David Rintoul stars in David Hare’s The Bay at Nice directed by Richard Eyre at The Menier Chocolate Factory. The production opens on 19 March, with previews from 14 March, and runs until 4 May 2019.
You’re appearing in The Bay at Nice at Menier Chocolate Factory, what can you tell us about it?
It’s set in Leningrad in the fifties, shortly after Stalin’s death and the starting point concerns the authentication of a canvas which may or may not be by the French painter Henri Matisse.
How would you describe your character?
Peter is a solitary man, a dreamer, in love and having an affair with a much younger married woman.
This is the plays first revival since it was at The National in 1986, why do you think it will resonate with modern audiences?
It deals with large themes, not necessarily rooted in the set period and although David hasn’t done any re-writing, it makes connections to issues much discussed today.
What has surprised you most about David Hare’s writing?
David and I were members of the Joint Stock Theatre Co. in the seventies and go back to the first production of ‘Fanshen’. I suppose what I particularly like about his writing is the way it resonates; it echoes.
You’ve had a successful career in both theatre and TV, what do you enjoy most about being on stage?
The adrenaline. Being at the centre of a rather extraordinarily communal ritual.
What would you say to anyone thinking of coming to see The Bay at Nice?
It’s dense, powerful but short; up at 8.00, down at 9.15, so plenty of time to enjoy the excellent Menier Chocolate Factory restaurant.
