What could be warmer than lunch by the crackling fire accompanied by three adorable actors wearing autumn knitwear? Actually there is nothing; Although the subject matter that brings Woody Harrelson, Andy Serkis and Louisa Harland together in this quiet London bar is as intimate as a hand grenade.
They are in the middle of rehearsal for Ulster American, David Ireland’s wildly funny three-person play about explosive misunderstandings between a principled playwright and Ruth; Leigh, a well-intentioned director; and Jay, a domineering Hollywood star. As the three prepare to stage Ruth’s provocative play about Northern Ireland, featuring decapitated priests and the ghost of hunger striker Bobby Sands, they realize they are not in the same bookstore, let alone on the same page. Jay has difficulty grasping the Troubles, Leigh mistakenly believes the whole play is about post-Brexit tensions, and Ruth flatly denies any rewriting. She was promised to meet Jay’s friend Quentin Tarantino; But if things continue like this, there may be enough bloodshed before opening night to disturb even the director of Kill Bill.
My youngest daughter is extremely alert. Boy, is he giving me a rough ride?
Woody Harrelson
Thank God, today life does not imitate art. Harland, 30, best known as the charmingly unconventional Orla in sitcom Derry Girls, is described as “fucking extraordinary” by Harrelson, now 62, who plays the Hollywood star. He directed her in 2017’s gritty comedy Lost in London, which became the world’s first (and to date only) one-shot film to be broadcast live to cinemas during its shooting.
Meanwhile, Serkis, 59, is a “beautiful soul” according to Harrelson. The two met in 2016 during the movie War for the Planet of the Apes. “Andy happened that damn gorilla!” says Harrelson with admiration. Serkis clears his throat. “Chimp, Woody. “It’s a small point.”
Harrelson last appeared on stage in the 2005 West End revival of The Night of the Iguana. Or as he puts it: “The Night of the Living Hell.” It’s that bad, isn’t it? “Yes. I didn’t like the production, the role, or how I did it.” It’s been a long time since Serkis burst onto the scene as Iago in 2002’s Othello, but since then he’s been starring in blockbuster movies (Apes, Jedis, Hobbits, Avengers) or directing (featuring Harrelson and Tom Hardy). Venom: Let There Be Carnage) has been busy.
“Being away for so long,” says Serkis, “you feel like you have to come back with a big Richard III number.” He was set to play Johnny “Rooster” Byron in Jez Butterworth’s revival of Jerusalem last year, until Mark Rylance returned to the role for a victory lap. “Then Woody sent me Ulster American and I was like, ‘Bang! This much.'”
What caught him? “David’s language is very muscular and musical. And because it’s a comedy, it gives you the freedom to think more clearly.” Serkis sees the game as a reflection of the “post-truth” world. “You can be canceled at any time. There is disinformation everywhere. Common courtesy disappears. Theater is supposed to be a place where erroneous thoughts and unspeakable comments are voiced, but doing that today is a dangerous thing.” Harland agrees: “We go to the theater to be challenged. David’s writing certainly delivers on that.”
Ulster American skates border on bad taste. It opens with Jay contemplating his right to use racist language. He then proposes an offensive thought experiment involving a member of the royal family. “When I read it, it took my breath away,” Harrelson says. “There’s a real chance to make people laugh hysterically, but sometimes you have to move forward with a heavy sled.”
He is optimistic that British theatergoers will approach the play as written, in a searching, analytical spirit. “American audiences are offended by words and ideas. They are much more alert than here. I’m a lot like Jay.” Harland quickly jumps in. “It’s not that extreme,” he points out. “No,” Harrelson says. “But I can be a provocateur. I’m my youngest daughter. oversized I woke up. Boy, is she giving me a hard ride. ‘This is a joke! I know you’re awake, but can you take a nap?’” What did they argue about? “Oh, let’s not go into details,” he says in a singsong voice. His co-stars respond with relieved laughter.
Harrelson faced a bit of controversy earlier this year after hosting Saturday Night Live and making jokes about drug cartels buying up the media and politicians and then manufacturing a crisis to get the world addicted to their products. An eerie silence fell on the studio as the money dropped on him making a satirical point about the pandemic. He must have suspected that the audience wasn’t on his side. “I I knew they wouldn’t,” he said with a twinkle in his eye. “It was ironic that it was interpreted as anti-vaccination when it was actually anti-profiteering. “I would feel better if trillions of dollars did not flow out of our pockets into the hands of big pharmaceutical companies.”
Provocation is one thing, but Harrelson’s character in Ulster American combines world-class power with toxicity. Have the actors ever encountered real-life Jays? “There is,” says Serkis. “But I can’t tell you who.” Harrelson shakes his fist and demands: “Go away that son of a bitch!” How did Serkis deal with such a dysfunctional existence? “You try to change the temperature in the room to deprive this behavior of oxygen,” he says. Harland, on the other hand, says he feels generally positive about the workplace in the post-#MeToo environment. “There is definitely greater understanding, but it will take time to fix the damage. There’s a lot to undo.”
What puts the characters of the game in a bind is their stubbornness to defend their own territory. “That’s what the game is about,” Serkis says. “How far will you go to fight for your truth? Leigh wants to engage with the complex nature of Northern Ireland, but her understanding only goes so far. The question of whether you can truly tell someone else’s story has come under scrutiny.”
This brings an idea to Harland, whose character in Derry Girls has been widely interpreted as autistic. “It’s great that people identify with Orla,” she says. “But I am not autistic, and the choices I made were not specific to autism. But I was really touched by the letters I got from girls who felt like they were weird.”
Ulster American constantly pokes fun at how childish players can be. Does this remind you of anything? “I became a professional actor when I was 23,” Harrelson says. “And he is It’s kind of like being a child. I don’t know where to go if there isn’t someone to take me to the next thing. “I am guided everywhere by hand.” He puts on a docile expression and extends a floppy arm to an imaginary babysitter. “I even got lost while cycling home yesterday. I couldn’t remember the name of the road I stayed on. And I don’t have a phone. That was clumsy.” Doesn’t he have a map? “But where I am is just off the map,” he says, making it sound like a metaphor.
On the first day of Cheers, Teddy Danson found out I played ping-pong. There’s a table there the next day
Serkis says he, too, feels infantilized as an actor, which surprises Harrelson. “You look like a guy who can flip a flat, fix an engine,” he says, and then addresses Harland and me: “Doesn’t Andy look like the kind of guy who can do anything?” Serkis looks shy. “I can get myself out of situations Boy Scout style,” he says.
All of this brings Harrelson back to his role as a lovable, ditzy bartender named Woody in the sitcom Cheers, opposite Ted Danson. “The first day on set, Teddy found out I played ping-pong. He also plays ping pong. ‘Hey, can we get a ping pong table?’ The next day there it is.” He nods. “People are always interested in you. Anything you want. The problem is, if everyone tells you you’re great, that’s okay. The problem is you start believing it.”
Really? I definitely did. My ego ran away from me when I was little. Or with me. This is almost inevitable. Either you pull yourself together and realize what happened, or you perish like a human being. Now I was able to handle this issue well. “I feel an appropriate level of humility.”
Just in time, his assistant arrives to accompany him to rehearsals. “So we’re not surgeons,” Harrelson says as he stands up. “We are not saving Mother Earth here.”
• Ulster American is at Riverside Studios in London from 4 December to 27 January.