Actor Mark Lockyer and director Fiona Laird talk upcoming one-man ‘Hamlet’: “What holds your audience is not your acting, it’s the narrative”

Following the success of his previous solo play, portraying his own personal struggles with mental health, Lockyer reunites with his former wife through this new artistic bond – which promises audiences to experience Shakespeare in a way they never have before. Guillermo Nazara chats with both performer and creative, to learn more about the development of this piece and how it came to be.

A one-person version of one of the greatest works of all time, with a lead character you share a strong personal connection with. How does it feel to be taking this big artistic gamble to the stage?

ML: I don’t feel of it as a gamble, because I don’t think I have anything to lose. From a personal point of view, the themes in this play regarding madness, isolation, and grief, which apply to my own journey (particularly mental health), it just feels right to bring all my experience both as an actor and as a human being.

Back when I was 24, I remember having this conversation with Erik Porter at the National Theatre. He asked me: “What kind of Macbeth would you be now and what kind of Macbeth would you be at age 55?”. I really never understood what he was saying up until recently: when you’re playing bigger parts, you need to bring something into them. All those experiences I’ve had both on and offstage feel like a synchronicity – I can put them altogether as a mature performer, along with my classical training.

When we were doing the fundraiser, National Theatre’s Artistic Director Rufus Norris, who was commented: “what’s great about this project is to see Mark at the height of his powers”. That was so touching, because it wasn’t that many years ago that the chances of me returning to acting, after chronic mental health and addiction, were not great. These last years have served me to change my life and see things in a different manner. What’s fantastic is that I couldn’t think of doing anything better than this. And I fail, I fail. I’ve tried, so what? Absolutely no one can deny me the right to this.

How did the idea for the show come about?

FL: I’ve always wanted to direct Hamlet – and I felt that I had missed out on that opportunity the first time I wanted to do it due to Mark’s illness. A few years ago, I saw Mark doing this two-hander play. Then, COVID happened and Mark’s co-lead fell sick. They thought they had to cancel, but Mark refused and offered to play her part too. When I saw him playing both characters, the idea of a one-man Hamlet instantly popped into my mind. We did a first trial of the material at home, recording the whole 4-hour piece – which proved that he could do it. Then, I cut it down in a half and presented the idea to Rufus. From there, we started developing it at the National, but it took around a year to get something we could present – and downsize it to 90 minutes.

How do you achieve that?

FL: I think Shakespeare revisited this play more than any other – probably, because he was obsessed with it. Unlike his other tragedies, Hamlet is the only Shakesperean hero who’s completely innocent – the others bring it on themselves some way or another. But that meant he wanted to rework it a lot. But that means that publishers feature every version of it in today’s copies. If you read it now, you realize how repetitive it is. I’m sure that, if Shakespeare saw it, he would cutting scenes that cover the same ground. So the first task was to delete everything that didn’t move the story forward. That cut the piece down to two hours, but it took a full year to leave it in 90 minutes. Mark’s experience on one-man shows was very helpful.

ML: It’s been very important to focus on who’s talking to who, and just the absolute narrative of the story. Shakespeare does that a lot – he has great plots, but it gets verbose. What holds your audience is not your acting, it’s the narrative. The acting is just the cherry on the cake. What we’ve ended up with is a fantastic thriller.

How do you secure the same level of character development if you cut the introspective parts of the play?

FL: We’ve kept all the famous monologues. We have the same agent, and she must have seen the show a hundred times. Every time she comes to a read-trough, she would tell us she still can’t work out what we’ve cut. All the characters and plot turns are preserved.

ML: The best way to describe it is storytelling. We followed this idea: would a 16-year-old who’s never been to the theatre before understand what’s going on? This play lends itself to a single-person act, because of its theme of solitude. It’s not my place to say, this is what a viewer will feel, but I know it’s certainly compelling to play. I know audiences will get a lot from it in a different way than if it was a full cast. It’s not that one is better than the other – it’s just another take.

Do you use this one-man approach as a tool to depict how Hamlet plummets into insanity?

FL: It does, in a very incidental way.

