Calum Callaghan is currently in rehearsals for Kathy Burke’s production of Once A Catholic by Mary J. O’Malley which opens at the Tricycle Theatre later this month.
Calum, who stars as Derek in the production, has had an exciting career both on stage and screen. His theatre credits include: Port (National Theatre), Saved (Lyric Hammersmith), Belongings (Hampstead Theatre/Trafalgar Studios), Danny’s Deal (Old Vic New Voices) and Over Gardens Out (Riverside Studios). Calum is well known for playing George Towler in Mr Selfridge. His other television credits include: Silk, Genie in the House, Torchwood, To The Ends of the Earth and Wall of Silence; and for film: Love, Honour and Obey.
Recently I spoke to Calum about working with Kathy Burke, the buzz surrounding the Tricycle Theatre and why, despite enjoying TV work, he always enjoys returning to theatre...
What attracted you to Once A Catholic?
The main thing that attracted me to the production was the opportunity to work with Kathy Burke. Having grown up watching her on TV – on the Harry Enfield show and Gimme Gimme Gimme – and always admiring what a great actress she is, to have the opportunity to work with her from a director’s point of view means that I’m going to be able to learn so much from her experience and talent. It’s also a very, very funny play! Derek is a real character. He’s a teddy boy and I’ve never had the chance to play a teddy boy before. It’s nice to play these characters who are from a time that I don’t know much about because it means that as an actor I get to research the period and learn a lot about it. It’s a lot of fun and Kathy has put a cracking cast together.
What were your initial reactions the very first time you read the play? On paper is sounds crazy!
[laughs] It is a little bit bonkers, but if you take time and think about the whole religion element and look into it it’s actually such a crazy way of life. I think it’s great when you have topics like religion and you can find the comedy within it. I don’t think Once A Catholic does it in a way that would offend Catholics – it’s like any great comedy where you can make light of certain situations. Even if the topic is close to somebody’s heart they should still be able to enjoy it. So it was bonkers the first time I read it, and it still is bonkers, but for me it makes it that much more entertaining!
It sounds like the show is going to provide fantastic escapism!
Most definitely. My Dad was brought up a Catholic and my brothers and sisters, who are all around nine years older than me, were brought up going to Church – it wasn’t hugely strict but certainly at Christmas and Easter they went. It sort of faded out and when I grew up nobody was practising religion in my house. I’ve grown up without having an insight into religion so I really am learning so much and can begin to understand how my Dad was raised. The play has lasted the test of time – it was written in the seventies and the fact that a new production is being put on now is a testament to the piece.
How have rehearsals been so far?
Being in the room with Kathy is a blessing, she is just so funny! The cast are all so talented but also are all great people. The whole first week was everyone sitting around a table working on the text and laughing a lot. As an actor it’s so amazing to be able to be part of great work at such a great theatre like the Tricycle, and then when you can do it with such a good group of people it’s even more of a blessing.
It’s currently a very exciting time for the Tricycle, what’s it like working at the theatre? There must be a very exciting buzz?
It’s nice for me because I’ve never worked at the Tricycle before so I’m still sort of learning about the building, my first day of rehearsals was my first visit so it’s still very new to me. But I knew through actor friends who had done plays there that it is such a great time for the Tricycle and there really is a very exciting buzz around the building – they just keep putting on great work. It’s such a nice theatre, it has a very friendly vibe and even during the day when nothing’s on people go in for their lunch, so it’s got a community atmosphere. Also when I’m there during the day there are always lots of kids who are part of the workshops and outreach schemes they do. It’s got a great energy about it and they are certainly pulling in the crowds! Handbagged is pretty much sold out so fingers crossed we can open and do the same!
The Tricycle isn’t a tiny theatre, but it is fairly intimate. How do you find that as an actor? Does it scare or excite you?
