There was a time – and I’m thinking back to when David Threlfall played Smike in the RSC’s Nicholas Nickleby – when it was considered acceptable, even laudable, for a fit and healthy actor to play a handicapped character. There are plenty of other examples (My Left Foot, Rain Man etc.). That wasn’t too far removed in time from when Olivier ‘blacked up’ to play Othello. Much has changed. For the better. Aspects of the way we were are now unthinkable. For those societies not encumbered by Blake’s, ‘mind forged manacles’, moral discoveries bring new opportunities. Humanity in all its diverse wonder enriches us all. We marvel at what was under our noses all along.
Having grown up in a time of scarce opportunities for disabled practitioners in the arts Jamie Beddard now finds himself in the vanguard of the new talent currently being unearthed by a combination of positive discrimination and common sense. He is that rarest of creatures, an accidental actor. Quite how he came to be offered the title role in Bernard Pomerance’s play about Joseph Merrick, Elephant Man, is unclear. However, since he was recently in the Bristol Old Vic production of the Messiah, the hand of BOV, artistic director Tom Morris, who has made diversity a central theme of his present programme, is principle suspect, but again it could have been Lee Lyford, over from The Theatre Royal Bath to direct – Jamie Beddard is unsure. Whoever it was the stars have been aligning ever since his first acting role – as it happens for the BBC – came out of the blue with an invitation to be in their film, Skallagrigg. Work at the National Theatre subsequently made its way onto his CV with a small role in The Threepenny Opera, which together with plenty of other TV, film and theatre roles make up a healthy body of work that any actor would be proud of.
Merrick would be a daunting challenge for any actor and is, he says, his biggest role to date; ‘I agreed to it before I read it,’ he laughs. But, typically, undaunted, he is enjoying the challenge: working with the students from Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, finding himself caught up in their enthusiasm, the freshly unwrapped personalities (the excitement of newly passed driving tests) and the refreshing and engaging lack of cynicism. And then he considers Lee Lyford to be the best director he has worked with, ‘It’s the detail’ he explains. There is a smile, ‘Last year they had Timothy West as the professional actor, this year they have me.’ Self-deprecation comes easily.
We meet in a rehearsal room at the BOV where the company has pitched up following weeks of rehearsal over at the theatre school. From his motorized chair he offers his left hand, crooked, I think, rather like being offered the papal ring for kissing. However, being myself unsure as how to avoid any awkwardness I am grateful for his making the first move. Of course, it suddenly occurs, he’s had a lifetime of potentially awkward first meetings and since they don’t bother him there’s no reason why they should bother anybody else.
My first impression is of a cheerful, affable man. I joke that it was a badly timed meeting with England’s kick off in their first World Cup match just over an hour away. He laughs in agreement and we are off on the right foot, an easy connection having been made. Downstairs in the green room we settle down over a cup of tea. I had no preconceptions so have no surprise in finding an intelligent and articulate man despite the fact his speech, affected by cerebral palsy, gives the impression of someone in a running battle with hiccoughs and who intermittently rocks back in his wheelchair as if to deliver a loud guffaw only to come gently forward again to pick up where he left off. The inevitable pauses as he gathers himself seemingly serve to add weight to what he says, which is always considered and comes from a place few of us can fully comprehend.
In no way a mere beneficiary of changing attitudes Beddard has been a passionate advocate of inclusivity in the arts for years, having previously been an Arts Council diversity officer. Now a joint artistic director of arts company, Diverse City, which aims to increase diversity throughout the arts, he pays tribute to the Clore Fellowship programme which has given him the necessary confidence as a leader, as he puts it, ‘I didn’t feel like an interloper.’
Real social change is becoming evident with institutions beginning to implement positive policies of inclusion. Now entering his fifties, the happily married parent of an eight and an eleven year old, he has no illusions about his present success. Acting he considers as a bonus to his other, varied work, for disability rights, as a director and a writer. (The Guardian have asked for a piece on performing the part of Merrick) ‘Acting is an adventure’, he acknowledges, fully aware of the fickleness of the business and will be content to continue his work as an advocate for inclusivity.
He likes the company of actors remarking on their vulnerability and the professional risk taking. I wonder if the part is a good fit with his own abilities. ‘It’s about the character’, he replies, ‘Too many actors worry about the physical abilities. It’s a short cut to an Oscar,’ he adds dismissively. What does he hope audiences will take away from his performance? ‘A good show, and an enjoyable experience in the theatre. I hope it will open their eyes,’ he adds. For Jamie it’s important that people are not defined by their disabilities. He agrees that being defined by negatives completely misses out all the positive things that make people what they are. He wants people to see the character he is playing and not the disability.
Reputations are always on the line in any production, but not necessarily for Mr. Beddard. Being a little mistrustful of the well meaning allowances made in sympathetic reviews he jokes that he won’t consider himself to be a proper actor until he receives a bad one. Given the peculiar insights he brings to his present role that occasion may be some way off.
Jamie Beddard was talking exclusively to Graham Wyles on 18th June 2018
© Graham Wyles/StageTalk Magazine 2018 All rights reserved, no reproduction in part or whole without prior permission.
The Elephant Man runs at the Bristol Old Vic from 26th June – 7th July
