At what point does the transformation process start, as an actor prepares to get into character backstage? For Jared Harris – who recently starred in Harold Pinter’s The Homecoming – it begins en route to the Young Vic, with a meditative stroll across Golden Jubilee Bridge. While performing as Gareth Southgate in Dear England, Joseph Fiennes began his preparations with a quiet cup of tea. Ken Nwosu, playing Othello at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, delays getting into role until the very last moment: “I wanna be me for as long as I can before the show begins.”
And what about Sarah Jessica Parker, starring alongside husband Matthew Broderick in Neil Simon’s comedy of marital strife, Plaza Suite? Parker would like to wish away the entire preparation process altogether. “The best thing about all of this, for me, is being on stage. Just open the gates. Let me at it. Put me on!”
