Jonathan Livingstone talks about A Ghost in Your Ear
Winter is approaching and the nights are drawing in: what better way to spend an evening than in a darkened room getting spooky! A Ghost in Your Ear, coming to Hampstead Theatre later this year, promises a uniquely immersive horror experience, and we got the chills when Jonathan Livingstone, who plays Sid in the show, agreed to speak with us from beyond the page…
Hi Jonathan. Thank you so much for chatting with us today about A Ghost in Your Ear. Firstly, can you tell us what the show is about?
It’s my pleasure to be talking to you guys. The show is about a man coming into a recording studio and realising all is not what it seems that’s me trying to give you a description of show without giving anyway spoilers!
It’s not your everyday, straightforward production is it, because it uses binaural sound technology – what does that mean for the audience?
The show is very unique as it does use binaural sound energy. This means that the audiences come in with one of their senses being played with and that will be the audio experience, everything that is being fed to you in your ears. Can it be trusted? is the question. We take for granted what we hear so much and this is being played with – used to disorientate not only the audience but also the characters in the space.
Are you a fan of horror yourself?
I wouldn’t say I’m the biggest horror fan. I’m more of a thriller person and the story is that as well. I don’t mind being scared out of my chair but it comes at a price.
The talented George Blagden is playing opposite you as George. What do you each bring to the roles?
George is an incredible actor and a great man. George brings specificity, dedication, heart and they combine to make an incredible performance. I would say that we are quite opposite in our approach but the opposition of each other makes it such a good combination of style of working that we become very compatible.
There’s an amazing creative team behind the show, including writer and director Jamie Armitage and of course multi-award-winning composers and sound designers Ben and Max Ringham. What’s it been like working with them?
Well, this will be the third time I’m working with Max and Ben Ringham. They keep growing and their experiences get bigger and bigger, and this in turn leads to greater performances, more knowledge, more skill. And with this knowledge and skill, we can create things that haven’t been seen before so we are going into the unknown, which is always exciting! Jamie is an incredible director, one who encourages play, encourages you to explore the outer limits of the text, improvise – there are no bad ideas and that leads to great ideas because they will be cultivated through exploration.
You’re having such a high-flying career, performing at prominent venues like Shakespeare’s Globe and the Young Vic, as well as appearing in award-winning TV shows like Bridgerton – how does it feel to now be doing an intimate two-hander onstage at Hampstead?
It always feels so fresh to come back and do something so intimate. This kind of play brings an intensity, a microscopic depth, into what the audience are experiencing for myself. It’s always lovely to be in a smaller space really connecting to the other actor in the space; it’s just such a unique experience and reminds you of why you got into acting.
Thanks very much to Jonathan for telling us all about this intriguing production.
A Ghost in Your Ear runs at Hampstead Theatre until Saturday 24 Jan.
