Q&A with the cast of Cock
This September Mike Bartlett's play Cock opens at the Minerva Theatre directed by Kate Hewitt. The cast are currently busy in rehearsals but we caught up with them to find out a bit more about this very funny but frank and honest take on modern-day relationships, and just what it was that attracted them to the piece.
Luke Thallon plays John
You play the only named character, John. Who is he?
John is the only named character in the play yes! And it’s important that his name has that everyman quality. By making names either common or absent, Mike focuses on something more interior. I think John is beautifully fascinating: honest, insecure, always sincere, occasionally childlike and incredibly delicate. He’s older than me in real life, but he feels so much younger.
Why did you want to be involved in the production?
Kate Hewitt, Mike Bartlett and Daniel Evans. Mike’s writing seems to have direct access to your innards. It just gets in your bones, as an actor it carries you effortlessly and lets you play.
There are just four of you in this play. What challenges come with performing in a small cast or do you prefer it?
I think the play demands a commitment and honesty that is quite scary to tap into eight times a week, it’s so precise in its exposure of our flaws, our insecurities, our inadequacies. It’s very moving, even to read. So I’m looking forward to the intimacy of a small team and working with courage!
What can Chichester audiences expect from Cock?
This play really is a modern day classic. It’s funny, heartbreaking, sweet and devastating all in one evening. I think the risk is assuming from its title that it’ll be a glib, provocative night at the theatre but it is just so much more than that. It’s a forensic study of people and love. With some funny bits.
If you had to sum up the piece in three words…?
Well, to quote another Mike Bartlett play... Love, love, love.
I think the risk is assuming from its title that it’ll be a glib, provocative night at the theatre but it is just so much more than that
Matthew Needham plays M
How did you come to be involved in this production and what was it that attracted you to the piece?
When the audition came up, I read the play for the first time and I really enjoyed it. It's very funny and brutal and everyone in it is being put through the wringer in some way, but it was working with the director Kate Hewitt that was the real draw.
Can you tell us a bit about the character you play and his role in the production?
He's called M (so I'm playing him like Judi Dench in the Bond films!). As for his role in the play he is the boyfriend of John and is one of the two people that John is being forced to choose between.
Mike Bartlett once said in an interview that he was “amazed at the investment people had in the play watching it.” What is it about this show that really connects with people?
Everyone is going to get something different from it. I try to avoid saying plays are about anything because I think it limits them somehow and, especially with Bartlett's work, they cover such a wide spectrum of all the really confusing, awkward, difficult and ugly stuff that we tend to pretend doesn't exist in our quest for "normalcy" that it would be a shame to put it in a box and go this is a *insert issue here* play.
If you had to sum up the piece in three words…?
Can I have 8? Freud would have a field day with this.
It's very funny and brutal and everyone in it is being put through the wringer in some way
Isabella Laughland plays W
How did you come to be involved in this production?
I met Kate Hewitt and Charlotte Sutton (Casting Director) and picked a couple of scenes to read. I actually saw the original production at the Royal Court. I loved how there was no set or props and it was just the actors on stage and the audience have to use their own imagination to place these characters in their surroundings. We meet these characters at a certain juncture in their lives, the whole play is just a snapshot of what is going on right at that moment for them.
Can you tell us a bit about your character and her role in the production?
I play W, she's a teaching assistant and one day she meets John and it goes from there. I can't really give you much more without giving it all away!
You've played very different roles throughout your career so far, what is it you look for in a part when choosing your next role?
I've been very lucky in that they've all been different and they've been challenging in their own ways. For me, it always comes down to the script - if it's good writing and a part I've never played before - it's about what I can learn from it.
Your character W is the only female in the play and is seen as somewhat of an outsider to the male relationships. How do you think the gender politics of the play speak to younger audiences?
She's only an outsider because she's a woman, but there is a very real connection with John and their relationship is rooted in honesty. I think in terms of gender politics, as a society we're desperate to put labels on each other so we know where we fit and what we are. It comes from a place of fear and fear of the unknown. But it's interesting that within the last couple of years more and more conversations are being had and people are defining themselves how they want.
Why should audiences book to see the show?
Because Mike Bartlett is a bloody good writer! I think everyone will connect with the play as it deals with loneliness, connection, wanting to be loved and what happens when you lose love.
If you had to sum up the piece in three words…?
Brutally, brutally honest.
As a society we're desperate to put labels on each other so we know where we fit and what we are
Simon Chandler plays F
How did you come to be involved in this production and what was it that attracted you to the piece?
My role F feels like a good fit for me and the writing is so good that I couldn’t say no.
Can you tell us a bit about your character and the role he has within the production?
My part F, stands for Father! His son M has asked his dad to come round and help sort out the relationship with his boyfriend. F thinks he knows best but is out of his comfort zone and rather blunders through the situation.
The play is presented in the round, what challenges come with performing in that style?
In the round means no hiding place! You’re fully exposed and need to be in the moment at all times. You have a closeness to the audience that I like. You can be more natural than in a large theatre.
Audiences will have fond memories of you at Chichester – having performed here most recently in The Stepmother (2017). Are you excited to be returning?
This will be my third season at Chichester in four years. Purely by chance and luck. I am looking forward to coming back and this is the best part I’ve had here so I’m very excited and nervous too!
If you had to sum up the piece in three words…?
Relationships are hard.
In the round means no hiding place! You’re fully exposed and need to be in the moment at all times
Cock opens 28 September and runs until 27 October.
