no, he was a very dislikeable guy, so all my scenes, all day, every day seemed to be about confrontation and misery. He did get lots of girls but it always ended in arguments so when I left I was ready to do something up-beat. Which fortunately I got to do because I went into the musical "Simply Heavenly" at the Trafalgar studios. I'm not the greatest singer but I hope I bring a lot of personality to musical roles, which compensates. I really admire someone like Judy Dench, she's not an obvious singer either but she brings so much to any musical part through her acting and her persona.

Q: The characters in "Comedy of Errors" are often dismissed as two-dimensional. Was that frustrating?

A: No because you're there to serve the play and the play requires you to be part of a team. When everything works together it's great to create all that comedy and really feel the audience rocking with laughter. That couldn't happen if it was all about each individual actor on their own character trip. Having a complicated back-story in your head isn't that useful if you're trying to play a comic situation.

Q: It must have been odd to work with a director like Nancy Meckler on a piece like that because she's usually very keen on character research. How did that pan out in rehearsals?

A: We still started by looking for the absolute truth in each situation.

Q: Define "Absolute Truth" in this context?

A: Well, in terms of my character I needed to work out how it would really feel to suddenly be confronted by a twin brother that you never knew you had, or to arrive home to find your front door locked and an impostor at your table and in you bed claiming to be you. Once you've thought all that through and made if feel real, or truthful, you then amplify in by 100% so the situation becomes funny to watch, but it's still going to be based in that truth.

Q: How would you persuade someone that they wanted to come and see your show after a hard days work? Two and a half hours of Elizabethan language.

A: No one needs worry about not getting it. It's absolutely Shakespeare's most accessible play. And even if you do loose the thread of what's going on occasionally there's so much to look at, it's fast moving and very visual. We've had ten year olds having a great time. My aunt, who confessed that she's never been to the theatre before and who was very nervous about coming, really enjoyed it. It's big and sexy and looks great. The designer wouldn't thank me for describing it like this but the beautiful costumes are a sort of mixture of "Gangs of New York", Dickens and some whole other unique fantasy world.

Q: How do you make that fantasy world seem coherent in rehearsals?

A: You just do somehow. You see the costume drawings on the first day of rehearsals so you're aware characters will have, say, big wigs or an extraordinary hat or will be dressed in vivid colours and that then informs how you bring the character to life.

Q: And of course with Shakespeare it's often difficult to know whether one should be researching the location in which the play seems to be set, or Shakespeare's view point on that world or the actual time in which the play was first written.

A: Exactly. You have to invent the world for yourself. For instance the way that the police figures work in the play, the concept of being arrested, doesn't seem to make a lot of sense in any recognised way so you make up your own rules.

Q: What would you like to do next in your career?

A: I'd love another TV series to build on the success of Casualty. Just to firmly establish myself. Although I'm not really into that whole "being a celebrity" thing.

Q: Hold on. You did "Celebrity Fame Academy".

A: Yep, but to raise a million pounds for charity. That's got to be worth doing. I actually turned down "Strictly Come Dancing" though. Sometimes when I look at my bank balance I wish I hadn't but I want to be regarded as an actor not a TV personality.

Q: Do you know what you're doing next?

A: It's a low budget, independent film. Great script.

Q: Oh yes, you're going to be playing John Barrowman's lover aren't you? Good luck with that. Have you worked with him before?

A: No.

Q: He's lovely but like a really excitable puppy. Bursting with good ideas. Everyone needs lots of energy to keep up.

A: Yes, I read a scene with him at the casting. He was great. It's going to be fun but I'm nervous about a scene in which I have to appear naked in front of 400 people. I'm not very keen on "naked". I'm ok with slipping under the bedclothes for a sex scene but standing there naked in front of all the extras - not fun.

Q: Are there any other Shakespeare parts you fancy?

A: I'd like to play Iago, a mixed race Iago against a black Othello and to explore the tensions that throw up.

Q: Not Othello himself?

A: Nah.

Q: I think you're right. It's a thankless part. Everyone's just watching Iago. But that's an interesting point you bring up about race in casting. It's a rather delicate subject. What's your view on "colour blind casting"?

A: Well, if the play's about race then of course you have to adhere to the race of each character in the casting but if it's not about race who cares about the colour of an actor's skin as long as they're good. Presumably you agree because you once cast me in a role not usually played by a black actor.

Q: Of course. I even once cast all the Von Trap kids in the Sound of Music from different backgrounds.

A: I'd like to play Shakespeare's Hotspur or any of the King Henrys. I'm too old for Hamlet now.

Q: Why do you say that, you'd be a good Hamlet?

A: Well, I think he should be in his twenties, I know you need the stage experience to play it but I'm 36 now and when I read a forty something actor's about to play it, it's always a bit "Hello"? It doesn't look right.

Q: But you've obviously got the Shakespeare bug. Would you go back to the RSC again?

A: Like a shot. I'm having a great time.

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