Matthew-Lewis.com

The official site for Matthew’s new play, Unfaithful, has shared some behind the scenes photos by photographer Marc Brenner. Some additional photos were posted by Broadway World. The photos can be viewed in our gallery!

Matthew also spoke about the play with Broadway World. He discusses his character, the themes of the play and his decision to return to the theater world.

Had you been thinking about a return to the stage for a while?

I’m always open to offers from all across the spectrum. But I was talking to Matthew Macfadyen, when we worked on Ripper Street, and he said he tends to get a craving to do theatre every three years – it helps him focus and go back to basics, getting that rehearsal time. It really reminds you what it means to be an actor.

I thought that was really interesting, and realised it had been about three years since I did a play. I then went into a meeting for a TV comedy and was offered that, but the show was put back, so I suddenly had this gap in my diary. I read this play and thought it was absolutely superb – I fell in love with it immediately and read it cover to cover, just racing through it. It’s funny and real, and I could picture it being a cracking piece on stage.

Tell us about your character

The play’s about two couples. I’m Peter, one half of the younger couple, and he’s actually a male escort. The way he can cope with that while being in a relationship is to treat it as business – just a job that makes money. But the question is, how much can he just ignore what’s he doing, and what does it mean for his girlfriend. He plays characters when he’s being an escort, so does he reveal everything of himself or keep something back? Can you have sex or be intimate without giving yourself?

The psychology of it is really interesting. The play’s so layered – I keep picking up on new things in rehearsal. It’s been fun to get into Peter’s head and figure out what’s it like to be him. Dark, but fun!

How do you think people will respond to it?

It’s a very honest play that I think people will find quite uncomfortable, in the sense that it will challenge them – they’ll relate to some of these characters and the situations they’re in. The responses will be very interesting – definitely one to pick over and discuss afterwards.

Have you ever performed in an intimate space like Found111 before?

No! When I first saw it a month ago, I was immediately very intimated. I thought “There won’t be that many people, so nothing to worry about… Oh, wait. They’ll be right in front of me.” So it adds a whole new dynamic, but that suits the play so well. It’s very dirty and grimy and visceral, and people won’t feel safely removed, in a big theatre with a programme and a glass of wine, but a fly on the wall, right amongst the action, feeling those feelings.

It’s like when you glimpse a domestic argument unfolding on the Tube platform and you don’t want to, but you have to look. This intimate space will give it a real, raw energy. I’ve been told once it’s full of people it takes on a life of its own, so I imagine it’ll end up changing the performance each night as well.

How does this compare to your other theatre experiences?

I did a six-month tour about five years ago, and then Our Boys at the Duchess in 2012 – all three have been very different. Because of the humble nature of the venue and the rehearsal area, this one feels like a group of friends putting on a show in someone’s living room.

It’s been very enjoyable, working in that relaxed environment, and it’s useful because my theatre credits aren’t extensive. This is definitely pushing me, and I feel quite a lot of pressure, so to have these people around me, the brilliant cast and our director Adam Penford, the environment they’ve created is brilliant – it feels very safe and supportive, all for one and one for all. We watch everyone’s scenes and offer up ideas together, really unpicking the psychology of the show. None of us realised quite many interpretations there are going into it.

As an actor, that’s something you don’t get the opportunity to do enough in telly and film. So it resonates with what Matthew said – that theatre is acting in its purest form, poring over all the characters and their motivations and reasoning.

Do you relate to the themes of the play?

The language of relationships and sex, generationally, is very different – we’re more open about stuff than maybe the older generation. With Peter in particular a lot of his story is about the face we put on when we step out the front door, and the characters we play in different social situations – whether at work, in the pub or at the football.

It’s interesting to think about do we ever show our true selves to anyone, and do we even know who we are after playing characters for so long? As an actor, I definitely relate to that, but everyone does it, whether you work in a shop or an office.

And it happens now more than ever, with the faceless, anonymous internet meaning we create whole new personas online. That’s similar to what Peter does, as a way to cope with his job, saying “It’s not really me”, but can that really work long-term? How long can you keep up those barriers?

Would you like to do more theatre after this or return to TV and film?

Whatever comes up really. I’m very fortunate to be in the position where I can choose roles – I know, as an actor, that’s hugely lucky. So the way I approach it is, rather than think “What is this going to do to my career?”, I think about whether I’ll enjoy doing it over several months, if it’s going to challenge me, will I get bored, or will I get a real kick out of it. This play I knew would tick all the boxes.

Unfaithful runs from 31 August to 8 October at Found111, with previews starting 25 August.

In a new interview with London News Online Matthew talks about his role in the upcoming play Unfaithful. When asked what the play is about Matthew said:

I guess if I were to try to sum it up, I’d say it’s about relationships; some in their infancy and some that have been going on for decades and it’s how people communicate in these relationships. It’s about the characters that we play in life and the facades that we put on. It’s about trying to have a connection with somebody, where we can be allowed to be ourselves, if only for a moment and what that requires.

He also discusses his character, Peter, who is a male escort:

“I have an illusion of freedom over my life, that allows me to do what I want. Being an escort is the kind of thing that maybe other people may frown on, or scoff at, but it allows me a level of freedom that they don’t have and it makes me special. I guess what we look at with Peter, is how much of that is a front? How much of that is a character that he must wear? Is there a piece of him he has to keep hidden or else he gets lost and that’s what we’re exploring? Can you be an escort while still maintaining a personal, private relationship? There are lots of things that come with that.”

