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Interviews
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Greg Hicks - Tamburlaine or Roy Keane? Philip Fisher talks to Greg Hicks at the Edinburgh Fringe. Greg Hicks has built a formidable reputation as a classical actor and therefore it is something of a surprise to see him appearing in a one-man show on the Edinburgh Fringe. "I took the advice of Steven Berkoff, whom I know very well. He told me, 'It's always useful to have a one-man show in your back pocket' and then one fell in my lap". Carrying this information around, Hicks had been asked to do a reading of Missing Persons by Colin Teevan and, even though at that time the playwright had a larger cast in mind, the two got talking. "Because of the subject matter and my past relationship with Colin Teevan (they worked together on the RSC Tantalus and RNT The Bacchae) I thought that I'd have a go at doing it as a one-man show". It took a bit of time for Hicks to get comfortable with his new role but "now I've got my eye in like a cricketer and feel as if I'm timing the ball better. I was very nervous to start with, very unsure of myself and the piece". One thing that he is happy about is "I'm glad that I don't have to do it twice a day. It's very emotionally and intellectually demanding and there is a lot of intensity". The play is an updated reworking of five Greek myths in which "Colin has tried to unearth the crisis of the male psyche through myths, sometimes with great adaptation. The most significant message is that, in the twenty-first century, men get pressured into corners which are unnegotiable". The piece that is most uncharacteristic for the actor is the last, a comic drunken diatribe about Irish footballer Roy Keane. "The last piece is the one I've had most trouble with. I've had to go from great intensity to become a man in a woolly hat talking about Roy Keane. I'm learning how to handle it but I won't ever be a stand-up comedian or another Ken Dodd". There was talk of shortening the show by cutting this last part but it was agreed that this would be a big mistake "otherwise, the unrelentingly savage nature of a play including castration and child murder would be too much for a lunchtime audience". Despite its early start time, the show is doing well. "We have good audiences and it is now getting a reputation as a hot show. I'm enjoying the fact that people want to see it. After Edinburgh, Hicks is back to reality in the Young Vic's Promising Young Playwrights Season. He will play the title role in Christopher Marlowe's Tamburlaine the Great at the Barbican and Bristol under the direction of David Farr. In addition, he is in the process of filming "an extraordinary TV film version of The Ten Commandments". He is really excited about his latest part, which he describes as "a great role with the same energy as Coriolanus" a part that he played for the RSC. "Tamburlaine is a man who conquered half the world with no doubts, rather like an alternative version of The Terminator and Genghis Khan. He then falls deeply in love and loses it all". Hicks seems to have had his fill of Shakespeare (and the RSC) for the moment and is very happy to be acting in the rawer Marlowe. He also loves Webster and says that this pair's plays "are more rooted in urban reality than Shakespeare". His last appearance in Webster is certainly bizarre. "I was recently in Miss Marple doing an amdram version of The Duchess of Malfi opposite Harriet Walter". Perhaps not on that occasion but as a general impression, he conveys his love of the playwright vividly: "The poetry is absolutely astounding - like a furious thunderstorm with flashes of lightning". While he is not as hooked on solo performances as Steven Berkoff, Hicks is optimistic that Missing Persons might have a life after Edinburgh. "It would be good to do it for a calmer and less over-excited audience. I like the idea that I could be doing it in Nairobi or Bath and would love to take it to Greece, where I have worked extensively in the past". Producers might well be queuing up although it may not be easy to find a gap in the successful actor's constantly busy schedule.
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