We sat down with Ewan Wardrop, who is performing the iconic lead role in North By Northwest, coming to Alexandra Palace this June.
Actor, dancer and multi-instrumentalist, Ewan began his career performing as a ballet dancer in Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake on Broadway. He is a familiar member of Rice and Wise Children’s acting troupe, having performed in her production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Globe and The Buddha of Suburbia last year at the Barbican. For this production, he steps into the iconic lead role embodied by Cary Grant in the classic film – big shoes to fill!
Roger Thornhill is an iconic character, originally portrayed by Cary Grant. How did you approach making this role your own in Emma Rice’s adaptation of North by Northwest, and what unique elements did you bring to the character?
Cary Grant is wonderful in the film, very dryly funny and great physically too. He’s certainly been an inspiration in this case – (I usually avoid studying people who have played roles before me too closely) But it wouldn’t feel right unless it was a biopic to try and be Cary Grant playing Roger Thornhill. It’s hard for me to say personally what unique elements I bring to the role, but if you can imagine a better looking and more charming version of Cary Grant then that’s the sort of thing you can expect.
Emma Rice’s adaptation of North by Northwest is noted for its inventive staging and playful tone. Can you share how the ensemble cast and creative direction influenced your performance, especially in scenes that reimagine the film’s famous set pieces?
Emma can usually see what is going to work long before anyone else does. In the studio you can sometimes wonder “is this going to work?” and then lo and behold, you put it on stage before an audience and they go wild for it. This could be true of the famous cornfield/ biplane chase sequence from the film. I can’t say exactly what we do in our version of the scene but it is conjured from not very much and gets one of the biggest audience reactions of the evening. Everyone has to be totally committed to make it work.
You’ve previously worked with Emma Rice on productions like A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Buddha of Suburbia. How has your collaborative relationship evolved over time, and what draws you to her distinctive theatrical style?
I think we probably worked well together right from the start. We share a similar sense of humour. Emma is very empathetic and has an amazing ability to read people very quickly. I sometimes think she knows me better than I know myself and she knows just how to press my buttons to get the performance she envisions. What draws me to her style is that I think she is a true artist and always does things for the right reasons. It’s a very happy and funny process but also hard working and that suits me very well.
In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, you played Bottom, a role that showcased your comedic timing and physicality. How did that experience inform your portrayal of Roger Thornhill, and are there any parallels between the two characters in terms of performance?
Yes I think there are parallels. Both Bottom and Thornhill are trying to make sense of the situations they find themselves in, they are mostly responding to other characters who are driving the story. They share a kind of innocence and simplicity and both get drawn into a world in which they are out of their depth but ultimately manage to win the day!
Your role as the flamboyant theatre director Matthew Pyke in The Buddha of Suburbia was both humorous and meta-theatrical. Did that experience offer any insights or contrasts when approaching the more suspense-driven narrative of North by Northwest?
I think only in doing what I always strive to do, which is to try and remain truthful no matter how extraordinary the circumstances. As Thornhill I am always a step behind with the plot, which can be humorous but I have to respond in a real way – however far-fetched or fanciful the action may be. As one of my favourite comedic actors, Gene Wilder said “If the physical thing you’re doing is funny, you don’t have to act funny while doing it…Just be real and it will be funnier”.
With just six performers taking on multiple roles in North by Northwest, how did this ensemble approach challenge or enhance your performance, and what was it like navigating the rapid character transitions on stage?
Fortunately for me, I only play Roger Thornhill, but the rest of the cast play several different characters each. They are all so good though, Karl Queensborough for example plays both the villain, Vandamm and Roger’s mother – both utterly believable! A lot of the hard work goes on offstage with costume changes etc which can be more exhausting than what you do onstage.
North by Northwest comes to Alexandra Palace Theatre on 11 – 22 June.