BWW Interviews: Debut of the Month - THE AUDIENCE's Richard McCabe

Richard McCabe makes his Broadway debut as British Prime Minister Harold Wilson in The Audience. The actor re-joins the show after the London production for which he won the Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actor. Starring Academy Award winner Helen Mirren, Peter Morgan's riveting new play takes theatregoers behind the walls of Buckingham Palace and into the private chambers of Queen Elizabeth II as she meets with each of her Prime Ministers, from when she was a young mother to now as a Great Grandmother.

Today McCabe speaks exclusively with BWW about portraying one of England's most recognizable historic figures and "a man of the people."

Now that you've made the transfer from the West End to Broadway with this production, are you finding that American audiences are reacting differently than British audiences to the play?

Well there are of course a lot of topical British references in the play that go completely over the heads of American audiences here, which I can understand because it's British politics. It's funny, one thing I had to really get used to with the role I play, Prime Minister Wilson, is that in England, Wilson is an instantly recognizable figure to anyone of a particular age and also from popular culture actually. But as soon as I stepped on the stage over here I realized most people didn't have any idea who he was. I could be wearing a dress and they wouldn't know who this guy was! It's really only Churchill, Thatcher and Blair that get any recognition from an American audience.

Yes, I would have to say that is accurate.

And likewise, he's got this famous Yorkshire accent and speaking in RP English is one thing, but I think speaking in regional accents is quite another for Americans, so I determined it would probably be the equivalent of a British person hearing an American speak Halfiax, so I'm trying to adjust it a bit to help with clarity. But I've sort of captured the look, the mannerisms and the essence of Wilson. I've got three suits, which get progressively duller, I've got two wigs, I've got make-up, I've got false teeth, so I'm trying to do the best impression of him that I can, which is absolutely unimportant to Americans! (laughing)

Unfortunately I think that may be! But speaking of portraying an historical figure, did you do research on Wilson in order to prepare for the role?

Oh absolutely. Well I've read every political biography ever written on him, but he was also a fascinating character because he was an intellectual actually, he played down his learning so that he could appear as more of a man of the people. That's another thing about Wilson, he was instantly recognizable in England for his pipe smoking, that was probably the most famous thing about him, that he smoked a pipe. And in the show we have a joke about him asking the Queen, "Do you mind if I smoke a cigar?" and she says, "Oh, where's your famous pipe?" and I say, "Oh, that's only for the campaign trail." And that joke goes down storming in London but not in America!

But he was a fascinating man, he was a progressive liberal, his government was responsible for abolishing the death penalty, the legalization of abortion and homosexuality as well as provisions for disabled people and child poverty. In fact he considered his most lasting achievement to be the introduction of the open university, which still exists today, which is an affordable, egalitarian, adult education course. So he was a popular man of the people, he had this sort of common touch.

The play hints at the idea that Wilson was the Queen's favorite of all the Prime Ministers she met with throughout her life.

Yes, well actually Peter [Morgan] assumed Wilson was her favorite, I think partly because, and this was mentioned in the play, he was the only Prime Minister apart from Churchill, that the Queen had dinner with at Downing Street. And it's very much the key relationship in the play, and it's developed over three scenes. You know most of the Prime Ministers have only one scene, but I have three and it starts with an initial hostility and resistance, then increasing warmth and affection. I remember we spent a lot of time in London working on these scenes with Peter. It's a great luxury to have the writer with you on a new play because you can write and re-write, just trying to get the arc of the story, of their relationship right. The third scene in particular, which introduces Wilson's early onset Alzheimers, went through many versions actually, and Peter was very adaptable and fluid and he was open to new ideas and suggestions, so it was a great process.

You've been touching on this, but were there other, more specific changes made for the benefit of U.S. audiences - I understand the brief scene featuring Tony Blair was added for the New York run.

Yes, well that was actually more to draw the parallels between Iraq and the Suez conflicts in the 50's with Egypt, which again is something that is much more important to us, Americans wouldn't necessarily understand. So by putting Blair in the first act, he has a speech which is then echoed almost word for word by Eden in the second act so that you can draw the parallels between them. So even if you don't understand the details, you can recognize it as being something like the invasion of Iraq.

And there are also things that I've changed, actually Helen suggested one thing which was brilliant. I used to have a line in the Balmoral scene in which I say to the Queen that she is one of us and I say, "In fact I'd even go as far as to say there's a good Labor woman in there," meaning the Labor Party of which Harold Wilson is a Prime Minister. But the line wasn't getting a very good laugh, so we were trying to find an American equivalent. So Helen suggested 'well why don't you say a 'Union' woman' and so I say that now and it actually gets the same sort of laugh that it used to get in London because I think that the parallel is there and Americans can understand what I'm saying when I use the word 'union'.

Well, thank you for your patience with us!

No, no, I find it fascinating because we're actually always trying to adapt and change things because naturally, why would you understand? But actually, I must say in regards to the play, it is ostensibly an examination of the dynamics between the Crown and the Prime Minister, but it's not in any way dry or academic, and a knowledge of British history is not necessary to enjoy it. I'd say the play is really about human frailty, at least as far as the Prime Ministers are concerned. All these people go into the job with the best of intentions, which slowly get whittled away as the realities of state government take over. I'd say actually it's really a play about disillusionment and disappointment and loss, as well as actually being a meditation on the loneliness of the top job, whether it be the Queen or any of the Prime Ministers - (laughing) I'm making it sound really gloomy and it's not at all gloomy! Actually Peter's writing is so consistently funny throughout the play that it's easy to forget the underlying sadness underpinning it all I think.

