The actor chatted to Love London Love Culture’s Emma Clarendon about his latest role in Homos, Or Everyone in America playing at the Finborough Theatre from the 7th August.
Hi Harry thank you so much for talking to me. Could you explain a bit more about what Homos, Or Everyone in America is about? ‘Homos, Or Everyone in America’ is an honest, frank and unflinching play following the relationship between two men in New York between 2006 and 2011. It tells their story in a non linear way – we jump around the whole five year period – which creates a more unusual and surprising journey than you’d get with a traditional narrative. It was written by an American writer called Jordan Seavey and was partly inspired by his life and the lives of people close to him. As a result it’s a very raw and real piece of writing which has tremendous depth.
How does your character fit in with the story? My character is ‘The Writer’, a native New Yorker who embarks on a relationship with ‘The Academic’. He’s a sensitive, intelligent and open man with a great capacity for passion; one half of the couple we follow as the story jumps back and forth through this tumultuous and extraordinary period in their lives.
What were your first impressions of the play? I was really moved by it. It’s a beautiful piece of writing; familiar and unfamiliar in so many ways. It’s a story that manages to be, at once, deeply personal as well as tackling universal issues of love, self acceptance and choice. I just felt very drawn both to the play as a whole and to my character in particular. He’s a character I felt I understood from the first time I read the script and I couldn’t wait to get stuck in.
How would you describe the play for those thinking about coming along to see it? The longer we’ve been working on the play, the more remarkable I’ve found in it. It’s a very special piece of writing: genuinely funny, moving, daring and frank. Jordan has a real ability to really root his work in a specific place and time and create small moments of connection and electricity against a backdrop of massive political debate. It’s a play that tackles some titanic issues, but does so with a real lightness of touch.
What are you most looking forward to about the production? There are always things that you find when you put a play in front of an audience; moments that pop out which you’re not expecting. I’m looking forward to discovering what those are. It’s a play that will, hopefully, resonate very deeply with people. We have a very talented group of people onstage and off who’ve come together to try and make this the very best production it can possibly be. I’m really excited to be a part of it.
What do you think audiences can take away from Homos, Or Everyone in America? It’s hard for me to pin down exactly what will resonate with every audience member, there is such richness in the play that I really believe there’s something there for anyone who sees it. We’re staging the production in the round, with audience on all sides. The Finborough is already a very intimate space and we hope we can really draw the audience into this world and this story.
By Emma Clarendon
Homos, Or Everyone in America will play at the Finborough Theatre from the 7th August until the 1st September. For more information visit: https://www.finboroughtheatre.co.uk/productions/2018/homos.php