INTERVIEW: Jamie Ballard makes American stage debut in Jersey City ‘Macbeth’
Photo: Macbeth stars Jamie Ballard and Christianna Nelson. Photo courtesy of Will O’Hare Photography / Provided by Jorgensen PR with permission.
The Curtain rises once again in Jersey City, New Jersey, and this time the theatrical company is bringing William Shakespeare’s Macbeth to audiences. The new production, which continues until Sunday, Nov. 3, at the Nimbus Arts Center, is performed by candlelight and features Jamie Ballard in his American stage debut. Ballard plays the title character, co-starring with Aria Shahghasemi as Macduff and Christianna Nelson as Lady Macbeth.
Ballard has a history with The Curtain, but all of his previous roles were performed virtually during the pandemic. Now the actor is able to see his audiences in person on the banks of the Hudson River.
Ballard is perhaps best known for his starring turn in the West End’s Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Recently the actor exchanged emails with Hollywood Soapbox to talk about Macbeth, which is directed and adapted by Sean Hagerty, a longtime collaborator with Ballard. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
How has your American stage debut been going?
So, I have wanted to work in New York for years, and I’m loving it. Sean Hagerty, the director, and I went to drama school together, and over lockdown we did three online audio productions, which were so enjoyable. I’ve been desperate to work with Sean on a theatre production and can’t believe we’re actually doing it. I played Macduff 11 years ago and have had a soft spot for this play for years. It’s a dream come true to be not only playing Macbeth, but doing it here in New York with such a superb company.
How do you approach the character of Macbeth in a unique way?
So, I’ve had the fortune and privilege to play some of the most iconic characters in literature, and a director once said to me to approach every play as if it’s never been done before. That’s what I strive to do. I didn’t tackle this part as “Macbeth.” I started work on this project as a man who has a loving wife, has lost a child and embarks on this incredible journey. If you begin a speech like, “Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow,” or, “To be or not to be,” thinking they are some of the most famous lines ever written, you’re scuppered. All I try and do is work out what I’m saying and why I’m saying it, and hopefully it sounds fresh and makes sense to the audience.
Does performing by candlelight present any challenges? Opportunities?
I’ve been lucky enough to do a couple of productions in the Sam Wanamaker Theatre at Shakespeare’s Globe, which is lit by candlelight. There’s a magical quality about it — the shadows, the flickering nature of it. It lends itself so beautifully to the plays and the era in which they were written. When I did The White Devil by John Webster in the Sam Wanamaker, one of the actors was wearing a hooded cape in the second half and was leaning against one of the pillars by the front row of the audience, and an audience member said to him, “Hey mate, you’re on fire.” And the actor replied, “Thanks very much,” thinking it was a compliment, then realised he was actually on fire! I’m so glad Sean and the designers have gone down the candlelit route. It’s so atmospheric.
When did you know you wanted to be an actor?
So, my dad was a doctor, and my mum was a nurse. And from the age of about 11, I wanted to follow them into that profession. They both trained at St. Thomas’ Hospital in London, and I got offered a place to train there if I got 36 point in my school exams, the International Baccalaureate. I got 35 points, so I didn’t get in.
So, I sat down with my parents and discussed what to do. I was painfully shy at school, debilitatingly so. But in English class, we had to be a character from a play we were reading and be hot-seated by a pupil from the year below. I wrote the questions and answers for us to learn, and we performed it in front of the class. All of my friends wrote 6.0 on pieces of paper (like the judges in figure skating) and held them up for the room to see, and that’s when I knew I wanted to be an actor. I said to my dad that I wanted to go to drama school, but he said get a degree first and then we’ll talk about it. I decided to do a language at university, as I could, potentially, use that as an actor, and studied Japanese, then went to the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, met Sean, and the rest is history.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Macbeth, starring Jamie Ballard, continues at the Nimbus Arts Center in Jersey City, New Jersey. The Curtain production, adapted and directed by Sean Hagerty, plays through Sunday, Nov. 3. Click here for more information and tickets.
