Harry Durcan

Hello all!
Here's another treat of a student blog for you. This week is Harry Durcan's turn, who appears in all three plays in our production of 'Tonight at 8.30'.
We'd also like to say a big congratulations to Harry for gaining a place at drama school, starting in September 2018!


HARRY:

" Hi everyone. My name is Harry Durcan and I am playing three parts across 'Tonight at 8.30'.
In 'Hands Across the Sea' I play Peter, an upper class naval officer and husband of Piggie. In 'Still Life' I play Albert Godby, a Northern train ticket inspector and in 'Red Peppers' I play a small role called Alf: a young, sweet lad who runs errands for the 'Peppers' act at the theatre.

My three characters are all very different. Peter (Hands Across the Sea) has a very high status and is highly intelligent and witty. Whereas the other two are the polar opposite of that. Albert (Still Life) is working class and you could argue he's a simple fella' but he's really just a jolly lad trying to have fun. Alf is only a small role in 'Red Peppers' but he is also working class but is young, sweet and just does the job that's asked of him.

Noel Coward is such good fun to perform. With his writing, you can't ever let the ball drop, it has to be to perfection all the time and when you get it right, it is so rewarding. The writing is so witty, even 'Still Life' which is the only play we're doing that is not considered a comedy, still has such great moments of humour. It's great to try and find the hidden intentions within the lines. Especially in 'Hands Across the Sea' there's a lot of subtext and that's great fun to find. It's really exciting and is some of the best writing I've ever had the pleasure to work with.

This is my second year of ATS as last year I played Charles Hart in 'Nell Gwynn'. I actually didn't do the first term of ATS last year as I was asked to audition just before the play as there wasn't enough men in the original class. So this year was my first experience at doing all the workshops and things in the first term which was great. You won't get anywhere else where you can work speeches with someone like David Threlfall, and get to do a Mike Leigh character project.

I would wholeheartedly recommend ATS, especially for actors wanting to audition for drama school and needing a bit of guidance. Or even if you're feeling a bit out of the game and want to get back into it, it's a great place for that as it gets you into the headspace of being part of a cast and being in a rehearsal room. It takes an awful lot of commitment and self discipline but that's great because that's what you need in this industry. You also make friends for life here which is great. 

Obviously the opportunity to work with Amanda Redman as a director is also amazing. Every director has a different way of working and Amanda is incredibly detailed. No stone is left unturned and there's always something to work on. You may come away having done a good performance but you can never rest on your laurels as there's always somewhere else to go. She sets the standards and you have to aim to match that. It's not about doing a mediocre performance, she's aiming for the absolute best with people that haven't necessarily trained and she draws the best out of us. You have no choice but to absolutely go for it and that's so helpful and rewarding.

Rehearsals are quite different from last year. There was a lot of dancing and singing for us all to focus on during 'Nell Gwynn' rehearsals, which is not exactly my natural talent, but there's a lot less of that for me personally this year so I can focus more on the acting. I also feel like I know what's expected of me a bit more this year so I can offer help and advice to people and I'm really enjoying it.

So...audition for ATS! And see you all at the show! "

- Harry Durcan





ATS' production of 'Tonight at 8.30' directed by Amanda Redman will run from 19th - 21st July at Questors Theatre in Ealing. Tickets will be available soon. 

Join us for our blog next week which will be written by Emily Robertson. 

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Twitter - @ATS_Ealing




           

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