Question and Answer with Martin Ball.

 

if you could visit anywhere in the world. where would you go and why?

I love cities. A perfect holiday for me would be New York, but having said that I’d love to walk in the Himalayas! 
 

What other shows would you want to be in?

I’m not much of a singer, so there aren’t many musicals that would have me. If I could sing Javert I’d love to have played him, and I’d love a go at Skar in Lion King. I think I can sing that.  
 

Do you feel the character Dr Dillamond is under used in Wicked?

Actors always want their part to be bigger! But no, he’s used just enough.  
 

Do you think the story of why the animals & the Dr are being silenced should be greater explored/explained?

Dillamond’s role in the story is to personify the animals being silenced plot, which is of course what sets Elphaba off on her journey. For us to understand and care too about this animal treatment we need a specific animal that we have some  connection with, and that’s the goat. (It’s the same device that they use in Titanic: we are made to care about the 1,100 dead by having made a connection with just one: Jack.) I think that’s probably clear enough, but maybe there could be a more specific explanation why the animals lose their ability to talk. 
 

What do you do when the Computeach or whatever it's called advert comes on the tv

Turn over! I don’t like watching myself. I’ve still got shelves of videos of things I’ve been in that I’ve not seen. I know I should watch them. 
 

what's your favourite colour?

Used to be blue, but these days it’s green!

 
 

how'd you get into acting?

My father used to put operas on at home, so I guess that was a start, and I always wanted to be an actor. You used to have to be in the Actors’ union, Equity, to work and to get into that I did some mad things like singing telegrams and magic. Then I went to drama school and got an agent from there and have been with that same agent ever since. 
 

most embarrassing moment that you're willing to share with the world?

My parents took me and my younger sisters on nudist holidays when I was 13 and 14 so I have many embarrassing moments and trust me, you don’t want to know them! 
 

What is your most prized possession and why?

I’m not big on possessions (which is just as well as I’ve been burgled 4 times), but I have paintings, one of my old school by my father and ones of  my favourite village in Cornwall commissioned for my 21^st birthday by my mother. I really treasure those and I’d be heartbroken if they got damaged or stolen. 
 

Do you dance?

If someone sets fire to my feet. I have the co-ordination of a drunk octopus and it takes me forever to learn even the most simple steps. Even after doing them every night for months I’m still not safe and could go wrong at any moment. Quite amazingly, and proving that lightning can strike twice in the same place, there was a boy at drama school even worse than me. I don’t know what happened to him but he’s not at the Royal Ballet.  
 

Do you have any grades in anything (Associated board and things)?

I think I got to Grade 7 Violin when I was at school, but I doubt I deserved it. 
 

Favourites:  
food

A yummy roast with Yorkshire puds. 
drink

Earl Grey tea, a white Burgundy or a pint of Cornish beer. 
play/musical

Carousel  
person in the cast

I’ve got half a dozen real faves.  
tv show

The Larry Sanders Show. Sheer genius, every Ep. Jeffrey Tambor should get an oscar for his performance as Hank the sidekick.  
movie

Kind Hearts and Coronets, for the wonderful wit of its script and Alec Guiness’ star turn(s) followed closely by Blazing Saddles

Music

Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro. Four hours of perfection (especially the Solti recording with Tom Allen and Frederica Von Stade and Lucia Popp). 
 

If you wanted to, would you be allowed to use the Defying Gravity lift, just for fun?

NO DAMMIT! But I’m going to keep nagging till they give in! 
 

What is your favourite part in Wicked?

You mean apart from Dr Dillamond?!

Well, I’m torn between Elphaba and Glinda. Elphaba if pushed, but it’s the Defying Gravity lift that swings it. 
 
What is it like to do that many shows a week?

It’s great. I can’t claim that my part is hard work, but even in a show where you do have a lot to do it’s tremendous. Actors always want to work – when you’re not working you’re not an actor – and you never lose sight of that and of how lucky we are to be working. It’s hugely rewarding and when the audience are with you it’s the best job in the world. 
 

-Ever done something crazy?

Yes. But I’m not at all sure what you mean, which is as good a way out of answering that as I can think of!

 
-Where did you grow up? In london?

In Tunbridge Wells, 35 miles south of London. I moved to London in my 20s.

 
-What do you think of American’s driving on the right side of the road? And have you ever driven in America?

Yes, I hired a car in California and drove everywhere. I don’t mind swapping sides and am used to it from Europe.

 
-If you could pick a song to describe you what would it be?

I’d like to think I’m the overture to Rosamunde by Schubert but I’m flattering myself; I’m as positive, but not that brave.

 
-Do you have a pet-peeve?

I go spare when people talk in the cinema and theatre. It’s so disrespectful to the people around them and indicates a real decay in our sense of mutual responsibility for a shared experience.

I also am utterly unreasonable about the abuse of the possessive apostrophe. The rules are so simple and I feel so sorry for the little apostrophe being mistreated.  Now you mention it there’s an abuse lurking in the last five lines of this page and even though I’m trying to ignore it, it’s making me twitch !

 
-When rehearsing for Wicked did the people in charge give you tips on how to act in certain scenes according to what previous casts had done, or did they just let you do everything any way you wanted?

Well, they were clear how they wanted the parts played and they kow what works and what story they need to tell. Apart from that there was quite a free rein and they were very open to what we had to bring to the show. A lot of my stuff was reblocked and Joe liked his new blocking for London so much it’s now being incorporated into the other productions. That’s just a reflection on his having had the chance to revisit bits and learning from each production what works best for any given moment.