Phil Lowe caught up with Leicester born Mark Peachey who kindly spared time and actor’s life insights in his busy actor schedule currently rehearsing for Curve Theatre’s world premiere of the stage production of The Silence of The Lambs written by Gina Gionfriddo and directed by Nikolai Foster.
Q: Looking back over your theatre work and in Leicester particularly, prior to Curve I believe you worked at the Haymarket Theatre. Can you tell us a little about this?
Mark:So the Haymarket gave me my first real taste of professional theatre. It was the place I visited as a kid to see all the big shows. I remember seeing an advert in the Leicester Mercury looking for a ‘young ensemble’ of 13 to join 5 professional actors in the 2002 Haymarket production of ‘A Plague of Innocence’ (directed by Kully Thiarai). I auditioned and was cast as ‘The Primo’, a ruthless dictator in a dystopian, Orwellian kind of future.I made some friends for life in that show and that really kickstarted my acting career.
Q: In 2011 you were cast as Mr Crumb and a dog in the first ever staged version of David Walliams’ Mr Stink produced by Curve, famously a ‘Scratch ‘N Sniff’ experience for the children in the audience. Was this your first work for Curve? Did you enjoy touring with the play?
Mark: Yes, this was the first time I worked at Curve. It was a co-production with Nottingham Playhouse. I loved the show and had a great time on tour.
It was a privilege to be cast in my first world premiere of a production. I did the workshop first and was really impressed by Matthew White’s writing, and Matt Brind’s fantastic score. It was great to create these roles from scratch and collaborate on such a fun production.
It was a show for all the senses, and everyone was given a scratch and sniff booklet so they could smell Mr Stink’s farts or smelly feet, when his dog, (puppeteered by myself), instructed them to do so! It always got a great reaction from the kids!
Q: Curve audiences have seen you over the last decade playing a variety of roles in Bank of Dave, The Sound of Music, The Wizard of Oz and A Streetcar Named Desire and probably most famously in the title role of Richard III. You also featured in the Curve Live event doing the ‘Now is the Winter of Our Discontent’ speech. In terms of workshopping at Curve, you’ve taken part in workshops for My Beautiful Laundrette and An Officer and A Gentleman, both directed by Nikolai Foster. As a Leicester lad, you must be proud to have so much involvement with the city’s much-loved theatre. Tell us a little about that please!
Mark: Proud doesn’t even come close! I adore this theatre and am so lucky it’s on my doorstep. I always wanted to work here and Nikolai Foster’s arrival as the new artistic director gave me that opportunity. I first met him back in 2015 and he cast me in the title role of his first production, Richard III. What an opportunity, and what an honour to play this iconic role. There was a huge buzz in the city at the time with Richard’s remains being discovered, and Leicester City FC having their 5000-1 miracle season in the Premier League.
People still tell me how much they loved that production and my performance, and I am so grateful to Nikolai for the opportunity. It really doesn’t get better than that, or so I thought! It was just the start of a wonderful working relationship and collaboration with Nikolai on some incredible shows.
I never take it for granted. It’s a wonderful theatre and I feel equally at home on its stages performing, as I do watching shows there.
Q: You have acted all around the UK and the world and recorded numerous audio books along the way and once more you are back at Curve rehearsing for The Silence of The Lambs again directed by Nikolai Foster. This time you are playing several roles – can you tell us about them and the challenges of playing various characters in one show? What do you feel audiences will get out of this new stage adaptation and how exciting is it working on a brand-new production?
Mark: The Silence of the Lambs is a brand new play and a chance to see something a little different to its regular musicals. It’s dark. It takes you into the murky and disturbing world of serial killers and incarcerated Cannibals! It is dangerous, compelling and exciting and reminds you exactly why the film did so well back in the 90’s and remains so deeply embedded in people’s consciousness.
The writing is stunning and it is so uniquely different to anything else I’ve been in here. I play a number of different roles in the play but my favourite is the entomologist ‘Pilcher’. He studies moths for a living and is key in identifying the cocoons found in Buffalo Bill’s victims throats. He is a geeky but lovable guy and great fun to play.
It’s so rewarding working on a brand-new production that has never been seen before. You get to develop your characters from scratch and help build a world where they exist. Even though audiences may still remember the film, this is certainly NOT a carbon copy. That would be boring! This is a uniquely fresh and exhilarating production with a wonderful new script. Audiences are in for a real treat.
Q: Do you have a dream role in a play that you would love to achieve some time in the future?
Mark: As my career has progressed I’ve realised just how much I enjoy doing new work. Playing characters in original productions and helping to build that world. I enjoy workshopping new material and helping creatives turn their ideas into a reality. Thanks for your support and the opportunity to do this Q & A today, Phil.
The Silence of The Lambs runs at Curve Leicester Sat 1st to Sat 15th August then goes on a national tour.
