In a world of celebrity obsession and guilty tabloid binging, the chance to see a real-life couple act opposite one another holds an odd fascination. Rather than the prospect of any backstage gossip or stage door dramas, however, for us, the curiosity lies in the tantalising expectation of what this relationship will bring to the on stage chemistry. So, when one of the crème de la crème of British actors announced that see would be taking to the stage with her real-life husband, we were hooked.
Over at the Trafalgar Studio 2, Olivier Award winner Harriet Walter is following her highly acclaimed stage appearances in Phyllida Lloyd’s seminal all-female Shakespeares at the Donmar Warehouse to star alongside her American partner Guy Paul in Boa. And if the chance to see two actors of their revered calibres on the most intimate of stages wasn’t tempting enough, the idea of watching them act out an entire 30-year marriage in just 90 minutes will surely have any theatrical fan’s interest peaked.
To find out more, we spoke to the stage and screen actor and discovered why Hayley Mills is responsible for her career, how a chance conversation in a New York bar led to the conjugal casting and what Walter would have done differently if a life in the spotlight had not called.
Describe your character in six words.
Honest, exasperating, prickly, passionate, sensitive and a fighter.
What drew you to this play?
The chance to play a complex and rounded relationship between an older couple, as well as the opportunity to do almost film-acting in a small space.
Boa is directed by Hannah Price and written by Clara Brennan: two young rising theatremakers. Were you aware of their work before you took on the project?
I worked with Hannah Price when she assisted Phyllida Lloyd on our all-female Julius Caesar. I was aware of her dramaturgical work with her own theatre company Theatre Uncut. I didn’t know Clara Brennan, but had heard of her great success at the Edinburgh Festival withSpine.
What has been your favourite moment of creating Boa so far?
The collaboration between a small, dedicated group of people in a room above a pub that is only a walk away from our house.
Was the idea of you starring in Boa alongside your real-life husband Guy Paul pitched from the very beginning?
Yes. Hannah Price and I had a conversation in a bar in New York where I talked about the frustration of Guy and I working in different continents so often.
Do dynamics from your own marriage find their way on to the stage?
There is some overlap inevitably. Any actor tries to use the bits of them that are anything like their role, but there is a lot in this couple in Boa that is nothing like us – and I hope the audience won’t know which is which.
If you had to star alongside each other in any other play, what would you choose?
Private Lives if we were young enough. It’s a deliciously witty play and surprisingly free and modern in style.
What first sparked your interest in performing?
Hayley Mills movies and Rudolph Nureyev.
Have you made any sacrifices for the sake of your career?
I’ve missed out on a lot of normal friends and family living, and perhaps I’d have had children.
Your recent performances in Phyllida Lloyd’s all-female Shakespeares at the Donmar Warehouse must have been particularly inspiring projects to work on.
It was great collaborating with Clean Break and it has been very gratifying to do something we all believe in and are proud that it has such wide reverberations. The message rippled so far and will hopefully inspire young women and men to grab the baton.
Who would be your dream, traditionally male, leading role to play?
I don’t like to curse my future prospects by naming roles.
What has been your proudest moment so far?
Marrying my husband as I never thought I would marry.
Do you have any regrets?
Missing my grandmother’s funeral.
What one book, film and album would you recommend to our readers?
Book: Little Dorrit. Charles Dickens has an extraordinary sense of character. He is a perfect actors’ writer.
Film: Don’t Look Now. It’s a treatise on the psychology of grief. Its structure, the flashbacks and flash forwards remind me of Boa. The play shows us a whole marriage; the audience gets to see 30 years in an hour and a half.
Album: Bob Brozman, Metric Time. He is an ethnomusicologist and has worked with talented musicians from all over the world.
What do you do when you are not performing or rehearsing?
Crossword puzzles with my husband and endless laundry.
Who would you most like to come and see Boa?
Guy’s mother who lives in America and is no longer able to travel.
What do you think you would be doing now if you weren’t an actor?
I’d be a taxi driver or chauffeur as I know good dodges to most locations and you could eavesdrop on the passengers.