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| Bertie Carvel: 'His speciality is making monsters and demons understood' | Bertie Carvel: 'His speciality is making monsters and demons understood' |
| (7 months later) | |
| The actor’s former creations include a psychopathic teacher and an adulterous husband. Now the son of a former Guardian journalist is to play Rupert Murdoch in a new play, Ink | |
| Mark Lawson | |
| Fri 23 Jun 2017 15.19 BST | |
| Last modified on Mon 27 Nov 2017 21.20 GMT | |
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| As the son, grandson and great-grandson of admired British newspaper reporters, Bertie Carvel was at high risk of ending up in journalism. He ran from the family tree by going to drama school, but blood has a way of coming out and Carvel will next week continue his rise to the heights of his profession by playing one of the most significant figures in the business he escaped: Rupert Murdoch in Ink, a new stage play by James Graham that dramatises the Australian tycoon’s launch of the Sun in 1969. | As the son, grandson and great-grandson of admired British newspaper reporters, Bertie Carvel was at high risk of ending up in journalism. He ran from the family tree by going to drama school, but blood has a way of coming out and Carvel will next week continue his rise to the heights of his profession by playing one of the most significant figures in the business he escaped: Rupert Murdoch in Ink, a new stage play by James Graham that dramatises the Australian tycoon’s launch of the Sun in 1969. |
| For Carvel, it is the latest in a string of characters that the audience may feel tempted to find unsympathetic. Previous creations include Miss Trunchbull, the psychopathic schoolmistress in the musical version of Roald Dahl’s Matilda, which made Carvel’s name in London and on Broadway, and Simon Foster, the corrupt and adulterous husband of the GP title character in Doctor Foster, a five-part BBC1 psychological thriller that returns for a second series later this year. | For Carvel, it is the latest in a string of characters that the audience may feel tempted to find unsympathetic. Previous creations include Miss Trunchbull, the psychopathic schoolmistress in the musical version of Roald Dahl’s Matilda, which made Carvel’s name in London and on Broadway, and Simon Foster, the corrupt and adulterous husband of the GP title character in Doctor Foster, a five-part BBC1 psychological thriller that returns for a second series later this year. |
| But the previous work of Carvel and Graham (This House) suggests that audiences should not expect a satirical demolition of Murdoch. During rehearsals, the actor told the Stage that what he most enjoys is “playing characters that people make moral assumptions about, then introducing doubt and inconsistency into that”. And this is what he hopes to achieve with his version of the newspaper proprietor, a figure about whom many north London theatre-goers will have well-formed prejudices when the lights go down. | But the previous work of Carvel and Graham (This House) suggests that audiences should not expect a satirical demolition of Murdoch. During rehearsals, the actor told the Stage that what he most enjoys is “playing characters that people make moral assumptions about, then introducing doubt and inconsistency into that”. And this is what he hopes to achieve with his version of the newspaper proprietor, a figure about whom many north London theatre-goers will have well-formed prejudices when the lights go down. |
| Matthew Warchus, who directed Matilda, says: “He wouldn’t be governed by what the audience want or expect but by giving the most physically and psychologically authentic portrait of Murdoch at that time.” | Matthew Warchus, who directed Matilda, says: “He wouldn’t be governed by what the audience want or expect but by giving the most physically and psychologically authentic portrait of Murdoch at that time.” |
| The actor’s father, John Carvel, the former social affairs editor of the Guardian, says: “It’s a great part. That’s why he’s doing it. He isn’t supporting or defending Murdoch any more than he was sticking up for demented teachers in Matilda. I’ve never met Murdoch, so I wasn’t able to give Bertie any direct help. But at least Murdoch – we can say – believes in newspapers, which is a vanishing enthusiasm.” | The actor’s father, John Carvel, the former social affairs editor of the Guardian, says: “It’s a great part. That’s why he’s doing it. He isn’t supporting or defending Murdoch any more than he was sticking up for demented teachers in Matilda. I’ve never met Murdoch, so I wasn’t able to give Bertie any direct help. But at least Murdoch – we can say – believes in newspapers, which is a vanishing enthusiasm.” |
| John Carvel is the son of Robert Carvel (a celebrated London Evening Standard political editor), whose own father edited the Star newspaper. And while Bertie is named after his grandfather (the diminutive was used in the family from childhood), there was no pressure to extend the ink in the blood to a fourth generation. | John Carvel is the son of Robert Carvel (a celebrated London Evening Standard political editor), whose own father edited the Star newspaper. And while Bertie is named after his grandfather (the diminutive was used in the family from childhood), there was no pressure to extend the ink in the blood to a fourth generation. |