Matt expressed his excitement at returning to the West End after 2012’s Our Boys:

“I’m very excited to put this one on. I’m intrigued to see what people will make of it. Because of its honesty they may find it uncomfortable and not because they hate it, but because it will just resonate with people.” Matthew said “Its nice to be rehearsing in the West End and feel that buzz and that energy again. It’s really a club and once you’re in you’re in. It feels very family like.”

FOUND111 is a 100 seat venue and while talking about it’s small size Matthew says:

“Its very intimate. When I came here about month ago for the press photos it was my first time and I thought it was literally just a run down, almost derelict building, but there’s actually a warmth to it. I think it, sort of, takes on the life of the people who are in here. Since we’ve been here for the last week, it doesn’t feel derelict at all. It doesn’t feel abandoned. It feels full of life and I’ve been led to believe that on a theatre night there’s an electricity and a buzz that you get in here that you don’t normally get. It’s like we’re all in this weird building experiencing something unique and special and I think each night will feel like it’s one little thing that’s been shared amongst us hundred people and no one else.”

“I think it suits this play because of its rawness and its reality. I think it feels very much like you’re a fly on the wall.”

Mathew said “It’s like you’re a part of this, like that uncomfortable bystander on a tube platform, while someone’s arguing next to you. We get a real window into these people’s lives, which I think is perfect for this venue.”

Theater website What’s On Stage recently went behind the scenes during rehearsals for Matthew Lewis’ new play Unfaithful which opens at FOUND111 later this month. Watch the clip below to learn more about the play and it’s actors.

Unfaithful runs from 31 August to 8 October at Found111, with previews starting 25 August.

It has been announced this evening that Matthew Lewis has been cast in a new-to-London play titled Unfaithful. Unfaithful was first performed at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, on 3rd August 2014.

The play runs from August 25th to October 8th at Found 111 on Charing Cross Road. Tickets to the play can be purchased here or by calling 020 7478 0100. Prices start at £35 and performance schedules are: Monday – Saturday 7.45pm or Wednesday & Saturday 3pm.

Emily Dobbs Productions is thrilled to present the London premiere of Unfaithful, a blackly comic new play starring Sean Campion (The Borgias, Stones in his Pockets), Niamh Cusack (Heartbeat, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time), Ruta Gedmintas (The Strain, The Tudors) and Matthew Lewis (Harry Potter film series, The Syndicate).

Tom is enjoying a quiet pint after work. Tara lies awake whilst her boyfriend finishes his shift. When their paths cross, a chain of events is sparked that reveal the unspoken desires and regrets of two relationships on the brink.

Sharply written by award-winning playwright Owen McCafferty (ScenesFrom The Big Picture, Shoot TheCrow) Unfaithful questions what it means to be lovers, partners and people. Directed by Adam Penford (Watership Down, A Small FamilyBusiness).

UPDATE: We found a page on writer Owen McCafferty’s website and it looks like the second male character, who we assume Matthew will be playing, is named Peter. The synopsis from his website states:

Can relationships withstand the brutality of betrayal? Joan and Tom, Tara and Peter; two couples struggling to comprehend their roles as lovers, partners and individuals. As Tom and Tara face the tedium of daily life, how far will they go to feel their hearts beat again? When their paths cross, the emotional fall-out will be explosive.

A stark and searing glimpse into the reality of our relationships – the unspoken desires, the piercing regrets, and the postponed conversations that mark us all.

In a new interview with Ideas Tap, Matt Lewis gives aspiring young actors a number of tips on auditions and more. The full interview may be read in our press archive.

What were you most looking forward to doing when you finished Harry Potter?

What I really wanted to do was get another job. That was my main concern. When you’ve done a film series like that you have to be philosophical: I’m not expecting to do anything as big as that ever again. I just want to be working.

In the beginning, when I was going to meetings, I felt that I had to first convince them that I wasn’t Neville Longbottom before I could convince them I was somebody else. But I think a lot of that was more in my own mind than anything else.

What do you do to prepare for auditions?

There’s so much out there that I’ve found helpful – books written by casting directors, guidelines for auditions, books on Stanislavski technique. As soon as I get my script, I put my phone on silent and I sit and read through it and really try to immerse myself in it.

You can’t over-emphasis the importance of preparation. If you’re doing an accent, speak in that accent up until the moment you go in. If I’m going into a room to do a scene I want to know that scene back to front: what everyone’s motivation is and just know the scene completely – not just the lines.

What advice would you give adult actors for working with child actors?

I just remember how terrifying it was, working as a kid. I was so nervous around the older actors and thought, “Oh, are they going to be judging everything that I’m doing? Do they think I’m crap and is that why he’s not talking to me?” And that’s not true at all – it’s just that they are obviously engrossed in their own performances.

One thing I’ve always tried to do, working with kids since then, is talk to them and make them feel as comfortable as possible. Sometimes young people on a film set can feel excluded. You’re expecting these people to work like adults and be as professional and mature as adults so you’ve got to involve them.

Michael Gambon used to tell some really naughty jokes, when I was a kid. He wouldn’t tell them to us, but he’d be telling them to someone else and you’d overhear. I don’t think the parents liked it very much but for us that made him seem so much more human and more approachable. That made me more relaxed.