Richard the Third. Joe McGrath's work, part one, introduction.

Occasionally you will see someone on stage give an interesting performance. But in all honesty in three or four weeks of rehearsal, nothing of much depth is ever developed and put forth. It just can't and doesn't happen in that time frame no matter what anyone says or thinks. Those that laud every performance are deluding themselves and doing a disservice at the same time to the actors and the art. Oh, there is also the chance that they simply do not understand or believe that anything greater and deeper can transpire on the stage. And then of course they just want to be nicey-nice too. But the fact remains, acting, good acting is really difficult and it doesn't happen as often as most people think or claim - especially in our conditions of rehearsal around here. That said, I want to tell you about Joe McGrath and his performance as Richard the Third. Because that mind you, was great acting, the old fashioned way, the way I miss and long for in the theatre. Now there may be some who were lucky enough to see Joe's performance and who will not hold his work in the same esteem that I am about to, but if so, they are taking way too much for granted. But two things before I go on. I had a "front row" seat to Joe's work on this role as a fellow actor in the production. Also, I am on record in this very blog of insisting that Joe (at that time) needed rest and needed to find a way to shed the barnacles that had settled over his creativity. In Richard the Third, Joe found a measure of inspiration and determination which carried him through, especially in the last week of performances. If you saw Junius Brutus Booth play the part (lets just leave aside the British folk for a few minutes) you know, or you can imagine, how he grew into the role over time. The same is true for Joe. From opening night to closing night came a wealth of work, ever growing more and more fascinating. A living performance indeed. As I write, I am assuming that I need not tell anyone how difficult this role is. I mean this is a role that is a measuring post for actors. And most of us never have and never will play it. A hundred years ago the best role for actors was considered Othello, but modern actors usually consider Hamlet and Lear (if you live long enough) as the best and most challenging nowadays. And Richard the Third is right there behind them in difficulty and scope. So when you hear and see an actor creating this particular role with the kind of all out confidence and zest that Joe displayed, it is a rare treat. Just to handle the language itself with the kind of clarity and vigor and speed that Joe did is a feat. And in some places recitation is actually mistaken for acting. But since here we like and know that actual human experience is what makes acting - sensation, feeling, thought, intentions, awareness, speech, all happening in the moment - we know that the difficulty multiplies several times more from just the words themselves to the full experience behind and with those words. And it is the details of that work that I will begin to cover in the next post - which I will label part two.