Daniel Ings stars as an eco warrior love rival in Channel 4 comedy Pete Verses Life and is about to be seen in the new series of the BBC’s cult comedy Psychoville, but the young actor has spent the last four months understudying the role of Victor in the National Theatre’s prolific production of Frankenstein. Charlotte Marshall finds out exactly what it feels like to face an audience who have paid to see Benedict Cumberbatch and how it feels to grace the Olivier stage.
How did you end up understudying Victor in Frankenstein?
I’d worked with Abbey [Wright] before, who’s the staff director. She mentioned my name to Alistair [Coomer] who’s the casting director, who then invited me to an audition. Then I had to audition for Danny [Boyle] and Alistair as Victor.
What was auditioning in front of Danny Boyle like?
Well he is an amazingly generous and easy going dude. In a way you have to take on board the fact that that person is such a hero and a legend and use that to just think ‘I’m going to smash this’, rather than let it crawl inside your skull and screw you up!
What role do you play when you are not understudying?
I’m servant number one. I walk on with a torch and I say a few lines. A crucial part. It’s all crucial man, no small parts, only small people [laughs]! In a way the fact that I play the servant in the show is by the by, I’m really here to cover Benedict and Jonny [Lee Miller].
How many performances have you done as Victor so far?
Not including the understudy run which is mandatory but not open to the public, five. I don’t have anything to compare it to but I think it’s pretty good going.
For what reasons have you had to cover the role?
The Saturday after press night, four members of the cast came down with a sick bug. I was actually third in line to play the role that day – Benedict was off, he was going to be playing the creature that night, and Steve the creature understudy was off – so I went on. Lizzie Winkler, who plays Agatha, had to step in as Elizabeth because Naomie [Harris] was off, and Lizzie’s understudy as Agatha was also off, so Lizzie had to do the one part, run off and do a quick change and come back on as another character.
We all had to rally around, but testament to the theatre, everyone got through it and was great. Then that Thursday Benedict lost his voice so I was back on again. Again this week Benedict’s voice has suffered. I think it is as a result of the smoke used in this show. We had a three week break and obviously then there’s a danger of going straight into something, rather then when you do it for weeks and weeks and you can build it up. I think also it’s because of the demand of swapping roles and how intense those roles are.
How did you feel the first time you went on as Victor?
It’s the most terrifying thing I’ve ever had to do. Victor comes on straight away; standing at the back, your heart’s racing, adrenaline just going mad, there’s a little red flashing light, it goes green and you come on and say a couple of lines and then run off. Then you have to go and sit in a dressing room for half an hour and it’s the most painful experience because you’re just sat there, sh*tting yourself for half an hour basically!
How much notice do you get that you are going to have to go on?
I’ve never had more than about two hours notice, apart from this week when I went on on Tuesday evening and it was pretty clear he [Cumberbatch] wasn’t going to be back in for Wednesday. I guess, in theory, if someone broke their leg or something, as soon as that happened you’d know you were going to have to finish the run. Because these are, thankfully, fleeting illnesses they try not to make the decision until as late in the day as they can to see whether he can do it or not.
How have the audiences reacted to you when you have gone on in Cumberbatch’s place?
Good. The first one I did we got a standing ovation. I can’t remember very much about that, it was just pure adrenaline – I think I shaved about ten minutes off the show, it was just, get on, say your lines as quick as you can, get off! The ones that I did this week, I felt more assured and like I owned it. The audience feeds off that. If you’re the understudy, to an extent, they’re going to be already thinking ‘How much practise has this guy had? How nervous is he?’ There’s nothing worse than being in an audience feeling like you’re not in safe hands. I think I’m right in saying I’ve maybe settled into that a bit and had more control.
I got a card from a dude who had travelled 3,500 miles from New York to see this show and he said it was a fine performance and that I was part of what had made that, so that was great to hear. I got a letter from someone today saying that him and his wife had come and they’d both really enjoyed it. Obviously some people are disappointed that they don’t get to see Benedict because some people are going to come to see him, some are coming to see Jonny, but you’ve got to use that and try and win them over, and not let that get in your way.
How do you think Cumberbatch feels when you have gone on in his place?
I think it’s strange for both of us in a way because we’re good mates and the bottom line is he wants to be doing it. With something like losing your voice, you’re sat at home feeling fine. It’s different when you have something like a stomach bug, I’m sure he probably couldn’t get out of bed, but when your voice has gone or whatever you’re just sat at home watching telly thinking ‘I could be at work, I could be doing it, that applause could be for me’.