| “I was actually quite glad that Bertie found something else to do,” says John. “Because I never gave any thought to the profession I would join, so it impressed me that he struck out from scratch.” | “I was actually quite glad that Bertie found something else to do,” says John. “Because I never gave any thought to the profession I would join, so it impressed me that he struck out from scratch.” |
| Bertie Carvel has said in interviews that, in retrospect, he finds that acting combines the skills of his father’s profession – researching and explaining – with, in the exploration of character, that of his mother, a psychologist. | Bertie Carvel has said in interviews that, in retrospect, he finds that acting combines the skills of his father’s profession – researching and explaining – with, in the exploration of character, that of his mother, a psychologist. |
| Carvel was educated at London primaries and then the fee-paying University College School. The backstories of major actors often involve tales of infant teachers swooning in surprise at a King Lear played at the age of five. Carvel, though, was a late developer. | Carvel was educated at London primaries and then the fee-paying University College School. The backstories of major actors often involve tales of infant teachers swooning in surprise at a King Lear played at the age of five. Carvel, though, was a late developer. |
| “He’ll kick me for saying this,” says his dad. “But I have no memories at all of anything he was in at school. It wasn’t a big theme until university.” | “He’ll kick me for saying this,” says his dad. “But I have no memories at all of anything he was in at school. It wasn’t a big theme until university.” |
| In his second year at Sussex, reading English, Carvel auditioned for the drama society and was given the lead role of archbishop Thomas Becket, murdered to please the king, in TS Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral. “He immediately loved it,” says John Carvel. “And it became a passion and then a career.” | In his second year at Sussex, reading English, Carvel auditioned for the drama society and was given the lead role of archbishop Thomas Becket, murdered to please the king, in TS Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral. “He immediately loved it,” says John Carvel. “And it became a passion and then a career.” |
| At Rada, recalls his father, “Bertie seemed to find it quite hard to keep his clothes on in anything he was in. But those days now seem to have gone, thankfully. We now go to see him with a greater sense of calm.” | At Rada, recalls his father, “Bertie seemed to find it quite hard to keep his clothes on in anything he was in. But those days now seem to have gone, thankfully. We now go to see him with a greater sense of calm.” |
| The fact that his career began with Murder in the Cathedral has proved prophetic. Eliot’s Becket is a saint who would try the patience of one. And – in his subsequent professional career – Carvel has shown a particular talent for playing people who are not easily understood. | The fact that his career began with Murder in the Cathedral has proved prophetic. Eliot’s Becket is a saint who would try the patience of one. And – in his subsequent professional career – Carvel has shown a particular talent for playing people who are not easily understood. |
| “His speciality, perhaps, has become making monsters and demons rooted and understood,” says Warchus. “He has a clinical, diagnostic approach to that.” | “His speciality, perhaps, has become making monsters and demons rooted and understood,” says Warchus. “He has a clinical, diagnostic approach to that.” |
| Doctor Foster writer Mike Bartlett says: “When we’re talking through the scripts, Bertie always defends Simon. Not morally, but to ensure that his psychology is coherent and believable. Once he’s satisfied with this, he doesn’t seem to worry what the audience will make of him – whether that’s a villain or not – he just plays what the character does, and helps us to understand why.” | Doctor Foster writer Mike Bartlett says: “When we’re talking through the scripts, Bertie always defends Simon. Not morally, but to ensure that his psychology is coherent and believable. Once he’s satisfied with this, he doesn’t seem to worry what the audience will make of him – whether that’s a villain or not – he just plays what the character does, and helps us to understand why.” |
| What is remarkable about his career-transforming performance as Miss Trunchbull is that – although the character’s wig, bust and dress were vital – Carvel was able to convince Warchus he could play the role while auditioning in street clothes without props. | What is remarkable about his career-transforming performance as Miss Trunchbull is that – although the character’s wig, bust and dress were vital – Carvel was able to convince Warchus he could play the role while auditioning in street clothes without props. |
