★★★  Inter Act  ★★★ with Giles Taylor

Emma:

Would you say that text and characterization are possible to separate? Do you prefer to read a rôle first and foremost - is it helpful or not if you are aware of existing interpretations?

Giles:

I think text and characterization should be as integrated as possible, however characterization can exist without any text at all, of course. My great belief is that characterization should be inspired by the text and the clues within it.

I always assess a rôle by reading it first. I hold great store by good writing. A job is far less attractive when the writing is poor.

I would always rather not see previous interpretations of a part I am about to play. If you study other actors play a part, you run the risk of emulating them, and then you lose ownership of the part for yourself.

Emma:

Are you very structured in timetable when writing?

Giles:

Having only written one book, I may not be the best person to answer this question. I was pretty disciplined, but I had to be in the mood! I became quite obsessive about it at times, which was highly productive, but often to the detriment of other aspects of my life. I had planned to work loads on my new book - about Shakespeare technique - during lockdown, but online teaching and a general lack of focus during the pandemic has meant I haven't done a thing!

Emma:

How do you approach a rôle?

Giles:

As implied above, I mine the texts for clues to the character: their motivations, needs and wants. Starting with the irrefutable facts is always a good framework on which to build the character. Examining what other characters say about you, and you about them, helps to clarify relationships within a piece. I find it very hard to learn a rôle before rehearsals. I much prefer to build it ‘on the hoof’, building a physicality alongside learning the character. Listening is key too: how does your character listen?

Emma:

Did your mother's work experiences influence your acting choices at all?

Giles:

Only in as far as I witnessed a lot of her preparation and work, particularly at the National Theatre, so I learned to appreciate classical work. I used to test her on her lines a lot, and was often able to sit in on rehearsals, watching top-drawer actors plying their craft. It wouldn't be allowed now. Then it was a case of eyes and ears open, mouth closed. I drank it in like a sponge! She never did Shakespeare though, and I have done loads. And my TV and film career is minimal, whereas hers was pretty impressive.

Emma:

I am sad that Latin and Greek have declined in being offered in schools. Do you feel that there is a benefit for students in knowing at least little of the dramatic and historical legacy of the ancient world?

Giles:

I don't think it's necessary, but it has always been in the back of my mind when tackling classical work, and - indeed - teaching it. A sense of the Western theatre tradition in which we work is reassuring and inspiring, I think.

Emma:

Have you a favourite rôle from the vast amount of work you have done?

Giles:

My favourite rôle was Charles Condomine in Noel Coward's ‘Blithe Spirit’ at Nottingham Playhouse. It's a huge part, requiring enormous mental and physical energy, and I completely loved it. I was blessed with a wonderful cast too, so it was a real pleasure. My favourite job was James Graham's ‘This House’ at the National Theatre and in the West End. To do such a brilliantly constructed, witty and moving new play, and be part of such a brilliant production (directed by Jeremy Herrin, with whom I've worked again since on the RSC's ‘Wolf Hall’ and ‘Bring Up The Bodies’, which also went to Broadway) was utterly thrilling.

Emma:

Do you do anything in particular to care for and maintain your vocal agility and health? (not just when work involves singing)

Giles:

I'm very bad when I'm not working, but when I am performing I start a gentle warm-up regime a few hours before performance; just humming gently and warming my range. Then before a performance, always on stage, I will engage my breath and diction muscles. This is particularly crucial on tour, when you are playing a different acoustic space every week. You have to work out what resonances to bring to bear in each space, as well as volume and diction requirement for each theatre. They can differ wildly, which can be quite throwing.

Emma:

What do you do to unwind?

Giles:

I drink wine and watch telly!

Emma:

Do you have a preference from say film, stage, TV work?

Giles:

Theatre all the way! Partly because that makes up 95% of my career, so it's what I know, but it's also what I was brought up in. I don't enjoy filming. I hate doing scenes out of order; I hate not being in control of the my final product (i.e. I don't get to choose which take is used, or when the camera is on me). I find it stressful and rather boring!

Emma:

Do you find it easy to memorize lines?

Giles:

I used to, but I now get really quite nervous about retaining lines. I've been involved in some quite long runs, and maintaining concentration can become really difficult. I've had a couple of ugly 'dries' in my time, and they are very frightening. I don't find learning lines difficult, but rogue words escape me occasionally. It happens to most actors, but that doesn't make it any easier!

Emma:

What were the biggest changes to your activities last year?

Giles:

A complete loss of any chance of working in the theatre. My last acting job (a couple of days filming for a movie in Glasgow Cathedral) was in January 2020, and I haven't appeared on stage since Autumn 2019. Fortunately, my Shakespeare teaching and directing at drama schools has been able to go online, and has thereby kept me pretty busy. Although directing Zoom is not ideal, but needs must when the devil drives!

Emma:

What is the most unusual thing to happen during a run? - and is there anything else you would like to add?

Giles:

There are too many bizarre occurrences to mention (an actor developing narcolepsy during a run, an actor suddenly having a cascading nosebleed on stage which required hospitalisation, singing ‘There's Nothing Like A Dame’ to Hilary Mantel on stage at the Aldwych Theatre on the evening of her Damehood...I could go on).

One thing I would like to add is the great joy of the off-stage staff in a theatre. The relationships you form with Stage Management, Wardrobe and Make-Up during a run is paramount and wonderful. And working with the other creatives: choreographers, fight directors, assistant directors, designers of all sorts have been some the highlights of my career.

I'd like to express my grateful thanks to Giles, for his generous and joyous answers - I am so pleased that he was able to make time in his busy schedule for this interview.

Here is a brief list of Giles' credits:

RSC: Wolf Hall, Bring Up The Bodies (also West End & Broadway), Twelfth Night, Christmas Carol, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Merchant of Venice, Talk of the City.

THEATRE includes: Witness For The Prosecution (West End), Shakespeare In Love, King Charles III (National Tours), This House (NT/West End/Chichester), After The Dance (NT), The Way of the World, The Music Man (Chichester), Travesties, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Wizard of Oz (Birmingham Rep), Wonderland, Blithe Spirit (Nottingham), Waste (Almeida), The Secret Garden (Leeds Playhouse), Othello, Relative Values (Salisbury), Macbeth, Twelfth Night, Cymbeline, Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Pirates of Penzance, HMS Pinafore, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Lady Be Good (Regent’s Park).

FILM & TELEVISION: The Princess Switch: Switched Again, Orlando, Tome & Viv, Victoria, The Musketeers, Mr Selfridge, Foyle’s War, Stuart: A Life Backwards, Friends and Crocodiles, Sentenced, Karaoke, Wycliffe, Is That All There Is?, Scarlet and Black.

Giles is also a Verse and Rhetoric Consultant, and has worked most recently on the RSC’s Dido, Queen of Carthage.
His book – ‘Dramatic Adventures in Rhetoric’ – co-authored with Philip Wilson, is published by Oberon Books.

The book is available from Bloomsbury Publishing:

Bloomsbury web site

and also from Amazon and other suppliers.

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5th. February, 2021