Mary Stuart's Rudi Dharmalingam on Playing a Fictional Character in a History Play & More

The Almeida Theatre’s hypnotic revival of Friedrich Schiller’s Mary Stuart finds the mighty Lia Williams and Juliet Stevenson tossing a coin each performance to see who gets to play each of the two leading roles—Elizabeth I or her cousin (and nemesis), Mary, Queen of Scots. But as the director Robert Icke’s production transfers to the Duke of York’s Theatre for a West End run, the ensemble also gives pride of place to the busy, ever-expert Rudi Dharmalingam, who plays Mary’s (fictional) ally Mortimer. Dharmaligam recently spoke to Broadway.com about getting advice from the great Richard Griffiths and what makes a classic play endure.

How does it feel coming back to a production first seen in London early in December 2016, so over a year ago now?
I’ve never re-rehearsed a show before, but I was very passionate about this and felt as if I wanted to revisit the play. What I’ve found is that there is even more to Mortimer than I had imagined, and different ways of doing things.

Why is it that a German play written in 1800 endures so well? [Broadway hosted Phyllida Lloyd’s production of the same play with Janet McTeer and Harriet Walter in 2009].
It’s got a lot to do with notions of women in power and how they deal with that in a court surrounded by men—including my character, Mortimer. You’ve also got these two temperaments: the heart and soul and romanticism of Mary and the more objective, dispassionate Elizabeth.

What do you think of your director’s decision to open the play with a coin toss?
It’s sort of genius, really, though it must be terrifying for Lia and Juliet. What’s nice, I think, is that it works as a metaphor for all of history. You could argue all of history is decided on the toss of a coin.

Mortimer is pro-Mary, of course, but do you as Rudi come down on the side of one queen or the other?
Well, without giving too much away, the play ends with a meeting between the two queens, and I do think you can argue that Mary has won that debate. But it remains open to interpretation, which is part of what keeps it exciting.

Has doing this play ramped up your interest in history?
I absolutely had to swot [bone] up on that period history and consumed myself in lots of research. You have Mary Stuart, who was famously the unlucky queen who lots of people thought had priority over Elizabeth I, and then you have Elizabeth I, who became the illegitimate queen and was excommunicated by the pope. 

What is it like playing the rare character in Schiller’s play who is in fact fictional?
What’s nice is that Mortimer doesn’t come with any weight of expectation. Within the play itself, he represents that growing contingent of Catholic rebels who want to free Mary from prison and kill Elizabeth, so the task is about finding ways to channel his energy and drive.

Rewinding your career, how do you look back on your Broadway debut in 2006 in Alan Bennett’s Tony-winning The History Boys?
That was extraordinary. I joined the production in April 2004 at the National as Dominic Cooper’s understudy and didn’t do a single show in a year and a half—only to end up going on in New York in a role I didn’t cover! I had started to think, “Why am I putting myself through this?” [Laughs.]

What then happened in New York?
We were there getting ready for the first preview at the Broadhurst Theatre and suddenly Sam Anderson couldn’t go on [as Crowther], so I learned the part on Thursday and went on Friday and did three weeks in all.

Do you and the other “boys” stay in touch?
They’re all so busy, but I did see James Corden about five weeks ago. I’d gone out to the States to meet my manager and went to see James do his thing on The Late Late Show. What’s amazing is that we’ve all got kids now, including me, and James has sort of gone through the stratosphere.

Did the late, great and Tony-winning Richard Griffiths give you any advice?
He did in fact! My very first day on the show, there I was age 22 at the very start of my career in the tea room at the National Theatre with Richard Griffiths, and he said to me, “Rudi, don’t be an actor, write something: that’s how you make the money! Actors are just the foot soldiers.” Obviously, I ignore that bit of advice but I did take others from him.

And how do you look back on your experience in 2015 as Guildenstern in the Benedict Cumberbatch Hamlet, otherwise known as the hottest Shakespearean ticket of recent years?
That production was really a set of amazing experiences: there was sort of a funfair aspect surrounding it, and Benedict took all that very graciously. He was incredibly humble and always very aware of how lucky he was; I mean, he’d be asking melaughs]. It was an amazing three months of my life.

Are you pleased after doing this and Hamlet and the Olivier Award-winning Oresteia to find how consistent an audience there is in London for drama?
I think audiences’ appetites are as hungry as ever for quality stuff. Sure, the majority of what you see on the West End is musicals, but there are also people who want to go see Juliet Stevenson and Lia Williams in a Rob Icke production. It’s a winning formula.

Do you have to do anything physically to get into character for Mortimer?
Well, I’m getting my hair cut today! It’s far too long at the moment, so I’m going to get a bit of a trim.