‘IT'S A METAPHOR FOR THEATRE CRITICS SUCKING TALENT OUT OF PEOPLE'
ervlew by a vampire
Steve Cramer discusses vampires and criticism with actor Peter Dineen as Conor MacPherson’s gothic tale of a frustrated critic, St Nicholas, arrives in Scotland
oday thc critic is ol‘tcn \icyycd as a \ampirc
sucking thc lil‘c out ol‘ thc artist hut it \yasn‘t
alyysys thus. .-\lc\andcr l’opc. l‘or instancc. \\ as pcrlcctly ahlc to halancc his carccr as an cssay ist with that ol‘ a poct. \yith. in tact. thc l‘ormcr hcing morc important in his crcatiy c proccsscs.
In thc casc oi (‘onor .\Iacl’hcrson‘s ncyy Pla}. SI Nit/Inlay. thc mctaphor of thc critic as parasitic cntity is madc litcral. Following succcss in Macl’hcrson's nali\c lrcland. lhc play has tourcd cstcnsiycly. and is making its lirst Scottish appcarancc at thc ('it/ this month. l‘tlI/lt‘l‘ 'Ii’t/ rcgular l’ctcr Dinccn. pcrl‘ormcr ol' thc ‘onc man play ‘. as Macl’hcrson calls SI .\'i'( TIN/(1.x. lills us in on thc story. "I‘his thcatrc critic is lacing a midlilc crisis: hc‘s \cry rcscntl‘ul ol‘ pcoplc \\ ho arc actually \yriting crcatiyc \york.‘ hc cxplains. 'Hc gcts \cry hiltcr \yith his lil'c. drinks too much yyhisky and crcatcs .sccncs \yhcrcy cr hc gocs just to gct attcntion. Hc sccs a hcautil‘ul girl in a production ol‘ Salomc at thc :\hhc_\ and falls in [m c \y ith hcr.‘
'l‘hc plot gcts morc hi/arrc l‘rom hcrc. 'l'hc critic hccomcs hcsottcd \yith thc girl and l'olloyys hcr to London. \yhcrc. al'tcr an unsucccssl'ul cncounlcr \yith hcr. hc joins a hand ol‘ yampircs stalking thc youth ol‘ thc city.
l’lainly. thc critic at thc ccntrc is pcrcciycd along
L‘otlycntinttal litlcs. ‘ltis a kind oi. Illclttphtir for
lilL‘ttll‘L‘ L‘l‘ilic‘s sucking talcnt out (ii. [)L‘tlpic. T‘tlt not surc I agrcc with that mctaphor. hy thc yyay. but it‘s (‘onor's takc on it.. says Diriccn. 'I must hayc had a
hit ol a charmcd carccr. sincc I'yc ncycr had much (ii
a hard timc with any critic. 'l'hcy‘yc alyyays hccn quitc kind to mc. .'\.s liar as I can scc. thcy‘rc just pcoplc \yho \yritc down what thcy scc on thc night. It‘s l'urmy hoyy most \yritcrs arc morc l‘ascinatcd by critics than actors arc.‘
Dinccn prcparcd l'or his rolc mainly by rcading his layouritc thcatrc critic. ‘l lookcd up onc critic l uscd to cnjoy a lot. and that \y as Kcnncth 'l‘ynan. I couldn't scc any of thc yampirc stttii in that: hc inst makcs mc l‘all around all thc timc. Hc “as so l‘unny. 'l'hcrc‘s a ccrtain truth to it and a rcal authority. ll hc says a shoyy is bollocks. you can hct your bottom dollar it is. And hc tcnds to go for dircctors and \yritcrs rathcr than actors. although thcrc \ycrc cxccptions. l mcan. actors don‘t gct it so had most of thc timc. thn a critic has said somcthing ncgatiyc about mc. l'yc said. “Oh ycah. that's truc" and adjtrstcd it. I haven't l'allcn to thc floor sobbing.
St Nicholas, Citizens’ Theatre, Glasgow, until Sat 17 Nov.
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