Josh Seymour directs the first major London revival of Polly Stenham’s That Face. It runs from 9 September 2023 – 7 October 2023. Starring Niamh Cusack, alongside Kasper Hilton-Hille, Dominic Mafham, Sarita Gabony and Bridgerton’s Ruby Stokes in this powerful and darkly comic exploration of what happens when children become parents to their parents.
When Mia is expelled from boarding school, her mother Martha isn’t interested. Martha prefers to hang out with her son Henry. And now her estranged husband Hugh, who’s run off to Hong Kong with his new girlfriend, is charging back threatening to sort things out. What is there to sort out? Everything is fine.
The Artiscape spoke to Kasper Hilton-Hille about his role in the play. He graduated from Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama this summer.
What attracted you to the script?
Kasper: I think the definition and clarity of every sentence and every character is so strong and particular. Polly’s writing is so nuanced and the drama that inevitably unfolds from such strong willed characters colliding causes serious fireworks.
You play Henry. Can you tell us about this character you play?
Kasper: Henry is the eldest child in a family that has been torn apart by addiction and ‘bad parenting’. He is forced to play the parent but of course he is still just a teenager and is pulled apart by the need to play that role and the desire to embrace his own independence. But it is so hard for him to let go of the person that has ultimately put him in that position, his own mother.
What are you looking forward to in performing in this play?
Kasper: I can’t wait to get an audience into the space because I think that’s when it will really come to life. To be in the room with the dysfunction and the revelations with an audience only feet away will be incredible. The audience, and the atmosphere that they bring is often the final most important ingredient and I can’t wait to share the work in such an intimate setting.
What do you think the audience will enjoy about this production?
Kasper: That being said, I think the audience will hopefully really enjoy being thrust into the heart of this drama. Each character will resonant so differently with everyone’s individual experiences and I hope people will walk away feeling they have travelled and navigated the complex world of the characters alongside them and healed with them too.
To book tickets for That Face visit https://orangetreetheatre.co.uk/whats-on/that-face
