Jared Harris / ‘I’m pacing as I’m waiting in the wings’

 

• Jared Harris as Max, with co-stars Nicolas Tennant and David Angland (above) and waiting backstage

  
  

  
  

  ‘I’m pacing as I’m waiting in the wings’

  Jared Harris, The Homecoming, Young Vic

  
  

• Above left: personal items, including Harris’ wedding ring, are bagged up backstage. Above right: on the stairs behind the stage. Below: Harris in the corridor that leads to his entrance

The preparation process starts with me walking to the theatre. It’s a 20-minute walk, which I really like. It’s a discipline of concentration. Then everyone gathers on the benches outside and gossips. Then there’s the warm-up. A fight call. An intimacy call. Then we just hang around on the sofas on set. It’s a very fun and silly atmosphere. Finally, we start getting into costume. If the room at the end of the corridor is free, I go in there and start warming up my voice. Then I’m just pacing. You’ve still got nerves. They never really go. Even on a matinee, when you’re thinking, “Who the fuck goes to a matinee? I can’t believe I’ve got to do this twice today!” But the second you go on stage, it’s bam: “Can we get them?”

In the early days, I had a lot of anxiety about losing my place. Going blank. But eventually you realise you know the story well enough to keep things going. We all forget at some point. You can see saucers popping up in another actor’s eyes. Oh shit, they’ve forgotten!

Sometimes I’m pacing as I’m waiting in the wings. Or goofing about. Looking at the monitor. Trying to get a feel for the energy of the house. At this point, you know the play so well, you can mess yourself up by thinking about it too much. So I try not to think. The first line. Once you’ve got that in your head – that’s the train leaving the station and that’s it.

THE GUARDIAN