Interview: Fresh Leaves In The Park

Joseph Potter on the upcoming revival of Philip Ridley’s Leaves of Glass

It’s been 16 years since Philip Ridley‘s Leaves of Glass was last in London so Park Theatre‘s upcoming revival is long overdue. And if that isn’t enough reason to get excited for it, then it also stars Joseph Potter, who wowwed audiences for his one man performance in Ridley’s Poltergeist.

Which seemed a good enough reason to find some time to talk to Joseph about the play, his role and quite why Ridley’s work is still so sought after.

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Hi Joseph, so what can you tell us about Leaves of Glass?

This is the first time the play has been done professionally since it premiered at Soho Theatre over 15 years ago – with a stellar cast including Ben Whishaw and Maxine Peake. It’s a play about so much and sits in a very different world to Philip’s other plays. For me it is a play about family and their dynamics, how and what we construct in order to survive. 

You are playing younger brother Barry, what do we need to know about him then?

I don’t want to expose too much but Barry, for me, is the dynamite at the heart of the family, he tries to expose and drive towards his truth – successfully and unsuccessfully. He has his dreams but in order to achieve them he needs to rid himself of the shackles of his and his family’s past. 

You’ve performed in a number of Philip Ridley plays, what is it about his writing that keeps drawing you back?

I personally don’t think there’s a more visceral and specific writer alive today. Philip’s texts are always a gift wrought with detail, nothing is by accident – his texts are a jungle that you are constantly discovering. 

Philip Ridley is known for his shocking and “in-yer-face” style, will Leaves of Glass leave the audience on edge and shocked at what transpires?

I don’t want to predict or control what the audience may or may not feel. I will say that this play is extremely different, for me, to the rest of Phil’s work – it’s contained within a family dynamic that I think everyone will understand, and the potential for those ‘shocking moments’ in our own lives always come from the people we love most. 

What is it that keeps Ridley’s work so fresh and relevant for an audience then?

Despite Phil’s reputation as a pioneer of ‘in yer face theatre’, for me all of his plays are about love and everything that comes with it. That is something timeless. Sorry for the cliche answer…

You excelled in his one man play, The Poltergeist, which you first performed in an empty theatre as a livestream (due to the second lockdown). How was that experience of performing to an empty room?  And how did it compare when you finally got to perform the show to an actual audience a year later at the Arcola?

Nothing compares to being in front of an audience, having that dialogue with new people every night is so special… I thought I enjoyed the Poltergeist first time round, and then I did it in person and I remembered why I work in theatre.

The play is currently listed at 1 hour 40 without interval, which is quite a length without a break – is this to maintain intensity throughout, which can be lost with an interval?

I’m not sure what our run time will be… I anticipate shorter. But the play is so much about momentum, you are watching these people unravel, they don’t get a moment to breathe… we want to share that with you and popping a break in the middle, I don’t think so. Make sure you go to the toilet before because you won’t want to miss a beat! 

You’re also embarking on a short tour (Guildford and Manchester), is there a different feel when you perform outside of London?

I haven’t performed outside of London… BRING IT ON, I SAY. This is a play that we need to share with everyone. Come see!

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Thanks to Joseph for finding the time to chat to us about Leaves of Glass. It opens at Park Theatre on 11 May, and plays until 3 June. Further information and bookings can be found here.

Leaves of Glass will also play at Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford 15 – 17 June and Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester 10 – 16 July.