Posted in Ellis' Chronicles & Tales
Ellis Wells
Role: Lucilius
Firstly, hello
Ellis. Thank-you so much for taking time out
of your busy schedule to talk to yourself today; it's not weird at
all. The first question is simple: what is the best
Shakespeare performance you've seen?
Sir Mark Rylance as Olivia in "Twelfth Night." 100%
It was HILARIOUS! He floated. FLOATED! in that
dress. On blades? Or a skateboard? I have
no idea how he did it, but it was genius. The little nuggets
he added; his ridiculous haughty pauses, the 'non-verbal' cries he made
to express moments. And there's this one bit he was trying to
seduce Sebastian and kept trying to flick off his slipper like a lady,
so Sebastian would have to retrieve it like a gallant knight, but it
was all done with so, SO LITTLE grace... I laughed harder at his
performance in Shakespeare than any other. That said: special
shout out to Roger Allam as Falstaff in "Henry IV" at the
Globe. He was perfection, the "older man's Hamlet" (as they
say) and with a look, a simple look at the audience he made us
smile. I don't think I'll ever see a better Falstaff; he won
the Olivier for a reason.
I feel... a little odd asking this
(even if it's simple arithmetic, it
still seems d*ckish): You're one of the most prolific cast members in
terms of experience in Shakespeare; of the roles you've done which one
would have like to do again?
Read more: Interviews - Ellis Wells
