Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Anthony Head has said fans of the cult US series “would approve” of his forthcoming play, Ticking.
The stage debut of Bafta-nominated TV writer and director Paul Andrew Williams, Ticking revolves around Simon (The Game’s Tom Hughes), a young British man in deep trouble. He is awaiting execution in a Chinese prison cell after being convicted of murder.
During a final visiting hour with his parents, Simon must decide whether to confront a secret from his past with his father (played by Anthony), all the while mindful of his mother (Heartbeat’s Niamh Cusack).
“It’s a cracking script and I am script-driven,” Anthony said. “It’s a really good read and it’s turning into a really good watch. Buffy fans would approve.”
The 1997-2003 role of Rupert Giles, the Watcher and father figure of Sarah Michelle Gellar’s vampire slayer Buffy Summers, gave Anthony a new generation of fans on both sides of the Atlantic.
When asked how Ticking would particularly appeal to Buffy aficionados, he explained: “This play is about a young man, on death row in possibly his last night in a prison that’s under one of those closed-door regimes in Asia and you’re thinking: ‘how do you sell that?’ but it’s funny. It’s really funny.”
The 61-year-old is busy playing villain David Whele in hit Syfy series Dominion, which is made in the US, but he couldn’t resist Ticking.
“I love to do theatre when I can,” he stated. “Trouble is, usually, it’s very difficult to fit it in so I pick my projects very specifically and this was one of those plays where I just had to say yes.”
Moving from an American TV series to the stage with a first-time playwright certainly underlines his versatility. “I’ve worked really hard not to be pigeon-holed,” he acknowledged. “As far as I know, people still don’t know who I am. It’s great. Long may it remain so.
“I get a lot of recognition, but I keep people guessing as to what I’ll do next: Little Britain, The Iron Lady and Manchild and Doctor Who – that was cracking! I loved that.”
The Londoner is perfectly at ease with his television career, but is happy to be back on the stage. “If a play is good, the word gets around. Ticking is sort of like a thriller because there is a very definite whodunnit element in there: did he commit the crime or not? Is he innocent or not? And it’s cracking.”
Warming to his theme, he added: “Unfortunately, these days, movies have as fast a turnaround as TV. The thing about stage is that you get to play with it. On TV: you do, four or five takes or something like that. But in a play, it can change depending on the reaction of the audience.”
Famously, Anthony’s big break came when he starred in a long-running advertising campaign alongside Holby City’s Sharon Maughan as the Nescafe Gold Blend couple. The nation became hooked on the will they? / won’t they? story which ran from 1987-1993.
This may be a golden age of television, but Anthony can’t help looking back.
“I used to love the old days when a show would come out and people would see you on the street the next day and say: ‘I saw you on that programme last night. I loved that!’ That’s gone, to a certain extent. People still come up, but it’s usually now: ‘I loved that thing you did a while ago’.”
But the genial actor is looking forward to working with Joss Whedon again at some point in the future and he isn’t ruling out a Buffy reunion. “It was rumoured that there would be a movie without Joss, but that’s an appalling idea,” he said. “I think it’s been put to bed. I’d love to work with Joss again.”
Ticking opens Tuesday October 6 at London’s Trafalgar Studios.
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