ML: All you have to do is give audiences an idea of something, and they will take it. They will even love you for it, because you’re allowing them to do the work. We haven’t thought much of what we’re trying to say, we’re just trying to tell the story.

As someone who’s suffered from mental health issues, does your personal experience translate to the character? How do you find Shakespeare’s depiction of this subject?

ML: That’s a good question. I’ve been psychotic, and there are consequences to that. In my case, there were numerous: homelessness, hospitalization, addiction, etc. It’s not just what happened to me, it’s what I’ve seen: the people, the systems…

I feel like a Shakesperean character in some way. I think I’ve always been lucky, because I’ve had a life and people that cared for me. I lost it all, but I met people who never had anything. At least, I got a reason to turn my life around again when I was ready. It’s very difficult to pinpoint what I bring to the character, but all these experience that have humbled me are there.

I remember asking a psychiatrist about the meaning of madness. His response was the there are two kinds: the Shakesperean and the modern-day one – the latter is lack of communication. Hamlet is a character that is lied to and cannot even communicate with himself. When I was ill, I never lost my intelligence – I could see what was going on, but I was incapable of making a decision or being responsible. You are in a prison in your head – all the time, aware of it.

My background feels like a touch on Shakespeare’s material. I can understand Hamlet’s feelings of suicide, because I tried to take my life 4 times. It’s an illusion, because you believe you’ll be in peace. But it’s actually irrational, because being dead won’t give you that relief. Shakespeare actually explores that so well, and pictures exactly how it is to be ill. It’s not mad, but ill – you’re so overloaded with so many things that you end up paralyzed.

The intelligence of the character is also very compelling. That’s all in Shakespeare’s craft – the words, the feelings… It’s so infinite in faculty, form, and feeling.

How do you translate that as a director?

FL: I feel like part of a director’s job is to be clear about what they want an audience to feel – the actors doesn’t. I feel very clear about what the story and the journey are. There are different types of madness in this play. But the interest part is that people who suffer from psychosis believe that what they’re seeing is real. Shakespeare depicts that very well, so we didn’t need to discuss the illness per se when preparing this new version. Mark plays every character very truthfully – the text carries you and so does Mark. He’s also able to do it very instinctively and with no self-regard.

What are the plans for this show after its upcoming London run?

FL: We’ve gone for a different model of funding. We haven’t applied to the Arts Council, since public funding for the arts is a disaster in this country. We’ve got some private investment, but not with the prospects of a return. That’s allowed us to bring it to other spaces – especially, those left behind. A few years ago, Mark was not even able to say a line let alone, do a one-man Shakespeare show. But look at him now! That means that there is hope for everyone. And so, we want to take the show to those places to inspire the same feeling: mental health units, prisons, schools, etc. We want to show people the beauty of Shakespeare and the wonders of their own imagination. There will be a couple of big theatres, but also community centres in areas where people don’t even have a theatre. We’re trying to do something different. We’re hoping to also take the show abroad, maybe – but we will always keep this approach.

Does this production intend to fight the social stigma of mental health?

ML: This show came up during COVID – a period of isolation and solitude that everyone can relate to. Does the show challenge it? It might for some people. There’s a feeling of hope in Shakespeare’s words too. I don’t think there’s been a conscious decision about it, but more of a synchronicity of factors. I think what’s important to ask here is how many times people have been wowed by a production of a Shakespeare play recently. To exercise the craft of my technique and experience of what I’m best at is the strength of this production. I know how to drive this car.

If you had to give me one single reason to come see this show, which one would it be?

FL: I’d say people must come see this version because they’ve never seen this patine of Hamlet before, and they will never, ever do it again. Acting like this is an absolutely unique experience. It’s an extraordinary example of the power of a performer to encapsulate a whole world, and the quality of Mark’s acting is truly off the charts.

ML: I rarely go to the theatre, because I can’t stand mediocrity. Most of the things I’ve seen in the last 5 to 10 years have been that. Out of the blue, I see something that is fantastic. If you come on a good night (and I hope each one of them will be), I think you’ll feel as what you saw was really worth seeing.

The Play’s The Thing: A One Person Hamlet will play at London’s Wilton’s Music Hall from 1 to 12 April. Tickets are available on the following link.

By Guillermo Nazara