He was less than a year out of drama school and a virtual unknown but as Michele Austin stood across from James McAvoy in the rehearsal room, she knew she was in the presence of a star.
It was 2001, and they were working on a play in London months after McAvoy had graduated from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, now the Royal Conservatoire, in Glasgow.
When the pair were reunited in 2019, again on stage, and received some of the best reviews of their respective careers for Cyrano de Bergerac, McAvoy had fulfilled his co-star’s predictions as an established Hollywood A-lister and respected stage actor with four Olivier nominations.
There is genuine excitement, Austin admits, among the cast and crew of Cyrano, which has reunited for post-pandemic shows, to be coming to McAvoy’s home city for a run of sold-out performances in the Theatre Royal, which sits across the road from the Atonement and X-Men star’s old drama school.
“He very much had that quality of ‘Who is that young man?’ and of knowing he was going to go far,” recalled Austin, who is also currently starring in BBC hospital drama This Is Going To Hurt.
“Actors can be notoriously very self-centred, jealous creatures but he didn’t engender that feeling at all. He was wonderful to work with and he still is. He was just a short time out of drama school when we worked on Out In The Open in Hampstead. It was directed by Kathy Burke and it had another lovely Scot in it, Mark Bonnar, and Sean Gallagher, Linda Bassett and Vilma Hollingbery.
“James is fearless and that in turn makes others fearless, because you trust him. It was lovely and it was fun to see him again. He’s exactly the same but older and now a dad and all of that stuff but he is very much himself, very comfortable in his own skin.
“I know we’ve sold out the Theatre Royal, which is really exciting, as is James coming home. We feel it’s going to be quite the event to be up there with James. We’re buzzing about it. Also, James performs in his natural accent – he probably hypes up the Glaswegian a bit – so it will be nice to have that and hear it up there, and have that acknowledgement.”
This version of the classic drama, written by Edmond Rostand in 1897, has received universal acclaim during its two London runs either side of the pandemic. Brooklyn dates, originally postponed due to Covid, will close out the production following its time in Glasgow.
Directed by Jamie Lloyd, a frequent collaborator with McAvoy, and adapted by the acclaimed playwright Martin Crimp, this is a retelling of the story for a modern, diverse audience, reflected by its equally diverse cast. McAvoy’s Cyrano may not sport a prosthetic nose but his way with words – occasionally in rap battles – ensures the tragicomic tale’s complex themes are front and centre.
“What people watching have got into is the fact most of us are bringing ourselves to each of the parts,” said Austin.
“It’s not a classic retelling with big dresses, feather-plumed hats and RP accents. It’s spoken word, it’s poetry and it’s people really seeing where we’re from. In this piece, we’re all different types of people, all races and nationalities and genders and colours and creeds.
“From the start, the audience sees us wearing costumes that look like our own clothes and that draws people in. Young people can relate. It’s very accessible.”
Austin, who won a Screen Nation award for her role as PC Yvonne Hemmingway in The Bill in 2005, plays Cyrano’s friend and confidante Ragueneau, traditionally a male character.
“In our version, what’s important is that Cyrano has people who ask him honest questions, because so much of the play is about not saying how you really feel,” she said.
“The journey explored is that we all have our own insecurities and self-hate we carry with us. It might seem to be about Cyrano’s nose but it’s not really and that’s why we don’t need the nose. We all have something we try to hide or are slightly ashamed about.
“Again, that’s what a lot of the younger audience members get from the play – the self-hate, the doubt, the feeling of not being able to do this. It’s how we live through social media – posting a picture of ourselves and saying what a great time we’re having but we’re not, we’re just pretending so we can get through it.”
Austin was nominated for an Olivier award for her performance as Rageuneau in the 2019 run. “There was no big dress or party, because it was during the pandemic, so I was sat at home with a bottle of champagne, aware I hadn’t won because no one had given me a Zoom link,” she laughed. “But I’m not playing it down because it was a wonderful thing and I was hugely chuffed.
“It sounds like a cliché, but I’m incredibly proud and happy to be part of the production. Jobs like this don’t come along often. This is career-high stuff, and I absolutely mean that. It’s all been a really brilliant journey, meeting Jamie Lloyd, working with James again. Now there is more to come with Glasgow and Brooklyn.”
Austin wasn’t going to be part of the original New York dates postponed due to the pandemic. She had already taken on another job that clashed, so the delay has allowed her to be part of the production’s continuing journey across the Atlantic, as well as the Glasgow dates, which were also not in the planning pre-Covid.
“I don’t think I’ll believe it until I’m on the plane to New York, as we’re all so used to things being cancelled these days but I have my guide books and once I’m on the plane I’ll celebrate. I also have my guide book for Glasgow,” she said.
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“I worked on a film, What We Did On Our Holiday, starring David Tennant, Rosamund Pike and Billy Connolly, a number of years ago. They got me up a few days early, which meant I had time on my own and I explored. I like vintage stuff.”
Meanwhile, playing nurse Tracy in This Is Going To Hurt, the TV adaptation of Adam Kay’s book about his time as a junior doctor in the NHS, has reinforced to Austin how difficult a job our medics and nurses have.
“I was able to talk to family members who are nurses and we had medical advisers on set every day,” she added. “It was really important for Adam that it was medically accurate. He also wanted to show how exhausting it is and what these people do in tough circumstances. I have the utmost respect for them.
“The other thing I love about the show is they’re not all angels. Adam’s character isn’t an angelic hero battling against the tide. He’s a complex figure, as all of us are.”
Cyrano de Bergerac, Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Friday until March 26
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