Joseph Marcell, probably best-known for his role as Geoffrey the Butler in the six seasons of the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, plays Sir Peter Teazle in a fresh take on Richard B Sheridan’s classic comedy of manners.
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00:00 Good afternoon, my name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor at Sussex Newspapers. Now a fabulous
00:07 pleasure this afternoon to speak to Joseph Marcell. Now, you are on the road with venues
00:12 including Eastbourne, Guildford and Southampton, with nearly 250 years old, the School for
00:20 Scandal. That is a challenge, isn't it? Because as we were saying, it's about the precision
00:26 and the beauty of the language, isn't it? It is, absolutely. It's Everest for me. I
00:35 have to get my clips on and my carabiners and make sure everything is polished, ready
00:45 for it, yes. Because it matters so much, doesn't it? It matters, it matters to me, it matters
00:52 to my fellow actors, it matters to the company, it matters to other actors. Yes, it does.
01:00 I believe that there may be another production of this later on, but I believe this may be
01:08 the first time a non-white actor has played Sir Peter Teesmoor.
01:15 Is there significance to that, do you think? Are we supposed to just see you as the role
01:20 or what? Well, yes, you should see me as the role,
01:25 but you should not dismiss the fact that the role is being played by a non-white actor.
01:32 You should judge on whether or not my performance is adequate. But really, for the arts of Great
01:41 Britain, it is a wonderful thing. It is an extraordinary thing that actors are just being
01:51 seen as actors. And it's what we've all been working for. It's pure magic.
01:59 So it's a natural progression then that you are playing this?
02:02 It is a natural progression, yes. And you were saying about the hard work and
02:07 the precision behind it all, but the reward for the audience is a play, which is fabulously
02:13 funny, isn't it? I saw it many, many years ago, but still remember just how funny it
02:18 was. Oh, it's hilarious. It really is. Once you
02:25 get into the time, the characters and their mode of expression, you begin to see the beauty,
02:37 the magic of our language. Because it would be very easy to think, oh,
02:41 Sheridan, that's a bit stuffy, a bit old fashioned, a bit remote, but it's not, is it?
02:47 It's not remote at all. I mean, it deals with misunderstandings and emotions that all of
02:56 us experience. I mean, there is...
03:00 Is the wife spending too much money? Can I afford to do this? Why are these stories about
03:11 us? Why are they saying such things about my wife? Is she really frail? I mean, I don't
03:21 know. It's all those things. All human life is there, I think, except they're very well
03:26 healed. And you are, Sir Peter, as you say, you are
03:30 well healed and you are wanting a wife for good reasons.
03:34 Yes. And I find a wife. And he's very clever. And he does not choose a metropolitan wife.
03:40 He chooses a country girl. However, she gets, I was going to say corrupted, but she's instructed
03:50 in the mores of a wealthy girl in London. Yes.
03:56 Brilliant. Well, it sounds a lovely prospect. Really great to speak to you. Thank you ever
04:02 so much for your time. You've been very kind. Thank you very much.
04:06 And I think we are on the road for quite a while, but I think...
04:11 You are. The dates for us are Eastbourne, Guildford and Southampton, I think you do.
04:18 Okay. Well, we're certainly in Eastbourne, I think from the 19th to the 23rd of March.
04:25 Yes, that's right. Okay.
04:28 Great. Thank you. Thank you, Phil. It's been a pleasure, Sir.