Non-MX Interviews: Andrew Gillies (10/07 Vertical Hour)
Halifax News 10/24/07: Andrew Gillies (Dr. Ken Harrison)
A theatrical battle zone: Characters debate the Iraq War - and much more - in The Vertical Hour
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The character Andrew Gillies plays shares his view of the Iraq War, but that doesn't make this role any easier.
"I wish it did, but it doesn't," the actor said. "It is gargantuan. It's the Everest of plays. These characters think so quickly."
Gillies plays Oliver Lucas, a war-opposing womanizer in Neptune Theatre's production of David Hare's The Vertical Hour. The play - this is its Canadian premiere - offers a unique look at the Iraq War and the impact of the choices people make.
In the play, a university professor and her fiance travel to the Welsh border to meet her future father-in-law. She supports the war, and soon a meet-the-parent trip turns into a political - and philosophical - sparring match.
"Oliver is a very interesting guy. He is political, he is very opposed to this war and very vocal about the people who caused it," said Gillies (The Virgin Suicides, Mutant X). His character is a former surgeon, who gave up his lucrative practice years ago to move to the country.
"He has entered a zen-like state in his life, and he has dealt with a lot of stuff in his life, and is about to deal with more," the actor said. "He has a very checkered past."
Gillies originally approached Neptune about appearing in its production of The Retreat from Moscow later this season. The role had already been cast, but this role was available.
"I did one read of this play and I was, 'Oh, yeah, baby.' It was a fantastic play."
Also appearing in the production are Seann Gallagher as Oliver's son, Philip, and Carmen Grant - who last appeared in Neptune's The Syringa Tree - as his fiance, Nadia Blye.
"She is a very complex woman," Grant said. Her character is a professor of international relations and terrorism at Yale. Nadia is for the war, and clashes with the Oliver.
"For her, the war is a humanitarian issue, and a lot of the play deals with her justification for why America did what they did and why she feels it was right for them to have done it, and continue to do it."
While the war causes turmoil between Oliver and Nadia, their opposition stretches into ideas about sex, family, and the way people lead their lives.
"The play encompasses so much more than the war," Gillies said. "The past informs the present, which informs the future. And I think people will go away wondering what will happen down the path."
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- WHAT: The Vertical Hour
- WHERE: Neptune Theatre
- WHEN: Through Sunday, Nov. 11. Tuesdays through Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 4 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
- TICKETS: Start at $15. Call 429-7070, or visit www.neptunetheatre.com.
© Halifax News