In our profile series Tell Us In Ten, we ask cast members and creatives of top London shows to tell us all about themselves in just 10 questions. From how they got their start in the industry to their favourite shows, we want to know everything.
This week we caught up with Michael Lumsden, currently starring in The Forsyte Saga – parts 1 and 2 of the play run at Park Theatre until 7 December.
1. My route into theatre was…
I spent far more time in theatres than lecture halls while studying French and German at Cambridge. I then did a postgraduate acting course at Webber Douglas.
2. My West End idol is…
I’m old enough to have seen Ian McKellen and Judi Dench in Macbeth at the Donmar Warehouse in 1976! Still waiting for something to beat it. Andrew Richardson was wonderful in Guys & Dolls then again as Astrov in Uncle Vanya, without me realising I was watching the same actor.
3. My colleagues would describe me as…
Supportive and easy-going. But with a tendency to forget the punchlines to his own stories!
4. My favourite show is…
Guys & Dolls at the Bridge Theatre. I also absolutely loved Uncle Vanya at the Orange Tree earlier this year.
Guys & Dolls at the Bridge Theatre. Photo by Manuel Harlan.
5. The career moment I’m most proud of is…
Juggling a full life in theatre and TV alongside a radio life in The Archers for the past 27 years.
6. The hardest part about my job is…
Currently remembering which of the 6 characters I’m playing is on next!
7. If I wasn’t an actor, I would be…
I come from a family of teachers and originally thought that was the direction I’d go in but I might just have been distracted…
8. Something people don’t know about me is…
I spent a year in the early 90s doing live horse racing commentaries in French. It’s a long story.
9. The best piece of advice I’ve ever been given is…
Never read the reviews till the show’s over. Good advice – only wish I was better at taking it!
10. The one thing I wish I could tell my younger self is…
Don’t let the setbacks set you back.
John Galsworthy’s classic story The Forsyte Saga is newly dramatised for the stage in two parts. The Forsyte Saga Part 1: Irene and The Forsyte Saga Part 2: Fleur play across alternate nights and run consecutively on matinee days. Book your tickets via Official London Theatre!