Latest news with #JonathanPryce
The Guardian
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
My cultural awakening: a shock at a Shakespeare production made me quit the bank for theatre
I was a working-class kid who'd failed my exams and done a series of nothing jobs before I discovered Shakespeare in my 20s. I was bored out of my head most of the time, working nights in a bank as a computer operator, watching tapes going round. A respite came three times a year when my girlfriend at the time, Sandra, and I would drive from our rented flat in Ealing to Stratford-upon-Avon and queue at the RSC for cheap returns or standing tickets. The plays were so good it made life bearable. In June 1978, we went to see Jonathan Pryce as Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew, with David Suchet. The sunny Saturday matinee coincided with Scotland playing in the World Cup and as the audience made its way into the Royal Shakespeare Theatre foyer, a Scottish supporter with a six-pack of lager was getting rowdy and rude, singing football songs outside. He grabbed me, saying, 'Have a drink with me, brother', and did a double-take as if he recognised me. I turned away, feeling I'd die of embarrassment in this posh and genteel crowd focused on the business of being civilised and arty. As we entered, he continued shouting abuse, putting his fingers up and telling us where we should go stick our English, stuffy-nose, Shakey bollocks. No sooner was he ushered out and we'd taken our seats than he burst back in, got on to the stage and knocked down the whole set to horrified shouts. We were gobsmacked; the show ruined by a moronic football fan. Actors tried to stop the damage until, suddenly, with one final shout of: 'Why don't ye all fuck off?' he collapsed. Then, very slowly, the house lights dimmed, a spotlight fell on the drunk and it dawned on us all that it was him: Jonathan Pryce, as Christopher Sly, a character in Taming of the Shrew's lesser done prologue. It was a magical moment, shocking and breathtaking. I was captivated. The play was brilliant and I turned to Sandra frequently, whispering: 'I want to do this.' 'You can,' she said. I saw my future in front of me. After the production, I enrolled in an arts degree with the Open University, left the bank and started running creative arts projects in prisons, working with lifers in Wormwood Scrubs. Just as the Shrew confronted me with the transformative power of theatre, this work made the invisible visible, even in unexpected places. I did similar work with disadvantaged teenagers in New York, took acting evening classes and finally went to a proper drama school in London. I set up my own theatre company, mainly for people who could not go to conventional drama school, and taught and directed in community theatre for 32 years. I have put on so many shows – all, I'm sure, influenced on some level by Pryce and that incredible matinee. I've used that framing device many times and when I directed Trevor Griffiths's play Comedians 10 years ago, in which Pryce once famously starred, I cast an actor who reminded me of him on that Saturday afternoon when theatre changed the world a little bit. In the years since, I've thought about why he might have done a double-take. People often commented that we looked alike. My daughters first noticed it in Pirates of the Caribbean and message when he's in Slow Horses with 'Dad, you're on TV'. In December, I attended a British Film Institute screening of Comedians introduced by Pryce. As he finished, I walked up the aisle and told him how he changed my life. 'I feel like you woke me up,' I said. 'I'm so delighted,' he replied. Sign up to Inside Saturday The only way to get a look behind the scenes of the Saturday magazine. Sign up to get the inside story from our top writers as well as all the must-read articles and columns, delivered to your inbox every weekend. after newsletter promotion You can tell us how a cultural moment has prompted you to make a major life change by filling in the form below or emailing us on Please include as much detail as possible Please note, the maximum file size is 5.7 MB. Your contact details are helpful so we can contact you for more information. They will only be seen by the Guardian. Your contact details are helpful so we can contact you for more information. They will only be seen by the Guardian. If you include other people's names please ask them first.
Irish Independent
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
The Two Popes actor Jonathan Pryce backs new pontiff as ‘Francis's man'
Jonathan Pryce, who was Oscar-nominated for playing Pope Francis, has said he is 'encouraged' by the late pontiff's closeness with Pope Leo XIV.
Digital Trends
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Digital Trends
If you have to watch one Netflix movie in May 2025, stream this one
Table of Contents Table of Contents It's anchored by two incredible performances It's set in beautiful locations It's filled with fascinating conversations Following the news of the death of Pope Francis, there's been plenty of joking about how this whole thing is some sort of viral marketing campaign for Conclave. Coincidentally, there was just a movie about the conclave, the process of selecting a new pope. A few years earlier, Netflix released a less heralded film about Pope Francis. The Two Popes, which dropped on the streamer in 2019, follows Pope Benedict XVI and future Pope Francis as they have a spirited debate about God, religion, and their roles inside the Vatican. Here are three reasons you should check the movie out this May: Recommended Videos It's anchored by two incredible performances For most of its running time, The Two Popes plays out like a stage play, and a movie this intimate almost requires two immensely talented actors to anchor it. Thankfully, Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce are more than up to the challenge. Hopkins has played this kind of role before, but his Benedict XVI is curmudgeonly in ways that push past the most basic version of this character. Benedict believes in rules and tradition, however alienating they might be. Pryce's Francis, meanwhile, wants the Catholic Church to adapt and change with the world, and the tension between these two worldviews is what gives the movie its juice. It's set in beautiful locations You might think that a movie that's mostly about two people debating the merits of their various views on the Catholic Church would be a little boring, but it certainly helps if your film is set in the Vatican, which is famously one of the more ornate, beautiful places on Earth. The indoor and outdoor locales that make up the film's primary settings help to reinforce the argument at the center of the film. What is all this excess for? Why does the church, an organization that helps the poor and destitute, appear so wealthy? Of course, the settings are nice to look at. It's filled with fascinating conversations A conversation between two people who spend all their time thinking about Catholicism might not seem like the most interesting or accessible movie. Whether you're a religious person or not, The Two Popes is filled with conversations that get at the heart of people's beliefs. These two figures are diametrically opposed on basically every issue, even though they practice the same religion. It's a reminder of all the ways there are to be in the world, and that while religion might seem like one thing to you, it can look entirely different from someone else's perspective. You can watch The Two Popes on Netflix.
