You don't get a chance to sit back and relax because this is the point where we're tweaking things to see what works and what doesn't work; so the level of concentration is very focused. But who wouldn't be happy with this? It's a great opportunity and a really great piece of writing. I'm just really very fortunate.
I don't want to denounce musicals because they certainly have a message they want to communicate. But with straight plays, there is a focus on what's going on between people and relationships. I think so much is happening in the world at the moment, so many changes politically and culturally, writers are writing about that.
For me, it's about having a full life wherever I come to set my hat for a while; so I like to be in a place that offers me a base that's rich and full of people. New York certainly has that at the moment.
Honestly, I'd love to think I was in a position where I had that decision. But last year I worked on a movie in Bulgaria, now I'm in New York or LA. It really sounds jet-setting when you say it, but there's lots of down-time where you wonder what you're doing or you wonder about life.
New York feels like a sublet of Europe. And Europe is a sublet of New York. Put it that way. It's so accessible. When I was in LA, I felt so far away from my home. Home, for the moment, is here until it's not. I like to move around with my work. I feel it's a great way to learn about life, about new cultures, and to learn. We'll see where the wind takes me.
I guess home is where the heart is, as they say. I've moved around the stage a lot - but I had intended on moving to New York anyway so I could live closer to Ireland and to Europe. That's where my sensibility is. This has just facilitated that process.
I went through the natural process that most actors go through. I brought myself out here, had an audition on a Wednesday; then had a call-back on Thursday, had a call-back on Friday and I had it by Friday afternoon.
It's a group of men - Conor included - everyone is so collaborative and cooperative, kind, considerate, very professional. And they know their craft. They know it very very well. There's no room for messing around. It's not messy at all. When I go in at this level, when I get the opportunity to play and work at this level, it's at the top of the game. I think, in life, we rise to whatever the bar is. I've been fortunate to rise with them.
It's like a Master Class in Acting for three hours. I go to work and I learn so much and do so much. I'm privileged. I'm privileged to be on stage with them. That's all I can say. They're extremely generous. There are no egos in the room at all.
It's a piece that is so interactive, and relies so much on these five men in the room, that I think will appeal to the life experiences every person has, in some small way. Every aspect of the play will in some way touch somebody or they'll know someone that has a likeness... very representative of real life.
It's very much a character-based play. Conor's writing is almost musical and paints pictures at the same time. It's a joy as an actor to be able to say the words. It's very conversational but at the same time, tells a story.
It's very much an exploration of the human condition and how different people react and respond to their lives. And what they present to the world, in terms of who they are as characters and what is going on behind the mask, in terms of what demons their holding... and how that interacts.
People want to relate to that. That's a healthy place to be. Even movies do this: War movies or light-hearted comedies, they all have their different time. And this is the time, fortunately, for straight plays... Are you going to come see it?