| At the Old Vic, where Warchus is artistic director, Carvel recently portrayed an alienated, raging, murderous American working man in Eugene O’Neill’s The Hairy Ape. That role confirmed his unusually dangerous and unpredictable stage presence. | At the Old Vic, where Warchus is artistic director, Carvel recently portrayed an alienated, raging, murderous American working man in Eugene O’Neill’s The Hairy Ape. That role confirmed his unusually dangerous and unpredictable stage presence. |
| “His natural instinct,” says Warchus, “is to be absolutely unflinchingly the thing that the character is. We are more used to actors who work quite hard to bring the audience with them. But Bertie is almost prepared to be completely independent of the audience, and let them make of him whatever they will. And yet he also has a natural showmanship.” | “His natural instinct,” says Warchus, “is to be absolutely unflinchingly the thing that the character is. We are more used to actors who work quite hard to bring the audience with them. But Bertie is almost prepared to be completely independent of the audience, and let them make of him whatever they will. And yet he also has a natural showmanship.” |
| The actor has admitted that he “asks a thousand questions” in the rehearsal room. | The actor has admitted that he “asks a thousand questions” in the rehearsal room. |
| Warchus laughs: “Yeah. And, by the way, not only in the rehearsal room, but the auditions, technical rehearsals, previews and even, during the run, by text, email, and phone. But they are all great questions: about his character, the story and the production in general. He’s always seeking a dialogue.” | Warchus laughs: “Yeah. And, by the way, not only in the rehearsal room, but the auditions, technical rehearsals, previews and even, during the run, by text, email, and phone. But they are all great questions: about his character, the story and the production in general. He’s always seeking a dialogue.” |
| During Matilda, recalls Warchus, the bulk of the rehearsal time went on the children, so that Carvel spent days working alone in a room, waiting to be called back to the company: “He’d come back with a new bit of acrobatics or backstory. Some of it would be great, some of it would be him disappearing down a rabbit hole. But that obsessive worrying away at the role – which is what he does – is what yields the results.” | During Matilda, recalls Warchus, the bulk of the rehearsal time went on the children, so that Carvel spent days working alone in a room, waiting to be called back to the company: “He’d come back with a new bit of acrobatics or backstory. Some of it would be great, some of it would be him disappearing down a rabbit hole. But that obsessive worrying away at the role – which is what he does – is what yields the results.” |
| Bartlett concurs: “Preparation is hugely important to him. Particularly on television because we don’t have much rehearsal. On Doctor Foster we made up for that by talking through everything as much as possible.” | Bartlett concurs: “Preparation is hugely important to him. Particularly on television because we don’t have much rehearsal. On Doctor Foster we made up for that by talking through everything as much as possible.” |
| To achieve maximum impact, a British actor needs to find standout roles in theatre, TV and movies. Carvel achieved the first with Miss Trunchbull and the second with Simon Foster, but, although he had a small role in Les Misérables, still needs a big film. He is also unusual among leading British actors of his or any other generation in having played almost no Shakespearean roles: his CV contains only a Macbeth at a London fringe theatre as an unknown in 2004. At 40, Richard III, Iago and Leontes remain within reach, and seem to be what his profile needs in the next few years. | To achieve maximum impact, a British actor needs to find standout roles in theatre, TV and movies. Carvel achieved the first with Miss Trunchbull and the second with Simon Foster, but, although he had a small role in Les Misérables, still needs a big film. He is also unusual among leading British actors of his or any other generation in having played almost no Shakespearean roles: his CV contains only a Macbeth at a London fringe theatre as an unknown in 2004. At 40, Richard III, Iago and Leontes remain within reach, and seem to be what his profile needs in the next few years. |
| Warchus says: “I’ve never asked him about that. He has been very busy. But he has a very wide range. He has a real romantic, almost boyish quality. And he can sing as well. So he’s going to be busy. He’s not going to have time to do everything he could. Imagine the number of questions if he ever did Shakespeare!” | Warchus says: “I’ve never asked him about that. He has been very busy. But he has a very wide range. He has a real romantic, almost boyish quality. And he can sing as well. So he’s going to be busy. He’s not going to have time to do everything he could. Imagine the number of questions if he ever did Shakespeare!” |
| Ink is at the Almeida theatre, Islington, London N1, until 5 August. | Ink is at the Almeida theatre, Islington, London N1, until 5 August. |
| Bertie Carvel | |
| Theatre | |
| Rupert Murdoch | |
| The Sun | |
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