Interview: Jamie Ballard in MACBETH at The Curtain in Jersey City

The Curtain, Jersey City’s premier classical theatre, is now presenting an all-new production of William Shakespeare’s classic Macbeth set in a haunting, candlelight environment this Halloween season.  It will be performed at the  Nimbus Arts Center  located at 329 Warren Street, Jersey City, just steps from the PATH train. 

Broadwayworld had the pleasure of interviewing Jamie Ballard who plays the role of Macbeth in the production.

Ballard  is a renowned and award-winning actor of the English Stage and screen. His breakout performance was as the title role in famed director Jonathan Miller’s Hamlet in 2008, receiving rave reviews and where he was voted one of the top ten Hamlets of all time by The Guardian. Credits include: Romeo & Juliet (The Almeida); The Tempest; Henry VI Part 1; The Merchant of Venice; Measure For Measure; Written On The Heart; Much Ado About Nothing; Romeo and Juliet; King John; As You Like It; A Midsummer Night's Dream (Royal Shakespeare Company); The Duchess Of Malfi, Henry VIII; The White Devil; Troilus and Cressida (Shakespeare's Globe); Harry Potter in Harry Potter and The Cursed Child (London’s West End); Mother Christmas; In The Vale Of Health (Hampstead Theatre); Uncle Vanya (Theatr Clwyd/ Sheffield Theatres); King John in King John (Rose Theatre, Kingston) directed by Trevor Nunn; Macduff in Macbeth (Trafalgar Studios) directed by Jamie Lloyd; Scenes From An Execution; Antigone; Emperor and Galilean; Some Trace of Her; War Horse; Saint Joan (National Theatre of England).

When did you first become interested in classic theatre?

So, I was introduced to Shakespeare when I was about 11 years old. The first two plays I read were Romeo & Juliet and Macbeth. I was flummoxed. I didn't understand it. Then I was told not to panic and just take one word at a time. I became hooked. I remember my first term at drama school, doing Shakespeare projects with tutors, John Hartoch & Andrew Normington , playing Clarence from Richard II and working on Twelfth Night, and we would spend hours in a studio working on them of an evening, and I it was just so exciting. I'd discovered what I loved to do. After graduating, I was fortunate enough to be picked up by a Shakespeare company in Bristol, which then led to my going to The Royal Shakespeare Company, and I've been learning ever since.

Can you tell us a little about your training as an actor?

Sean and I trained together at The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. It's the only drama school I wanted to go to. My idols trained there. I remember watching Daniel Day-Lewis in My Left Foot and being gobsmacked. And EVERY day, I'd walk into the school and see the photos of previous students, and have to pinch myself.

It was hard work. I've never been so fit in my life. I loved every second of it and have made lifelong friends. Since leaving, I've been learning every day, though. I watch other actors and try to absorb every little nugget of expertise that I witness.

Has there been a particular stand-out moment in your career?

Hamlet. Teiresias in Antigone at The National Theatre. War Horse at The National Theatre. Wolsey in Henry VIII at Shakespeare's Globe. Ulysses in Troilus & Cressida at Shakespeare's Globe. Macduff eleven years ago. Penny Dreadful. Ripper Street. And now playing Macbeth with my dearest friend, an incredible company and another of my dearest friends from London, Nathalie, playing Lady Macduff, in New York, !!!!!!! It doesn't get any better. I've been unbelievably lucky.

I've been very fortunate in my career. I've played some of my dream roles. 
 

We are so impressed by your credits.  What are some of the challenges of playing the demanding lead roles you have accomplished?

I was lucky enough to play Hamlet at Shakespeare At The Tobacco Factory in Bristol, directed by the legend, Jonathan Miller, in 2008. I had recently lost my mother, and that was an incredibly difficult journey to go on. However, it was probably the best time for me to do it. To embark on, probably, the most extraordinary examination of grief ever written, whilst also being surrounded by my dearest friends. The actor playing Horatio was one of my closest friends from drama school. It was cathartic and therapeutic and the words that Hamlet says made total sense to me, how grief impacts on you and your relationships with those you love.

Working on Harry Potter, witnessing my parents deaths four times a week, was also very hard. I've lost my mother and step-father, but thankfully my father and step-mother are alive and kicking, and my dad is coming out to see Macbeth at the end of the month. He hasn't missed one production that I've done.

Macbeth at Nimbus Art Center is considered an "all new" production.  What are some of the aspects that make the show different from other productions?

From the second Sean pitched this to me, I was hooked. Candlelit. 
I've done a couple of productions in The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse at Shakespeare's Globe in London, which is also candlelit. It adds another dimension. The shadows, the flickering. There's a life to it. And it marries with the themes and text so perfectly. I now can't imagine it any other way.
 

Can you tell us a little about the cast and creative team that are bringing Macbeth to Nimbus Arts Center?

So, the Artistic Director of The Curtain is Sean Hagerty. We trained together at The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in the UK. Sean then directed at The Neighbourhood Playhouse in New York, before setting up his own theatre company, Shakespeare@. He directed Hamlet before Lockdown hit, then over Lockdown, he directed some free online audio productions, Richard II, Julius Caesar and The Tempest, which I was lucky enough to be involved in. The sound designer on Macbeth, Ellen Fitton, was also involved in those audio productions, as was Aria Shahghasemi, who is playing Macduff, brilliantly.

We hope that young people will become engaged with classic theatre.  What piece of viewing advice do you have people that are having their first opportunity to see a Shakespeare play?

I think my biggest bit of advice for new audience members to Shakespeare is "Don't panic". At the end of the day, it is English. Let it wash over you and enjoy the genius that is Shakespeare. Macbeth is a thriller.
 

Can you share with us any of your future plans?

I did a play called "An Interrogation" last year that is transferring to London in January, so I'm going back to do that. I'm also, currently, in a TV drama on BBC1, called "Showtrial Season 2."

For more information on The Curtain, Jersey City’s premier classical theatre and for tickets to Macbeth, please visit HERE.

Photo Credit: Will O'Hare Photography

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