George Kemp: Joe Orton in 'Diary of a Somebody'
55 years after the murder of Joe Orton, the Seven Dials Playhouse is preparing to revive John Lahr's Diary of a Somebody, a play adapted verbatim from Orton's diaries. It's also been 35 years since the show was first premiered at the National Theatre and George Kemp was kind enough to sit down to discuss the upcoming production with us. In the mid 1960s, Joe Orton was one of the most influential playwrights of his time, creating popular works such as Loot and\xa0 Entertaining Mr Sloane. Diary of a Somebody takes audiences into the mind of Joe Orton and his meteoric rise to success as well as into his relationship with his long-time partner and eventual murderer: Kenneth Halliwell. George Kemp is getting ready to take on the role of Joe Orton alongside a stellar cast including Toby Osmond as Halliwell, and also reuniting with director Nico Rao Pimpar\xe9 who he co-starred alongside in Rope at the Queen's Theatre in Hornchurch.
In this special interview, George talks about his experience working with the company and exploring the complex dynamic that existed between Orton and Halliwell. We look at the legacy of Joe Orton and how his story still remains relevant today. The interview also highlights the importance of being able to tell stories that represent modern society at a time where more stories about gay men are being told on stage. George also tells us about his initial meeting with John Lahr at the first reading of the play, and how enjoyable it has been getting to work with Nico Rao Pimpar\xe9 again. He remains ever humbled throughout the conversation about his work as an actor though as we also glaze over working on hit Netflix series Bridgerton\xa0 as well as his return to the National Theatre later this year in Jack Absolute Flies Again. There's been much speculation around Diary of a Somebody, especially after the enormous success around the Seven Dials Playhouse's premiere of Steve earlier on in the year, so it seems that we can expect this new revival of Lahr's text to be a highlight of the season.
Diary of a Somebody runs at the Seven Dials Playhouse from 22 March - 30 April and tickets are available from the theatre's website NOW!