07 Aug 2024
I was lucky enough to be able to interview Robin Simpson who stars in Sense and Sensibility at the Roman Theatre.
I began by asking him about his background as a performer and where his passion began. He revealed that he had only really considered acting at A-level, when he took Theatre Studies. After this, he attended Breton Hall Drama School in Yorkshire – where the notorious League of Gentlemen trained.
Robin auditioned for Sense and Sensibility via Zoom; “Funnily enough, I auditioned for a role I didn’t play, in front of a director who did not direct the piece.”
This is a co-production with the Pitlochry Theatre in Scotland and is one of three repertory plays that Robin is appearing in this season. This takes line learning to a whole new level.
“You just have to get on with it,” explained Robin. “Some actors can just sit and read them but I have to learn them while I’m doing things: the ironing or walking the dog.”
We talked about the challenges of performing outside and in fact one of the performances in the first week had to be cancelled due to intense rain and possible lightning. Robin wasn’t phased though: “I love outdoor performing; there’s something really magical about it.
”Having opened ‘Sense and Sensibility’ at the Pitlochry in the main theatre space, which is fantastic, you think ‘How is this going to work outdoors?’ and then you come to the Roman Theatre and the sun goes down and the fairy lights come out and you think – this is magical. There’s something special about it. Some of the elements of the play really came alive in a way that they don’t inside the main house here in Pitlochry. Some of the characters entrances and exits using the whole space and the live singing particularly.
“The music is mostly acapella, with a piano accompaniment. It’s very simple, but it’s in keeping with the time period. We sing in 6 to 8 part harmony and all the songs are modern songs. We’ve got Beyonce and various other artists.
“The thing about Jane Austen and the reason she’s survived throughout the ages is because she’s so good and so funny, so clever.”
So what does Robin think about his main character, the philanthropist John Middleton? “He’s a lovely character because the story can get quite heavy as it covers some quite serious topics such as lack of money, love, rejection and betrayal and all sorts of things.
“Sir John Middleton is a very gregarious and generous man, he’s a wealthy man but he’s not mean with it, he loves company, he loves the company of young people, and he opens his house to the Dashwoods and welcomes them in. I think the aspect of being so friendly and open is a joy to play and it gives me the opportunity to just go out and be large. I think he would get quite tiring after a while… he’s a quite a full on character.”
To finish I asked Robin to sum up what makes this production a must-see show for St. Albans residents: “It’s a good story. It’s a story that has lasted for hundreds of years. I think it’s very pertinent. It’s about struggle, it’s about those eternal things, it’s like all good stories really; It’s like a Shakespeare play or any good fairytale or folk tale, it’s about those eternal things that matter to human beings which Is love and hope and struggle and pain and longing and all those basic human emotions. So even though it’s set 300 years ago it doesn’t matter because it is still very much real.”
Sense and Sensibility continues on August 12-18 at the Roman Theatre.
Robin Simpson was interviewed by Lex Cameron, 16.
