Paul Hickey is currently starring in Incognito which recently transferred to the Bush Theatre following a short UK Tour. The production runs until Saturday 21st June 2014.
Nick Payne’s play tells three interwoven stories exploring the nature of identity and how we are defined by what we remember. Incognito is described as a “dazzling” new play about what it means to be human.
Paul’s theatre credits include: Children of the Sun, Our Class, The Playboy of the Western World, Peer Gynt, Romeo and Juliet (National Theatre), The Merchant of Venice (RSC), Fred’s Diner (Chichester) and In the Next Room or The Vibrator Play (Theatre Royal Bath). His TV credits include: Dr Who, Whitechapel and Father Ted and film work includes: Saving Private Ryan.
I recently spoke to Paul about his first impressions of Incognito, the challenges of playing six characters in one play and the thrill of new writing...
What has the audience reaction to Incognito been like so far?
The reaction has been really, really fantastic. I think people are really intrigued by the play and the production. It has that rare balance of being very intellectually stimulating and taking people on an emotional journey – people have found it very moving. This is a great testament to Nick’s writing. He manages to be able to approach what in other hands might be quite a dry subject matter and turn it into something both very interesting and also very warm and human.
It sounds very intriguing, what was your first reaction when you read it?
Well, I suppose like most plays I read, I looked at it from the point of view of knowing that I had a meeting for it; I suppose my first reaction reading Incognito was, “I want to be in this play very badly” [laughs]. It’s a very rare opportunity to be asked to play six different characters! The characters interact and overlap, I move from playing one character to another in a split second… at one point I have five scenes in a row where I play five different characters back to back in each scene. From an actor’s point of view, to be able to work on something as well constructed and as beautifully told as Nick’s work is a dream.
How different are the characters?
My characters are an American pathologist who steals Einstein’s brain; I play two other doctors - one is a bubbly Welsh man and the other is a repressed posh English doctor in the 1950s; I play the German executor of Einstein’s estate; I play a northern Irish guy called Anthony who has a damaged brain… the range is just so exciting and fantastic that it’s a joy despite being very, very hard work. There were times during rehearsals when I was wondering whether the four of us would be able to pull it off, but it’s been great and one of the most challenging and satisfying things that I’ve done.
I feel exhausted just listening to you talk about all these characters! How do you feel when you come off stage?
It’s an hour and twenty-five minutes straight through so it feels like a 10,000 metre race that you start and have to pace your way through it. All four of us have found it very tiring and really challenging, but also in the best possible way absolutely satisfying and fulfilling
Alison O'Donnell and Paul Hickey in Incognito
What can audiences expect?
They will be taken on a rollercoaster ride watching these three stories which overlap, it’s a really exciting and complex ride. People love watching the stories develop beside each other and wondering whether the stories are going to interact at all, and I won’t spoil it by saying whether or how they do. It’s like a human Rubiks cube in terms of the story because it happens very quickly; the characters are introduced very quickly. Nick throws a huge amount of information at the audience at the beginning and people might start to wonder what is going on and to feel a bit lost. Then, what Nick has done brilliantly is that he drips the information so that as the play progresses the audience starts to understand what is happening which is a satisfying feeling.
You’ve worked at some very prestigious venues throughout your career, all of which are very different! Do you enjoy that variety?
Yes, I enjoy working at different theatres, but one of the difficulties of being an actor is that you have little control of these things. It depends on what jobs are available, but I’ve certainly particularly loved my time at the Royal Court and the National. My favourite thing which I’ve done at Chichester, at Bath, at the Royal Court and elsewhere, is working on new plays. I worked with a company in Dublin, where I’m from, when I initially started my career which was involved in new writing and I’ve always gravitated towards new writing. I think this one must be about my twentieth new play and my most prized possessions are the twenty new plays on my bookshelf. The excitement of being in a room with the writer, creating these characters for the first time, is brilliant. Also, just to have the opportunity to work at places like the National, the Royal Court, Chichester and this is my second time at the Bush. The most exciting thing is being able to mix and match where you work and the kind of work you do. I also enjoy doing film and television, ideally hopping from one to the other is what is most exciting about the job.
Interviewed by Andrew Tomlins (Editor)
Incognito runs at the Bush Theatre until Saturday 21st June 2014.
Please visit www.bushtheatre.co.uk for further information and tickets.
Photo Credit: Bill Knight
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