Midnight Cowboy - Interview
“ Two broken souls stumble the streets, misfits, clutching to a fragile hope of finding fortune around the corner. The dark corners and harsh flickering neon of New York City await, as Midnight Cowboy, a new musical, makes its world premiere at Southwark Playhouse Elephant. “
Simon J. Webb: We’re here in the rehearsal rooms to grab a small peak at a brand new production of Midnight Cowboy. Before we dive into who you play in this exciting new musical, I’d just like to congratulate you on the stunning performance you have just given to the selected press at this preview launch event.
Paul Jacob French: I appreciate that. Thank-you.
SJW: Exactly how did you manage to tap into the energy levels required to give such a powerful performance in these rather less than atmospheric surroundings at 10:30 in the morning?
PJF: Well, do you know what... it was nice to have a bit of an audience. We’re in week three of rehearsals and until now we've just been performing to the mirrors, so to actually have people in the room, and the different energy that it brought was inspiring in itself. Plus, it's always nice to be able to show people what you’ve been working on.
SJW: I’m always a bit in awe of actors who can perform in the more intimate theatre spaces, given just how close the audience can actually get at times, but at least in a theatre they are usually shrouded in darkness! In the room you’ve just performed in there’s a lot of sunlight with fairly unforgiving overhead lighting, plus there was a number of press camera’s, my own included, trained on your every move! You must be quite good at blocking that all out?
PJF: Yeah, yeah, (laughs), although at on one point, during a big moment in one of my songs, I definitely saw a tiny bit of spit land on someone. (laughs)
SJW: Moving on… (laughs), we’re here because you are playing Joe Buck in the new musical adaptation of Midnight Cowboy. How far into rehearsals are you?
PJF: We’re at the start a week three and we've got four weeks in total… so that’s the rest of this week and then all of next week as well.
SJW: What can you tell me about your character?
PJF: So, Joe Buck is a young Texan fed up with his circumstance. He's just gone through a very traumatic experience, and he just wants more from life… and he believes there is more to life. Unfortunately, he doesn't really know what he's good at, and all he's ever been told is that he's been good at is making love, and that's the only thing he's felt validation from. So, he books a one-way bus ticket to New York to become a hustler… a male sex worker. That's not really who he thinks he is because, in essence he doesn't think he is a sexy person.... he doesn't think that he naturally exudes sex, but Joe Buck is also playing the character of the Joe Buck that he sells on the streets. The Texan cowboy is just an image that he's pulled together. So it's been really interesting to play the naive, sensitive Joe Buck versus the Joe Buck on the streets who sells himself as the Hollywood cowboy that he pretends to be.
SJW: In the 1969 film directed by John Schlesinger and starring John Voight as Joe Buck and Dustin Hoffman as Rico ‘Ratso’ Rizzo, that sort of nuance could all be shown in a close-up in which the smallest of facial gestures could tell a much bigger story. How do you get Joe Bucks inner monologue across to an audience on stage?
PJF: Well, I think I've just got to tell the truth. I've got to know what angle I'm coming at it from. If I believe that what I am doing is truthful to the story that we want to tell, then I've just got to trust the work. It's an incredible script. It's incredible music. It's been beautifully directed by Nick Winston, so I've just got to let the work sort of take care of itself, and it will ultimately be up to the audience as to what they make of it.
SJW: When the script initially came your way, were you already aware of the story and its cinematic legacy?
PJF: I knew the film existed. My granddad used to call my mum The Midnight Cowboy, because she would always be up in the middle of the night walking around, (laughs), and I obviously knew that famous quote by Dustin Hoffman… “I'm walking here!”... so, I knew it existed, but I think when I was maybe in my second or third round of auditions, I was like. “I should probably watch the film”… and I did, and that's when I went from just wanting a job to wanting this particular job, if you know what I mean.
SJW: Having watched the film, do you then have to let it all go so that you can find your own interpretation of the role?
PJF: Yeah, it's obviously an incredible performance from Jon Voight, and it's helpful to have that as a source, and be like, “OK... that's a version of it”. I can take a little bit of inspiration from it but I'm not trying to do an impersonation of John Voight's Joe Buck. I'm coming at it from the angle of our musical, and so it would be nice to show a new version of Joe Buck, a character that is loved by so many.
SJW: I think I’m right in saying that you worked with the director Nick Winston before during a production of Annie.
PJF: Yes. This is a slightly different musical to Annie though. (laughs) But yeah, Nick was the choreographer on Annie, but we're working in slightly different circumstances this time for sure! (laughs).
SJW: Will this be the darkest story you’ll have been a part of telling?
