The actor Rufus Sewell has been very busy recently and you can currently enjoy two superb pieces of TV acting by him. He is impossibly handsome and utterly terrifying in the Amazon Prime hit, THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE, as a Nazi Officer and impossibly handsome and adorably kind in ITV’s VICTORIA in which he plays Queen Victoria’s first love, Lord Marlborough.
Great news then that we can also see him back on the West End stage soon, starring alongside Tim Key and Paul Ritter in the much anticipated revival of the play ART by Yasmina Reza (adapted by Christopher Hampton) at the Old Vic. This new production reunites the original creative team who made it such a long running West End hit in the 1990s; the director: Matthew Warchus, designer Mark Thompson, lighting designer Hugh Vanstone, sound designer Mic Pool and composer Gary Yershon.
Sewell is a terrific actor. In THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE he plays a despicable, all powerful Nazi commander at the heart of a plot that supposes that the Germans won The Second World War and now rule North America. Like all great fictional villains he succeeds in being both charismatic and chilling. His big beautiful eyes seem to harden as he gets angry whilst, for the most part, he maintains a calm veneer as he sends enemies and adversaries to torture and death. It’s impossible to know how and when his mood will switch, who he likes and who he’ll betray from moment to moment and this is absolutely captivating. Despite the character’s monstrous status, capacity for violence and ego Sewell also manages to tug at our heart strings when his son’s life takes an unexpected twist.
In VICTORIA he’s equally subtle. His character has recently been humiliated when his wife ran off with Lord Byron, the rock star like poet of the Victorian Era. He channels his sadness into guiding the teenage Queen Victoria as she attempts to rule England surrounded by a viperous court intent on discrediting her. Rumours soon start to circulate that theirs is an inappropriate love affair and what I love about Sewell’s performance is that you never quite know whether his deep friendship could turn as sexual as his enemies claim; but there’s no doubting the deep affection he feels for the young queen, once again expressed with those beautiful and eloquent eyes. You will their love to blossom and each to find happiness in the other's arms even as you realise the age gap makes it inappropriate.
In ART he will play one of three men who find their friendship under pressure when a discussion about a modern painting one of them has purchased leads them to question how they really feel about each other.
I look forward to seeing how those beautiful Sewell eyes will convey the subtleties of that situation, too.
Talk about dream casting! Imelda Staunton, who cemented her reputation as West End goddess and national treasure recently with her performances in musicals GYPSY and SWEENEY TODD will play Martha in the drama WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?.