JADAR

Ahead of the UK premiere of Something Rotten!, we attended a launch event and rehearsal, where we interviewed leading lady Marisha Wallace, who plays Bea Bottom, and supporting cast member Gareth Davies, who plays “nice Jewish man” Shylock.

Could you tell me a little bit about your character?

“I play Shylock, who is a Jewish money lender who Nick Bottom, as many other writers, Shakespeare included, has borrowed money from. But Shylock does not want to be a money lender. He’s only a money lender because that’s the only thing he’s allowed to do because he’s Jewish. What he loves, as he says many times, is the theatre. That’s his passion. So, he manages to convince Nick to break the law and bring him on as a money man when Nick loses his patron, and he funds Nick’s musical theatre invention.”

And it’s not your first time playing Shylock?

“It is not my first time! I have played the actual Shylock about 10 or 11 years ago.”

That’s a bit of a funny juxtaposition!

“The character is a little different, yes. It’s a little bit different, but it is one of the things that I love about this show. I first came across the show when it was on in Broadway. I didn’t see it but I listened to the album on repeat. And what’s great is my nieces now listen to the album on repeat 10 years later. They’ve caught onto it!

“They’ve worked Shakespeare references in quite subtly. I mean, Shylock, the Jewish money lender, is a fairly obvious one. But nevertheless, the non-blatant way they’ve weaved it in… the fact that they’re the Bottom brothers. There are lines and references in there that are not explicitly about the character of Bottom, but if you happen to know anything about A Midsummer Night’s Dream, you probably will go: ‘Oh, yeah, that’s good’.

“So, playing Shylock in this show, who is the inspiration for the Shylock in the Shakespeare play, is quite a lot of fun after having played Shylock, the actual Shakespeare character.”

Do you ever feel like that Shylock is coming through into your performance?

“Honestly, a little bit physically. I found myself standing in a way with my hands on my sides, and I’m like, ‘This is… odd. Why am I doing this?’
I’m like, oh, wait. Ten years ago, this is kind of how you stood as Shylock then’. I feel like that will probably change once I get the full costume. But at the moment, vocally, nothing alike. Character-wise, nothing alike. Just somehow, physically, the way my arms are at my side.”

It’s very difficult to train Shakespeare out of yourself as well.

“That is also true. And in the show, I have fun with him, because he actually speaks a like a Shakespearean actor. He gets into that theatre mode and it’s quite fun.”

And the show’s got some great comedy writers and comedians at the helm. Is it fun working with them? Does it feel very different to some of your other roles?

“Hedging my bet slightly because I feel like saying yes and no!

“There is an extent to which rehearsing a show, whatever the nature and scale of the show, is always sort of the same, because you’re just kind of playing around. And this is a stupid job. I love it, it’s wonderful. It’s important. It’s glorious. I’m very lucky. But it is a very silly job! So that aspect of it is always there when you’re rehearsing, even if it’s Shakespeare or Something Rotten.

“Working with a script as good as this… I don’t know if I’ve said to the guys, as clearly as I could be… how well written this show is. The music, I mean there’s a reason I listened to it on repeat. Every number is fantastic or is an absolute banger. The lyrics are genius.”

Oh, they’re so witty. The references to musical theatre and Shakespeare are so clever.

“And there’s ones that are blatant but there’s ones that are subtle, even in the rhyme scheme. Obviously, you’ve got the absolutely phenomenal rhyme of ‘don’t be a penis, the man is a genius’… It’s genius! That bit of rhyming is phenomenal. There was another one that struck me the other day. I’ve heard it so many times, and we were watching around the other day, and I went, ‘That is so clever.’”

You get something new from it each time I imagine!

“One of the other joys of this part for me is that he’s not a particularly big part. He’s quite a nice cameo track so I’m in and out of the show. So, when we do a run, I kind of get to sit and watch the show. And occasionally, I have to go up and do some work but then I get to sit down and watch the show and listen to the music.

“And it is so well-written, the music, the lyrics, but also the scenes, which I hadn’t known before starting the show. There’s not a wasted moment in the dialogue. There’s not a wasted line, not a wasted word. The rate of laughter, whether it’s at full laughter, or just a little smirk, is so well written. And then they can drop into a moment of pathos and actually make you go, ‘This is so moving’, and then you’re laughing again! It’s incredibly well written.

“So, the joy of getting to work with material of this calibre. That is special. And then, working with this cast. It’s an incredibly talented bunch of people. We’ve got four off-stage swings who, a couple of times, have had to jump on and do things for the run, and you’re like: ‘You look like you’ve been there the whole time!’. I mean, I cannot give enough respect to swings in general, but off-stage swings; these guys are learning so many different tracks and they’re nailing every single one of them. Everyone is just brilliant so working with them is quite a treat.

“Most of my stuff is with Jason, who I hadn’t met before. I’m very pleased to say he’s a lovely man. Which is, obviously, a relief. But he’s also so funny. And funny in a different way. I’ve worked with a lot of actors who are funny, who do a lot of comedies and things, but he’s obviously come from a different comedy route. And I’ve been fortunate enough to work with other people who come from that kind of musical background things, like Roy Hudd. But his comedy eye is very, very useful for a show like this. Because there are moments that I think a comic actor might not have picked up on in the way that he has. He’s been able to go, ‘Oh, can we change that line or can we do this timing?’. Just fine little details but it all just lifts what is already an incredibly well-crafted show even higher. It’s a joy.”

And what would you say makes this show unique?

“It’s, as Jason was sort of inferred earlier, it’s a difficult thing to try and explain and sell in a one sentence pitch.”

Well, it’s not a normal musical!

“It’s not a normal. You want to say, if you know anything about musicals or if you know anything about Shakespeare, it’s worth seeing. But quite frankly, if you don’t know anything about musicals, and you don’t know anything about Shakespeare, it’s still very funny! The story it tells is still very clear and very good. You don’t need to know the references for it to be entertaining. And for it to hit you – which, again, is one of the ways this show is so well crafted. If you know anything about them, you’ll get more out of it, but you don’t need to. So it is, it’s difficult to sort of encapsulate what that is.

“But I do think, to repeat what Jason was saying, the originality of it. It is completely original. You won’t have seen this story before. It’s not a stage version of a book or anything else. You won’t have seen this Shakespearean musical. There is nothing like this.”

You can catch Gareth Davies in Something Rotten! at Opera House Manchester until July 19. Check out our review.

Photo: Pamela Raith Photography