We sat down with Preston Nyman for a quick chat about his upcoming performance in Dear Jack, Dear Louise at Arcola Theatre from 2nd April to 2nd May. For ticketing and info, please find here.
What first drew you to Dear Jack, Dear Louise when you encountered the script?
I was really excited by the possibility of doing a play about two really nice people behaving nicely towards each other. I think a lot of theatre can be very guilty of being gloomy and unpleasant, but it’s much harder to tell a story about nice people doing nice things. The conflict of the play comes from the situation they find themselves in, rather than their relationship. I also love Ken’s writing and I really admire how unafraid he is to let the characters be funny.
The play is built entirely from letters exchanged during World War II. What did you
find most compelling about that form of storytelling?
Ninety-nine percent of the time it’s the sender reading their letter aloud, rather than the recipient. It makes a big difference because, as an actor, you get to dig into why they’ve chosen to write the character and would have written those specific words in that specific order. They start with a blank page each time and have to choose how they fill it.
Because Jack and Louise spend most of the story apart, their connection is built
almost entirely through language. How does that shape the way you approach the
performance?
The challenge is to make sure it doesn’t feel repetitive or stagnant. But Ken’s writing is such that the form of the play is always a step ahead of the audience. He explores and plays with the format constantly so even though these characters are 3000 miles apart, you can see their connection forming really beautifully.
What is uniquely challenging about carrying a two-person play night after night?
The main worry is that if you don’t get on with your co-star, you’re going to have a very
lonely run! But thankfully Eva is brilliant and lovely and a joy to perform with. You have to trust each other more than you would in a normal ensemble. If one person’s energy is different, the whole dynamic changes. This is true of any size cast but especially when there’s just two of you. So you have to find a good balance and a trust that you can support each other on stage during the run.
Your work spans theatre, television and film, including Mufasa: The Lion King. How
does returning to the intimacy of live theatre compare to those screen
experiences?
I love voice acting but it’s a lonely experience. Especially with Mufasa, which was ninety percent recorded during social distancing times. Theatre is a totally different experience. The reward of a live audience is massive, but you also have to be comfortable with repetition. With film and TV you do something a few times and then never again. But the fun of theatre is finding ways to keep the performance alive even though you’ve done it a hundred times.
Why do you think stories like this continue to resonate across generations?
If you look at how the world is at the moment, even within the last fortnight, there are lots and lots of people who find themselves in awful situations beyond their control. I think that’s something we can all connect with, and to see a story about people who were able to find some joy in a terrible situation is, hopefully, reassuring.