And of course on top of that, Americans have always been fascinated with anything to do with the British royalty.

Yes of course, of course. Well she's a therapist to all the Prime Ministers as well, she sits there listening to a lot of mad people!

Can you speak a little about working with Helen Mirren?

Well Helen is the first to say she's part of that tribe of actors, she's an actress first and foremost. You don't sort of go, "Oh God that's Helen Mirren', you think of her as an actress that you're working with here. I have to say she is the most generous actor to work with. You can throw absolutely anything at her and she will come straight back at you. You know I listen to the show every single night when I'm not on stage and she's always refining her performance, trying to make each line the best it can be. She's wonderful, I love her.

Have you received any feedback on the show from the Royal Family or from those close to them?

Well we had various members of the Royal household coming to see the show. One night, the Key to the Privy Purse came and afterwards gave us some good information. Up to that point, Helen had been doing a jigsaw puzzle during our scene at Balmoral, and he said, 'Oh no, the Queen doesn't do jigsaws at Balmoral, she plays Patience at Balmoral, she does jigsaws at Sanringham.' So we incorporated that. But apparently yes, a lot of people from the Royal household came and they enjoyed it very much indeed. Whether the Queen herself has seen it or not, I don't know. She didn't come to the theater but then, it would be quite difficult to come to the theater and sit there and watch a play about yourself.

Yes, I would imagine it would be! What has it been like to make your Broadway debut in The Audience?

Well I'm actually struck with the differences between Broadway and the West End. You know as countries we are so similar on fundamentals and yet so different in the details of it. And I think the theater is like a microcosm of that. Over here for instance, you have a 'places call' that alerts actors to the stage about two minutes before curtain up. We don't have any equivalent to that in England. So the first time we were sitting in the dressing room and they started to call 'places, places,' we were scratching our heads thinking, 'well what does that mean?'

And the starting time is different. You know you have a 7 pm and an 8 pm curtain time that vary throughout the working week. Well that contrasts with our more standardized 7:30 pm start all week. And I think it's a very good idea, 7 o'clock midweek, people who are working during the week have an earlier curtain time, and have a later curtain time on weekends, it seems very sensible. And I very much like the system over here of doing a Sunday matinee and then having the evening and the whole of Monday off. Because we operate on a system of performances which is from Monday through Saturday evening with only Sunday off. So in a sense, you get an extra evening off with this system here so I rather like that about performing on Broadway!

So it sounds like it's been a positive experience overall.

Yes, the audiences have been very friendly, very nice, and they've been generous, yes!

About The Audience:

For sixty years, Queen Elizabeth II has met with each of her twelve Prime Ministers in a private weekly meeting. This meeting is known as The Audience. No one knows what they discuss, not even their spouses. Academy Award winner Helen Mirren returns to Broadway, and the throne, in a riveting new play by Peter Morgan, the writer of Oscar-nominated film, The Queen. Directed by two-time Tony Award winner Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot) The Audience takes theatregoers behind the walls of Buckingham Palace and into the private chambers of Queen Elizabeth II as she meets with each of her Prime Ministers, from when she was a young mother to now as a Great Grandmother.

From the old warrior Winston Churchill, to the Iron Lady Margaret Thatcher through the charm offensive of Tony Blair, right up to the current incombant David Cameron, The Queen advices her Prime Ministers on all matters both public and personal. Through these private audiences, we see glimpses of the woman behind the crown and witness the moments that shaped a monarch.

For tickets and more information visit: http://theaudiencebroadway.com/

About RICHARD MCCABE:

Richard McCabe starred as Prime Minister Harold Wilson in the London production for which he won an Olivier award for best supporting actor.

Recent theatre includes Fortunes Fool (Old Vic), A Little Hotel on the Side (Theatre Royal Bath), Yes Prime Minister (Gielgud/Apollo). Theatre for the Royal Shakespeare Company (associate artist) include: A Tender Thing, Twelfth Night, King John, Othello, Timon of Athens, The White Devil, Three Hours After Marriage, Troilus and Cressida, The Taming of the Shrew, The Winters Tale, The School of Night, A Midsummer Nights Dream, Doctor Faustus, Epiceone, Hyde Park, Titus Andronicus, The New Inn, The Churchill Play, Misalliance.

Other theatre includes the Merry Wives of Windsor, The Way of the World, Absolute Hell, Marat/Sade (Royal National Theatre) The Critic, The Real Inspector Hound, Bingo, Scapino (Chichester)Critic/Inspector Hound Bingo, Doctor Faustus (Young Vic) Amadeus (London Sinfonia Orchestra) Hamlet, The Tempest (Birmingham/Elsinore Castle) The Beau (Theatre Royal Haymarket).

Films include: Eye in the Sky, Cinderella, Invisible Woman, Epithet, The Duchess, Nightwatching, The Constant Gardener, Vanity Fair, Tulse Luper Suitcase, Master and Commander, Notting Hill, Persuasion. Television include: Wallander, Lady in Red, Indian Summers, Peaky Blinders, The Great Fire, The Game, Legacy, The Best of Men, The Minor Character Borgia, Einstein and Eddington, A History of the World Backwards, Spooks, Lewis, Jane Eyre, Midsomer Murders, To the Ends of the Earth, Foyles War Waking the Dead, Trial &Retribution

Photo credit: Joan Marcus