PJF: Yeah, I suppose the story from start to finish is a darker subject for sure. The last job I did was An Officer And A Gentleman... I'm not sure if you know the film but I played Sid and he has a bit of a tragic ending to his story, so there was a sort of dark element to that story. But I think from the get-go, this production explores so many sensitive and tragic topics that I suppose makes it feel darker, yeah.
SJW: In the film, the story predominantly focuses on Joe Buck’s relationship with Rico ‘Ratzo’ Rizzo, but for this production it sounds like we get to delve a lot deeper into your characters backstory, but given that you still have to portray that closeness of Joe and Ratzo’s relationship, I wondered if you had worked with Max Bowden, who plays Ratzo, before?
PJF: I didn't know Max before and I'm not an EastEnders watcher, so I suppose it was sort of more helpful that I didn't come to the character from an angle where I already felt starstruck. I knew of his reputation, and obviously his resumé speaks for itself, so I was super excited to work with an actor of his calibre, but no... within five minutes we were talking about our football teams, and I knew we were going to be absolutely fine. (laughs).
SJW: Is there any added pressure in having the three-time Ivor Novello winning composer Francis ‘Eg’ White in the room when you are singing his songs?
PJF: Yeah, I suppose there would be if he was a scary person… but he's not a scary person. (laughs). He's the loveliest man, and in my books he's a certified genius. He's obviously got feedback and tips regarding how the songs are performed, but not in an intimidating way... It’s in a much more constructive and helpful way, so to work with ‘Eg’ has been an absolute gift because of how he is as a person, and also the work that he's given us as well.
SJW: A lot of musicians have a secret desire to be actors. Given ‘Eg’s’ famous collaborations with the likes of Adelle and Sam Smith, I wondered if you have ever harboured a secret desire to be a pop star?
PJF: Short answer... No! I don't think I'd be a very good pop star at all to be totally honest. (laughs). I much prefer hiding behind other characters.
SJW: As an actor, your musical theatre journey so far has mostly been with more established roles in tried-and-trusted productions. Is there a different energy to your performance when you’re originating a role for the theatre from scratch?
PJF: Yeah there is. I've done revivals before… original cast revivals of already beloved musicals, but to actually be a part of a production from the ground up... I sort of had this preconceived vision that it was going to be a bit more hectic, like they'd cut a song here or add a song there… cut scenes as we went along, etc., but it hasn't been like that with this production at all. I feel like I've joined a ship that knows exactly what it is, it knows exactly what it wants, and so it's just been a totally joyous time so far...
SJW: So far?
PJF: Yeah, (laughs) I’m saying that three weeks into rehearsals... let’s wait until the previews and see if everything changes! (laughs)
SJW: Are you someone who will typically read reviews when they come in?
PJF: No. No, I don’t think that's very helpful, and I don't mean this in a rude way, but I'm not entirely interested in what anyone thinks of my performance, because then I think you will start to change things. Obviously it's tempting, and it's sort of like you want to see if it's being received well... but I'm around amazing actors and I feel incredibly safe plus I believe in the piece. Obviously we’re still in rehearsals, but I really feel like I'm starting to know who my character is now, and I don't want to be influenced in any way by seeing what ‘so-and-so’ from ‘Theatre Blog 12345’ thinks I'm doing wrong. Do you know what I mean?
SJW: Absolutely, and given the performances I’ve just witnessed this morning, I’d say you’ve got nothing to worry about on. that front anyway.
PJF: I Appreciate it. Thank you so much.
interview & photography: Simon J. Webb
“ Joe Buck is a young man desperate to escape his dead-end past. Leaving everything behind, to seek wealth and glory in the big city, he meets a man just as lost as he is – Rico ‘Ratso’ Rizzo. The pair join forces, prepared to do whatever it takes to achieve their dreams, even if it means surrendering a part of themselves. But New York ain’t no dream – it’s a jungle and survival requires sacrifice…
Based on the novel by James Leo Herlihy and the beloved triple Academy Award-winning 1969 film, starring Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman, Midnight Cowboy captures the gripping tension of dreaming big whilst trying to survive the grind of New York City.
This powerful adaptation has a book by Bryony Lavery (writer of the Tony-nominated play ‘Frozen’), which breathes new life into the classic story, exploring the depths of friendship and ambition, and soundtrack by three-time Ivor Novello Award-winning composer Francis ‘Eg’ White, who has written songs for Adele, Florence + The Machine and James Morrison. “
Midnight Cowboy is on at the Southwark Playhouse Elephant until 17th May. Tickets available here