I think it’s a strange thing for him to come back and know that someone else has slept in the bed as it were, and for me it’s weird to know that I’ve done that and then have to step back to being a servant. You’ve got to be careful about what you say, I don’t want him to think I’m trying to take over or that I know more about it than him or anything like that. I think it’s not really a problem because he’s awesome and Jonny’s awesome, I don’t think it would ever be an issue, but I can see it could be under other circumstances, with other actors, it could be tricky.
The first time I did it he gave me a really nice card and a bottle of champagne. It was a really, really nice card, really thoughtful.
And has Jonny always been supportive?
Jonny’s amazing. What’s important in this play is the connection between those two characters. The reason they work so well together is because they’re mates and they get along and they swap the parts. If Jonny hadn’t opened up and let me into that relationship on stage it wouldn’t have worked.
It sounds quite pretentious I think, but I could sense that he was kind of nurturing me out there. There’s that big scene next to the chasm and if I stepped too close to it, with his eyes he’d look to it to remind me it’s there. He said to me it was quite nice to have someone else to think about because one of the worst things is when you’re in your own head being aware of being onstage, it’s quite nice to have objectives or little tasks or someone else to think about.
Are you allowed to put your own spin on the part?
You’ve got to to some extent because you have to find the truth for yourself, if that makes sense. If you’re constantly going against the tide or trying to force an emotion that you don’t understand then that’s going to show. You have to bring your own spin and I think you’ve got to keep telling yourself as well, ‘I got cast as this understudy for a reason. I got asked to, in a way, present my version of it, for whatever reason they saw something there that would work as the third Victor’ and you’ve got to just accept that and not get too carried away with what the boys do.
Have you taken inspiration from either of their performances?
I’ve openly nicked vast swathes of both of their performances [laughs]. Initially I felt my Victor would start like Benedict’s and end like Jonny’s but it hasn’t really worked out like that because their performances have changed and evolved and so has mine. I get the best of both really; I can watch what both of them do, nick the best of all of it and then put my stuff in as well and hope that it’s a good cocktail!
Who covers your normal role when you go on as Victor?
As huge as my role in this show is… it’s only really six lines [laughs]. Danny [Miller], who plays the farmer’s son, covers a couple of the lines and John Killoran, who plays one of the beggars at the beginning, covers some other bits. They obviously love it because you get paid an extra fee if we go on as an understudy, so obviously on a night when I play Victor, I have to go up there and sweat blood for my extra money and they say three lines to get the same fee [laughs].
Do you have your own costume?
I wear Benedict’s, it’s a happy coincidence we’re the same size. Jonny’s shorter than both of us.
When is the audience told you will be playing Victor instead of Cumberbatch or Miller?
They arrive and there’s a sign that says ‘Tonight Victor will be played by Daniel Ings’. My girlfriend got about five or six of them from a very confused usher.
What are the benefits of being an understudy?
I’m sure it’s not always a particularly enjoyable experience but it was on this job because of the calibre of the director, the other actors in it and the story and the script was a no-brainer. I can imagine there are a lot of other shows where you don’t play a part in the play, you understudy a huge role, you never get to go on after all that work, and I can imagine that being a real pain. The advantage is, if you get to go on like I have, in this particular case, it was an extraordinary experience that I would never have got. It might take me years to play the lead on the Olivier again.
As an understudy, do you will people to be ill so you can go on?
No, I didn’t. I don’t know if other people did. I suspect they didn’t because it’s sort of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, of course you want to have that opportunity, on the other hand, I think it’s good it happens at the last minute because otherwise you’d never feel ready. I remember thinking when it started, ‘Alright boys, if either one of you wants to pull a sickie one day, that’s absolutely fine if you could just give it a month’ and then obviously that wasn’t the case. I think if I hadn’t been on when I was, maybe by now I would be willing one of them to be ill so I could have a pop at it so the work wasn’t in vain, but it didn’t work out like that on this.
Do you think this has been a particularly hard show to understudy because of the high profile cast?
People don’t often get the understudy thing I think. It’s live theatre, people are human beings and they get ill and rather than get their money back, someone steps in for them and the show must go on. They don’t see it like that. They feel like they’ve been robbed. Maybe even a part of them feels Benedict just decided to take the night off or the theatre decided they wouldn’t put him on to save money. They’re immediately suspicious of that, like it could have been avoided. I hope that that’s the minority, you’d like to think that by the end of the performance they don’t feel like that anymore.
CM