God damn it,” mutters Jared Harris, expelling a large, weary sigh. The face of the actor known for playing Mad Men’s genteel Lane Pryce has just materialised on a video call, and seems, for a brief moment, to be in character. How would Lane Pryce react if he was confronted with sound issues on a Zoom call? I think I’ve just found out. Harris furrows his brow. “This does sometimes happen...” he says, slowly and augustly, “...with Chrome.”
A few minutes of methodical problem-solving later, voila – we have sound. Harris, dressed in a deep red quarter-zip jumper, settles down. We’re speaking over Zoom because Harris is in Stratford, ahead of a new production of Hamlet with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He’s playing Claudius, fratricidal king of Denmark, alongside Nancy Carroll (Gertrude), Luke Thallon (Hamlet) and Nia Towle (Ophelia). Other than this, information is scant; Harris has been told to keep details of the “high-concept” staging nebulous. “Listen, I was trained on Mad Men,” he says, “so you know I’m well able to handle all sorts of attempts to dig information out of me. Do your best.”
