I normally don’t prelude my interview write-ups with the pre-amble of greetings, but in this instance I shall make an exception.
I ask if I find Dylan in good shape…
Well, I had a little incident the other day, we were rehearsing our little fight scene and I landed my ribs on John’s knee. Alas, I’ve rested up a little now, and I’m feeling a little better now. It was a shock at the time, but I’ve rested over the weekend…you find me OK!
Thus, a special commendation is due to Dylan for speaking to me whilst amidst the walking wounded! I begin properly by asking Dylan to tell me a little about the show, a brand-new musical rendition of Peter Mullan’s film, Orphans…
Well for those who haven’t seen, or know much about the movie, which is understandable, as it didn’t get a huge amount of hype, which I find crazy…I must admit I didn’t know a great deal about the film, until I met Cora [Bissett – Director] and Douglas [Maxwell – Book] who gave me the script and had me read through it with them.
So OK, it’s based on the 1998 film, written and directed by Peter Mullen, an absolutely fantastic film about a family of four orphans they’ve just lost their mother. I often say this to people, but it opens with the funeral and they seem to freak at the idea and wonder just what kind of show this is! But it’s got a lot of humour, it’s not dreary; it’s got such amazing moments in it, there’s comedy, there’s laughter, there’s emotion.
There’s oldest brother Thomas, there’s Michael, then Sheila, and then there’s John my character, the youngest of the siblings. It basically just shows how four different siblings deal with grief…with the loss. There are genuinely four very dramatic different journeys, showing these different personalities of these children. Well, children in some sense, John’s character is supposed to be about 18-20 where’s Thomas is actually about 40 years old.
I next ask how a musical adaptation adds to the story…
Well, it really helps when you’ve got people like Tommy [Reilly] and Roddy [Hart] writing the songs for you. Honestly, every single time they bring a new song in…[Dylan exhales in clear admiration]
I really, really do think the music really helps the story. That might sound disrespectful to the original, and I don’t mean to suggest it wasn’t good the way it was. Maybe it’s because I’m a lover of musicals myself, but as an actor, it’s even easier with the music there…it really injects the emotion into the character’s journeys. I think the way the movie is written really lends itself to being a musical.
I then ask a little about Dylan’s background as a performer…
Well, I’m originally from Tillicoultry, central Scotland, but I moved to I moved to Glasgow when I was about 16 to join the Dance School of Scotland. From there, I auditioned for drama schools, and went down to Bristol to train at the Bristol Vic Theatre. It’s a good job I got in there, because I’m very bad at everything else!
I’ve always been a singer; I’ve always loved to sing. Back in my home town, from the age of 18 when I was allowed to play in pubs, I had my acoustic guitar, my amp, my speakers, and I just played in bars, two or three days a week. That’s how I made my living, and then I moved down to Bristol, and did the same down there at weekends.
And the pandemic?
I became a driver for Amazon, fortunately there was a lot of jobs going there, because it was the only work you could do.
And working up in Scotland, as a son of the Saltire nation?
This is really my first bit of work in Scotland, and it’s great being back up here. I got my agent when south of the border, in London, and the majority of my work has come about that area, where I actually live. It’s been great to have this opportunity to come and work with the National Theatre of Scotland.
It’s great being back home, I can finally invite all my friends, and family, because it’s difficult to get them all to London, when that’s so expensive. The more the merrier when it comes to working in Scotland, it means I can come home!
I next ask about any particular challenges of bringing a story first told on screen, to the stage…
I go back to the company we have, and let’s look at the crew. Our set design is so vast, it’s so absolutely magic we can’t fit it into our rehearsal room at the moment. [For those unfamiliar, ‘The Big Room’ in the National Theatre of Scotland’s building is called “big” for a reason! It’s quite gigantic.]
We’ve put the set in it, to get to grips with it, but we couldn’t entirely do that…I can’t say much, but think Glasgow tenements built to give you that sense of scale. We [the cast] were stunned when we first walked into that room. They surprised us with it, took us out for a day, and then we came back to it…wow!
You’ll be transported as soon as you look at it, you’ll know exactly where you are, and that’s the heart of Glasgow.
Yeah, and then the crew said, “Aye, this is just half of it!”
Returning to the NTS’s new musical, Orphans, I ask Dylan what his hopes are for opening night…
Well it is a musical, so I hope people go out singing the songs. Especially Tommy and Roddy, they’ve always said that. When the show was first brought to us, we hadn’t heard any of the songs. It was June 2020, we were obviously in the middle of a pandemic, and sat over Zoom, reading through the script and listening to the music over that. By the time I came back to being in the room with the guys, in October, I knew half the songs because they were just so catchy!
We want people to remember the songs.
Also, though, I have so much faith in this show, I really do. It’s not going to be for everyone, it can’t possibly be [I observe that a universally popular show doesn’t exist], but…and maybe this is because I’m in it…but it’s brilliant! It’s such an amazing show. I want people to enjoy it, and I think it’ll be worth every penny.
And…If they’ve come in and haven’t seen the movie, I want them go out and need to see it!
Next I asks if any members of the cast have surprised Dylan in rehearsals…
Well, yes, just this last Friday, we did a little stagger through of the entire show…you know, you get through the rehearsal period, you get called into the room when required, and you often don’t catch what other people are doing until a proper run-through. Friday was the first time we got to see the show in its – almost – entirety.
Let me tell you there are some people in this show who really do blow you away, and some have little, to no, training. Take Rab [Robert] Florence, he’s never been trained: he’s never actually done any theatre.
It’s crazy to think that he’s never had any kind of vocal training with a voice like that. Reuben [Joseph] he had no musical theatre training at all, and he just blasts through the songs, and let me tell you they are not easy to sing! These are difficult songs, requiring a lot of support, and emotional connection.
I can’t just sit here and give credit to only my three temporary siblings, because there are these characters called ‘The Paper Girls,’ played Amber [Sylvia Edwards], Betty [Valencia], and Chloe [Hodgson]. They’ve got a song, and I swear they’re doing cartwheels whilst they’re singing! They’re blasting these songs out and I’m wondering, how are you blasting these songs out?!
It’s all so impressive…it’s great to work with every single one of them, and I’d single out every single person in the cast if we had time.
I next ask if he thinks Orphans might have a future, maybe through transfers…
I’ll be I’d be stunned if the show only lasts for the month that it’s on. I think it deserves to go further. I mean, I’m saying that before it’s even been in front of an audience but I have so much faith. It’s brilliant, absolutely brilliant.
The cast are just one part of it, you’ve got Tommy and Roddy, Cora our director…so, so many amazing people that are just amazing. I do think people are really, really going to enjoy it, and if so it would be silly not to extend. I certainly don’t think it’s a show you can’t take out of Scotland; I can’t deny it it’s very much raw Glaswegian, very west of Scotland. But, it’s not as if people are just not going to get it.
There’s no way this show…please, please extend this show…whoever has that authority, just do it!
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