TOP Irish theatre company, Rough Magic, returns to London for the first time in eight years, with the English premiere of its award-winning contemporary farce Jezebel.
Detailing a high-flying couple who hatch a plan to spice up their sex life, the romantic comedy was penned by Irishman Mark Cantan.
The young playwright is a writer of many forms following stints in theatre, TV, radio and journalism. Also a regular comedy performer (is there no ends to his talents), Cantan is also currently finishing work on his first solo album. We took ten minutes out of his busy schedule.
What are you up to right now?
Sitting in my office on a sunny day worrying about thinking up answers that will sound whimsical but not smug. What I’m avoiding right now is working on my new play which I’ve scheduled a reading of in five days’ time and I have only about a third written.
Who are your heroes?
(Screen and playwright) Aaron Sorkin is one anyway. I’ll watch pretty much anything he’s done. His first show, Sports Night, is like The West Wing except with the occasional sounds of a baffled studio audience sitting there wondering why everyone is talking so fast.
Also John Cleese and Connie Booth, and the guys behind It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and too many other sitcom writers to name. I love a twisty farce plot — which I think is evident from Jezebel.
What’s been the best decade of your life so far and why?
0-10 years old. My early work was my best. I was really breaking new ground. Now I’m mostly treading over familiar territory.
What record sends a shiver down your spine?
That woman with the longest fingernails. Creepy.
What is your favourite place in Ireland?
In truth I’d have to say Dublin ’cause it’s where I keep all my stuff but I definitely have a fondness for the beauty of Donegal.
What makes you angry?
Not much. I tend not to lose my temper.
What book influenced you most?
Lots of books in different ways I guess. One example would be The Selfish Gene by Dickie Dawkins. It expanded my way of thinking about things.
I’d understood evolution in general terms before but it really showed me how incredibly simple and incredibly complicated evolution is. Since then I’ve found it very illuminating to look at human and animal behaviours from an evolutionary point of view.
Which local star in any field should the world outside Ireland know about?
I really love the music of bands like The Redneck Manifesto, And So I Watch You From Afar and Adebisi Shank. I often use it to motivate / energise me when writing. I once used And So I Watch You Afar to drown out the rest of a show that I was in so that I could sit at the side of the stage and try to learn Polish in half an hour.
Can you recommend an interesting website?
Have you tried www.markcantan.com? I love it. I’m on there all the time.
Jezebel opens this weekWhat is the best lesson life has taught you?
That there are no rules and no absolute lessons. There’s a thing they say in The West Wing about the definition of insanity being repeating the same actions and expecting different results. But I think the same could be said about repeating the same actions and expecting the same results.
If you could change one thing in your life, what would it be?
I’d actually like to do more acting. When I see the guys on stage in Jezebel I get a bit jealous. People are laughing at my lines but I still feel like I’m missing out on some of the fun not being up there playing with the audience.
What is your favourite film and why?
I’m not a great man for deciding that this one thing is the best thing. How can 2001 be compared to Life of Brian? And how will I not change my mind tomorrow? So instead I’ll say the last film I saw that I really enjoyed was the French film Untouchable / The Intouchables — really heartwarming and a lot of fun.
What do you believe in?
That belief isn’t an end. Keep asking better questions, keep getting better answers.
What trait do others criticise you for?
Valerie O’Connor, who plays Jezebel, says I have a particular look when she has an idea for a change to the script. I’ll placidly listen and nod and then tell her no.
On what occasion is it OK to lie?
When I tell Valerie that her idea was really good.
Where do you live and what are the best and worst things about that place?
Dublin. It’s a city of a very manageable size, which is both the best and worst thing. You’re constantly running into people; some of whom you want to see and some of whom you don’t.
What do you consider the greatest work of art?
Jezebel by Mark Cantan. No wait, this article. No, this answer!
What is your ultimate guilty pleasure?
For some reason I read as “ultimate guitar pleasure”. Which is actually something that I do that I often feel guilty about. When I should be writing I get distracted by playing guitar or making music.
I’ll get an idea for a tune and spend an hour messing around with it before remembering that that script is due tomorrow. You can actually hear the fruits of those distractions here: markcantan.bandcamp.com
Who is/was the love of your life?
TBD. If my answers to these questions have made you fall madly in love with me come on down to the show, introduce yourself and we can spend the rest of our lives together.
What is your favourite one-liner or retort?
“You’re a one-liner or retort” — playwright Ross Dungan in this very section last year.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I used to watch Ronnie Barker and David Jason in Open All Hours and think, “That’s what I want to do when I grow up. I want to be a shop keeper.” Somewhere along the way I must have figured out that the real job they were doing was being comedians.
Jezebel by Mark Cantan runs at the Soho Theatre, London from August 12-31
