1) Hi Jonathan Sidgwick, please tell us more, where are you from? And how did you get passionate about acting?
I’m originally from North Yorkshire, England. I grew up there before leaving home to study French & German at Keele University in the Midlands. After Uni, I was lucky enough to go backpacking around the world for 2 years. I then spent 4 years in Tokyo teaching English.
I was excited about acting from a young age. Then, I forgot about it until age 24. At that age, I started studying Meisner Technique, a branch of The Method, in Japan. I returned to the UK and studied for a year at The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA).
I got interested in acting by watching great TV and movies. They featured fantastic actors like Gary Oldman, Daniel Day-Lewis, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Willem Dafoe, and others. Then, when you start looking for work you realise that Stage acting is just as exciting and a great place to learn and practice your craft and you start paying attention to other actors like Steven Berkoff, Ian McKellen, Mark Rylance etc…
2) Where did you graduate from? And what was your life and career like soon after that?
I took the Post Graduate Course at The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) leaving in 2000. I didn’t get an agent from the final Showcase. So, fifteen of us organized another Showcase by ourselves.
Later on, I was picked up and since then, I tried to do as much fringe theatre work as possible. I also worked on student films. Meanwhile, I did promotional work to make a living. After 6 months, I got an 8-week tour around Oxfordshire. I played the character of Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights. It was a great role for a Yorkshireman. It took me 4 years to get an audition for TV! Thankfully, I got it and played Phil Mason on Coronation Street opposite Jane Danson for 2 episodes.
3) You appeared in Miss Julie, a show you produced and adapted for The King’s Head Theatre, North London, what was the creative process like and who did you play in it?
I played John (‘Jean’ in the original text). He was the male lead. The two other characters were Miss Julie and John’s fiancée Christine. It was interesting working on the script, adapting it from the original, learning and working on it. While producing the play, I learnt a lot about marketing. We had some good audiences and a couple of great reviews.
4) What was it like transitioning from theatre to film as you appeared in film projects such as “Cargo”, “What Does Your Daddy Do? (Venice International Film Festival)”, “The Man Who Sold the World”, “Indie Horror Flicks Hellbreeder” and “The Witches Hammer”?
I’ve always been lucky to work on film projects and the stage. I find that ‘acting is acting’ in whichever medium one is working. In other words, being truthful is crucial. Being in the moment and putting your attention on the other character is essential. You need to know what you want and why. All the preparation techniques translate the same for stage and screen. I also love working with directors on their vision and helping bring their ideas to life.
5) Moreover, you have been on TV for a few different TV projects like “Eastenders”, “Father Brown”, “Coronation Street” and “Hollyoaks”. Now, as an actor yourself, making the transition from Theatre and film to TV…what are the differences in the medium for an actor’s performance? How do you adapt to that, and how do you achieve this?
The main difference for me is the rehearsal time (maybe 2 or 3 weeks for Stage and zero for TV!), and then, the speed at which they are filmed and performed. On TV, you maybe get one or two takes. Film allows for a little more. On stage, there is only ONE take for each night’s performance.
However, you get to do it again and again, 8 times per week. There is a saying: “the stage is an Actor’s medium. You and you alone are responsible for what happens once the play begins each night. TV is a director’s medium because it’s such a tight turnaround. The director needs to get the best from everyone quickly. They are ‘editing’ the story in their head as we work. Film is an editor’s medium. Editors receive lots of footage. They have a few weeks or months to cut the film and craft it into the final version.“
If I need to pick one of them, which one would it be? And why?
I honestly love them all, whichever one I’m currently working in! You focus and think only about the project at hand.
6) Now we see you are going to appear in your first theatre Solo Show “A Hunger Artist”, an interpretation of Franz Kafka’s final work, which will be at The Etcetera Theatre in North London…Please, tell us more about it and what has been the process like in creating a solo show from writing, directing themselves, producing it and at the same time, acting it…please.
Steven Berkoff, who has been very supportive over the last 20 years and has employed me 4 times (huge thanks, Steven!) suggested I try this text as I have wanted to do a Solo Show for many years and this is the centenary year of Franz Kafka’s death. I’ve adapted it from Kafka’s original text. I have worked for months with Val Colgan, an experienced tutor and Actor (the original ‘Aliens’ movie). We learned the text and tried it out monthly and then weekly.
Eventually, I booked the Etcetera Theatre. My co-producer, Sushant Nair, helped with all the technical aspects. He also managed marketing, flyers, Instagram, etc. Mark Glentworth has created a wonderful original score for the show. It continues to develop and grow with some terrific reviews. Audiences seem to love it. It is a tribute to Franz Kafka’s writing. It honors his final short story before he died aged 40 of tuberculosis on 3rd June 1924.
Creating a Solo Show is anything but a solo effort. I am indebted to the following people: Sushant Nair, Valerie Colgan, Jerry Clark, and Simon Morgan of TRDPUk. I am hugely grateful to my Agent Joanna Hole of Jo Hole Associates and, of course, Steven Berkoff.
7) When are we going to see it?
The show is on at The Etcetera Theatre, Camden, North London. It starts at 6 pm on Sunday 23rd June. The show times are at 7 pm on 25th, 26th & 27th June.
After that, we hope to take the play to festivals and tour it around the UK and hopefully beyond. DO COME TO THE SHOW and we’ll have a drink afterwards in the pub downstairs!
8) You have a drama school in Central London, called London Actors Workshop, please tell us more about it and the courses you explore. And as a facilitator exploring that skill, what is it like to teach?
Yes, London Actors Workshop has been going strong in Covent Garden, Central London since 2005. It has helped over 2500 actors get their start in the business. We provide a range of courses with diverse tutors and Acting Techniques in a very supportive, studio environment. The emphasis is on great, essential Acting practice. We also provide the business knowledge and know-how to start a career or develop an existing career.
9) What advice would you give to young and experienced actors nowadays since the evolution of the industry that you have experienced so far?
It’s a great time to be an ACTOR! It’s never been easier to get started. You don’t have to go through the expense of full-time Drama School. However, this is still an excellent route if you can afford it.
Taking a lot of good short courses will help. Getting an excellent Showreel and great headshots is important. Good, top advice is crucial. Having a dedicated attitude to your craft and career will give you a decent chance of getting work. Hopefully, this will help in building a career. Yes, this means there is a lot more competition. However, there are also more opportunities with all the streaming networks and content we now have.
Take your work seriously but not yourselves. Love the Art in yourself but not yourself in Art.
Surround yourself with like-minded individuals who love Acting.
Take courses, join or form a support network, act regularly, even if it’s you and a few mates reading scripts together, have a good, professional, upbeat social media presence, never complain or slag off others, drink lots of water, train your Voice, keep as physically fit as you can, get lots of sleep, go to see plays regularly…….and good luck!
10) And finally, where does the audience can find you?
Follow the Instagram page of “A Hunger Artist”The show is on at
The Etcetera Theatre,Camden, North London
Showtimes:
Book your Tickets
Sunday 23rd, June – 6 pm
Tuesday 25th, June -7pm
Wednesday 26th, June – 7pm
Thursday 27th, June – 7pm
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