Cornelius Booth’s grandfather was a miner in Yorkshire, and his mother was Welsh, all of which equips him nicely to star in Land Of Our Fathers, essentially a new drama about six miners stuck down a mine.
“As soon as I saw the script I knew I had to do it. You rarely get the scope to make people laugh and cry in the same piece with all the characters being drawn into what is essentially an ensemble piece, you get to show off and be a virtuoso. So as a play it’s a joy,” Cornelius said.
Opening at the North Wall, the six miners get by using grim humour, reminiscing, singing and laughing, but as time marches on, their thinly veiled bonhomie slowly disintegrates as they turn on each other.
“It is about the kind of working class camaraderie that existed then, the men’s relationships, their secrets and ends up being quite confessional.”
His character Chopper is the most vilified, being the most senior employee: “Chopper is the authority figure, to begin with anyway, but that is challenged,” Cornelius said. “He questions his position as much as they do, and all his secrets come to light.”
Cornelius only joined the cast in September, so missed its much-applauded West End debut, but it continues to receive rave reviews wherever it goes. “It’s a universal story that everyone can relate to,” Cornelius said. “The whole play is set in one chamber so there is nowhere to hide, you are skewered in with the audience, making it purposefully claustrophobic, and we have complete blackouts on stage which are essential.
“But otherwise we are like a family and have a good laugh because as stressful as it is being stuck down a mine, we use humour to get through it.”
In Oxford recently in farce Peter Pan Goes Wrong at the Playhouse, he was the one with the big beard and a pink onesy. “It was a lot of fun. Split second timing and greater risk of injury but quite thrilling. So it will be great to come back in Land Of Our Fathers. You will enjoy it.”
Where and when
Land Of Our Fathers
February 9-10
North Wall Theatre, www.thenorthwall.com 01865 319450
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