Josh Williams Is Scaling the Heights in the West End's Touching the Void
Josh Williams has appeared across a range of London playhouses, from the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre to the Royal Court, but only now is he in the West End and in a starring role, no less. Williams is playing Joe Simpson in Touching the Void at the Duke of York’s, David Greig’s adaptation of Simpson’s own 1988 memoir, which itself became an acclaimed 2003 film. Telling of Simpson’s near-fatal climb in the Peruvian Andes in 1985, the play makes for unusual West End fare—as the charming Williams was eager to discuss with Broadway.com.
Do you feel as if you’ve arrived, in a sense, with this play?
I’ve never worked in the West End before, so in that regard this is a fantastic opportunity! We all know this industry is fickle and goodness knows what is going to happen afterwards, but it’s so amazing to be able to bring a unique play like this into the heart of London; it’s not really like anything else that’s on.
What did you think when you first heard that such an action-based story was being adapted for the stage? [Simpson, the real-life character Williams is playing, was one of two young climbers who scaled the Siula Grande in the Andes only to break his leg on the way down, to near-catastrophic results.]
My agent called me something like two years ago and like most people, my initial reaction was, “That sounds absolutely ridiculous.” But I knew the story and was really interested in going in for it, even though at the time there wasn’t a script. I went back to the source material and read the book.
Do you have a view as to why this narrative has flourished in so many different formats: book, film, play?
It genuinely is a triumphant story of survival—even if what went on before Joe ultimately survived is pretty grim.
Do you feel as if you’ve scaled a mountain all your own, theatrically speaking?
It’s been exhausting—exhilarating, of course, but exhausting just because the level of physicality in the show is pretty bonkers. On top of that, you’ve got the GORE-TEX jackets and all the climbing gear under the lights, and you come off dripping sweat and feeling like you’ve achieved something. It does feel as if you have scaled the mountain.
Has it felt like a personal exercise regime?
Initially, I lost weight because I came into the show straight from the sofa, as it were, and then I started to gain weight and have maintained a quite regular weight at the gym. I would love to work out how much I’m sweating because I can wring out my shirt at the interval, which is pretty revolting!
Is it interesting playing a character who lives for the outdoors, which isn’t the type of person you encounter all too often onstage?
Yes, especially because Joe in the play, much like Joe in real life, is a huge proponent of outdoor life and the beauty of nature and how fantastic all these places are, and I actually have a speech about not climbing being the weird thing.
Does that attitude linger as you exit the stage door?
It feels strange to deliver that speech and then hop on the tube home and go to the supermarket and do all that kind of stuff. You really notice the juxtaposition.
How do you deal with the recreation eight times a week of a physical challenge that nearly led to your character's death?
I would be lying if I said it wasn’t terrifying the first time around. A lot of the stuff I do is scary, but you become desensitized to it, really. You just have to put complete trust in the people who’ve done the rigging, so that the physical demands just become another thing.
What was it like meeting Joe Simpson himself?
I was terrified for Joe to come and see the show. Here we are trying to portray a very traumatic time in someone’s life on stage, and they can have quite a strong reaction to that. At first, I didn’t want to know he was in the house, but for various reasons I was made aware and the show went on as normal. Afterwards, I came out front of house and he was standing three meters in front of me.
And then?
I completely panicked and walked straight past him! He came for a drink with the cast afterwards and I told him, “I’m so sorry, I fluffed it by seeing you.” But he’s a fantastic man and very interesting. I know he’s thrilled for the success of the show.
Have you ever been to South America?
I have, weirdly: I went to the Ecuadorian Andes for a month when I was 12, which is a strange case of serendipity. I was part of a program that took eight young people from the U.K. to extreme environments all over the world, and I was chosen to be one of the eight: I was about 4’3” at the time and weighed 40 kilos [88 pounds]!
Are you planning to lie in a hot tub for a week or so once the show closes?
Fact, within a week of our finishing, I am off to Revelstoke in Canada with my younger brother, who is a big skier and ski instructor. So, after talking about the mountains for all this time, I’ll actually be in the mountains—and I’ll be sure to bring a pair of ice packs!