Do you know what? For me, personally, I quite like it because when you work at huge places, like the National, it’s great because you are getting to perform to so many people, but at the same time when you work at an intimate theatre, like The Tricycle - which when the way we’re having it holds 260 people - it’s still a lot of people watching you, so it’s still just as nerve wracking and you still get that exciting buzz.
And of course you get an immediate response...
Because the audience are so close it’s very clear whether they like it or not. A few years ago I did a play called Saved by Edward Bond at the Lyric Hammersmith and that was kind of similar to Once A Catholic in the sense that when both plays were first written they upset a lot of people and audience members walked out of the theatre and so on. When we did Saved perhaps a few people walked out, but not many – nothing like the original production. It feels so good sometimes when people give you a standing ovation because, with theatre, people write plays so they can have an effect on people and our job is to bring that to life and to make that effect happen. As long as what you have done moves someone, whether they enjoyed it or whether it made them think about the topic, then that is all you want. I love playing an intimate theatre because it’s impossible for anybody to miss anything; I’m looking forward to discovering what it’s like performing at the Tricycle.
You’re also known for your work on screen, how does working on a TV series such as Mr Selfridge compare to doing something like Once A Catholic?
They are at opposite ends of the scale. I didn’t have any training so have always treated my theatre work as my training because you get to spend time and work with not just older actors, but younger actors too and learn so much from them. I always like to go back to theatre because I’m still at the early stages of my career so I still feel like I have so much more to learn. You can learn from TV jobs, but because it’s such a big machine there isn’t as much time as in theatre where you usually get around four weeks to get to work on the text and learn about your character. You can still go through that process for TV but you have to do it independently, you only see the director when you’re actually filming. With something like Mr Selfridge, which is ten, one-hour long episodes, there’s a lot to get done. But luckily on Mr Selfridge they get such great directors that you get away with not having that time as they can always get the best out of you.
So it’s important for you to find the right balance?
I’ve really loved spending most of this year working on the second series of Mr Selfridge but to get my teeth stuck into a play and to be able to play a role for a certain length of time so I can perfect it is something I enjoy – I feel like I’m going to work every day whereas on TV they treat you so well that sometimes I forget that I’m at work!
Do you have any idea as to what you would like to do next or do you prefer to just wait and see what comes your way?
It’s a hard one because you don’t want to over think things, especially as far as next year, because it can play on your mind. I need to concentrate on what I’m doing at the moment instead of focusing on specific roles and so on. Once A Catholic takes me through until next February when we take it to Liverpool, and I don’t think the producer wants it to end there either; who knows, maybe it could end up transferring into the West End. So we’ll have to see about that. Mr Selfridge is going into a third series so obviously if I can be involved in that then I would love to be because I think it’s a great show and it has been a blessing for me. Recently I met a director who is doing a production of Much Ado About Nothing up in Manchester and I haven’t done any Shakespeare yet in my career so who knows – I hope the audition went well [laughs]. I would love to add that string to my bow because it’s something I’ve always wanted to do. But at the minute it’s nice because I’m in a position where there are options! I feel very fortunate but I also try not to think about it too much.
In the theatre world there are some very dedicated fans who follow your career very closely, what is it like having that kind of support behind you?
I always think that it is such a blessing and you should never lose touch with that. Ultimately I feel very fortunate to be doing something that was a childhood hobby for a living, I go to work every day feeling very happy. If you get to the point where you forget that you are able to do what you do because people are paying money to come and watch you, then you’ve lost touch with the reality of the situation. I wouldn’t be able to do the job I love if people didn’t pay to come and see the productions. So whenever I get to meet anyone after a performance I am always very appreciative. They make everything possible so why not appreciate that – that’s my outlook on it anyway [laughs]!
Interviewed by Andrew Tomlins (Editor)
andrew@westendframe.com
Once A Catholic opens at the Tricycle Theatre on Wednesday 27th November 2013 (previews from 21st November) and runs until Saturday 18th January 2014.
Please visit www.tricycle.co.uk for further information and tickets.
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