Q&A with The Dresser director Murray Lindo

One of the most beloved pieces of British theatre is coming to Wokingham this October. We sat down with The Dresser’s director, Murray Lindo to hear what audiences can expect from this gem of theatre.

Without giving too much away, what is The Dresser about?

This is a love letter to the bygone era of the actor/manager relationships within repertory or “rep” theatre. Nowadays, if someone wanted to learn the craft of acting, they might hope for the likes of The Bill for their big break, but from as far back as the 17th Century, the craft of acting was done by troupes of ‘strolling players’, who’d go from town to town putting on plays, which became known as rep theatre. These are professional actors putting on professional tours, doing it for the love of ‘the craft’. 

The end of this era is personified in our play between Sir and his dresser, Norman, who are desperately trying to conduct a tour of the provinces, in wartime Britain. They can’t get decent actors because they’ve lost anyone of fighting age to the war, so this is something of a second-tier tour, the Shakespeare equivalent of Dad’s Army, which represents Sir’s last hoorah, delivering the Bard’s work to the masses.

Tell me more about the central relationship between SIr and Norman?

Some reviews of past productions describe Norman’ relationship with Sir being ‘equivocal’ but I think he is absolutely loyal; despite the shouting, the madness, and the arrogance. There is a touch of the ‘upstairs, downstairs’ about the relationship – Norman is the theatre version of a ‘domestic servant’ bound to Sir by a sense of duty to him and the mission. 

Central to the storyline is the deteriorating condition of Sir, and how the characters around him try to handle this. How have you approached this?

We’ve had lots of conversations as a cast, but it’s never overtly discussed exactly what is happening with Sir (as a cast we have diagnosed Sir as having cardio vascular dementia). We find ourselves asking the same questions about him as we do with Lear. It’s the time-honoured debate: is it madness? Is it dementia? Is it pure exhaustion? The audience are left to make up their own mind. 

There is no doubt the whole effort has exhausted him, trying to cast a show when people aren’t around, handling all the tiredness and discomfort of a life on tour, not to mention doing so in a bombing raid! It’s a huge struggle. He is exhausted. But their shared attitude totally exemplifies the spirit of ‘the show must go on’, despite all that is stacked against them. 

What did you think of the play when you first read it and what appealed as a director?

I found it very moving. I liked the invitation to be a voyeur into this very specific time and place, seeing a troupe of actors trying to put on a play in very difficult circumstances. The older I get, the more I become increasingly fascinated in the act of acting, so it’s marvellous to be involved in this play within a play.

SIr has a line that says: And I was watching Lear. Each word he spoke was fresh invented. I had no knowledge of what came next, what fate awaited him. The agony was in the moment of acting created’.  I think this is a wonderful description of what acting should be about, it’s what every actor aims for; to be ‘in the moment’ to let the process and your imagination take over. 

How have you handled the notion of a play within a play?

I was very keen to show the Lear scenes as well as the behind-the-scenes life of a production. The script is open to interpretation how much is staged. A lot of the Shakespeare scenes are written as if they’re partially offstage, which would have been much easier to stage, only hearing snippets from an auditorium! But I wanted us to see Sir in action. This has provided enormous complexity for our cast and crew, but everyone has been up for the challenge  

Tell us about rehearsals, what have they been like?

Really good humoured and with a fantastic team spirit. Right from the outset, it’s just been an unbelievable example of collaboration. It could have been so easy for people to say, well there’s two big parts and everyone else is a ‘background artist’, but that’s just not the case. Everyone has taken this on as an ensemble piece, which has been brilliant. They’ve all worked so hard and made an immense effort. 

What can audiences expect from the production?

As ever at Wokingham Theatre, we have to be careful not to be upstaged by the stage! It’s incredible, and the same phenomenal spirit that has been with the cast has been with the crew involved. The FARTS and Ben Kellett have just been unbelievable. It’s almost like there’s no problem too difficult, they’re just extraordinary. We could have done things the easy way, but we’ve done them the hard way, in the best way possible. 

What is your favourite moment in the rehearsal process?

When you’ve done the first run in front of an audience. That has got to be it. It’s nerve-wracking, but this is what it’s all about. I like to sit in the audience and enjoy watching it all come together  

How do you hope audiences feel when they watch this play?

I hope they have lived and breathed an evening at the theatre in every sense, that they’ve enjoyed being voyeurs, watching this group of actors and lived the moments alongside them. I hope they feel part of it. 

Ronald Harwood’s The Dresser runs from 17 – 26 October 2024 at Wokingham Theatre – tickets are now on sale.

Interview by Sophie Pierce.