Jon Tarcy sang his heart out as Rolf Gruber in The Sound of Music Live in 2015. Now, his first season with the Royal Shakespeare Company is leaving audience’s hearts in their mouths.
THERE’S a moment in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Antony and Cleopatra when Claygate actor Jon Tarcy changes the atmosphere with a gesture.
Using just a look, an unspoken order given by his character Octavius Caesar leads to violence met by a stunned reaction from the auditorium – so effective that at one performance his victim’s mother, who was in the audience, cried out in shock.
But usually, said Jon: “There’s silence afterwards.” And he can feel the audience’s hatred towards Octavius. Jon said that gesture changed a lot in rehearsal, initially Octavius was involved in the slaughter before the action was pared down. Perhaps Cassius really underestimated Octavius with the insult of the “peevish schoolboy.”
“It was something that we talked about a lot in the rehearsal room. Octavius does not really like to get his hands very dirty,” said Jon. “For a 12-year-old boy to be killed so ruthlessly, it’s really shocking. It’s quite unexpected.”
Oh Rome – what have you let yourself in for?
It’s stagecraft like this which Jon Tarcy revels in. Just two years out of drama school the Claygate actor is relishing his first season with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). It takes him from Julius Caesar to the lyrical language of the passionate tragedy Antony and Cleopatra to Shakespeare’s rarely performed blood fest Titus Andronicus. The gory tale of revenge sees the slaughter of 14, with amputations, rape and cannibalism thrown into the mix.
David Troughton – farmer Tony Archer in Radio 4’s The Archers – takes the title role. It’s not unusual for productions to be halted so fainting theatre-goers can leave the auditorium.
Denne historien er fra November 2017-utgaven av Surrey Life.
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Denne historien er fra November 2017-utgaven av Surrey Life.
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The House That Rocks
Transforming an impressive, seven-bedroom Victorian property in Dorking wasn’t without its challenges, but the result is a stunning family home that has had the interiors world raving
REMEDY FOR SUCCESS
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Love Celia
Actress Celia Imrie has travelled the world for work and leisure but wherever she goes there is a part of her which is forever Surrey
EXHIBITION OF THE MONTH
Art & Action: Making Change in Victorian Britain at Watts Gallery – Artists’ Village in Compton focuses on the Victorian roots of art activism
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THE OPEN ROAD
Chris Pickering rounds up some of the best drives in Surrey
TOWN AND COUNTRY: Oxted & Limpsfield
With the North Downs looming nearby and glorious countryside surrounding it, Oxted is a town with real “escape from London” appeal and character, while nearby Limpsfield has a superb village vibe with its own community-run pub
Artist to the stars
Known as ‘The Face of Modern British Impressionism’, Mickleham-based Sherree Valentine Daines is celebrating four decades at the forefront of her field
A RIGHT ROYAL WELCOME
The Signet Collection’s inaugural hotel project is a reimagining of a former royal guest house, situated directly opposite Hampton Court Palace
TOWN AND COUNTRY: Godalming & Hascombe
On the banks of the River Wey, Godalming is a watercolour pretty town surrounded by pristine countryside and in-demand rural villages, such as Hascombe