‘COURTROOM DRAMA ON stage is always very exciting’
Jason Merrells on Emmerdale’s Declan Macey, the power of the courtroom drama and his new stage show, The Verdict… By Keeley Ryan
Jason Merrells has opened up about the“power”of bringing courtroom dramas to the stage — and his role in The Verdict. Barry Reed’s 1980 novel was adapted for the screen in 1982, with Paul Newman taking on the title role. The film, which went on to be nominated for five Oscars, is often praised as one of the best on-screen courtroom dramas.
The stage adaptation will run at The Gaiety Theatre in Dublin from May 30 until June 3.
It follows Frank Galvin, a washed-up veteran lawyer and an alcoholic who gets a last cache to redeem himself when an openand-shut medical malpractice case — one that nobody thinks he can win — is given to him.
Instead of taking an out of court settlement, Frank reckons it is negligence that has condemned a young mum — and that there’s a cover-up going on.
So, he decides to take the case — as well as the legal system itself — to court.
Jason told Chic how he’d seen the movie when he was a kid, and how it had since been“lodged in my brain as a wonderful film”.
He said,“it’s an iconic film, it’s one that I knew — I saw it when I was a kid and I loved it. I haven’t seen it again since, but the memory of it — and the brilliance of Paul Newman and the script, which was by David Mamet — stuck out so much.
“It was very much lodged in my brain as a wonderful film.
“And when I was approached to do it, I read the novel that both the film and the play are based on — which is quite different, really. It’s a much broader sweep.
“The novel is much more about the kind of structure of the hierarchy of Boston at that time and, I guess, it’s a little bit more politically complex, and gives a little bit more background to the kind of man that Frank is.
“So I was attracted to that, I was attracted to trying to tell the story of this guy in this time — this kind of functioning alcoholic, which he is.
“He’s a middle-aged man who is a little bit washed-up, at the bottom rung of the legal ladder, and who has this case come across his desk that sort of triggers a kind of epiphany and makes him feel like he can do something and do the right thing, which he decides to do against all the odds.
“All of those things made it very attractive — plus the fact that courtroom drama on stage is always very exciting, because court itself is theatrical. And when you put that on stage, it kind of doubles its power in many ways.”
Jason added that while there were initially a bit of nerves about taking on the role of Frank given the popularity of the film, “those sort of things sort of fall away”as rehearsals began.
He said,“i mean, Paul Newman is Paul Newman. He’s an iconic movie star, a brilliant actor, and that is a brilliant film.
“But when you approach it theatrically, you have to do different things anyways. I didn’t want to watch the film again, in case I sort of tried to mimic him — which would be ridiculous anyway.
Jason noted that both the novel and their adaptation focus more on Frank’s backstory — including“how he came off the boat from the second World War and was given the opportunity to be an apprentice at a legal firm” despite his background — and that“all of those things take up your headspace”.
He continued, “And you thankfully forget about whether you’re comparing yourself to some other version — that’s pointless, anyways.
“Paul Newman’s story is his story, his film — and it’s wonderful; it’s brilliant. Our play is based on the same source, but it’s our version of a story, you know, and that’s all you can do.” And Emmerdale fans may recognise
Jason from his role as Declan Macey, who appeared on the soap from 2010 until 2014. Jason opened up on the“wonderful time”he had working on the soap — and whether soap fans may see him return as Declan one day.
He said,“there’s no one that I’m particularly connected to left there, family-wise — you never say never, but it’s not on my radar.
“I had a wonderful time when I was working there; I loved working there. I think with Declan, we did everything that we could with him — he went through every permutation of a story that you can imagine.
“I had a really good run of story when
I was there, so I’m not complaining. And it was wonderful to be there.
“But you sort of make the decision to either settle into that and say, ‘yeah, this is what I’m going to do’ or you don’t — and at the time, that wasn’t for me.
“And also, my kids were all down south and it was hard, going up and down, up and down all the time.
“It is quite a full-on schedule when you’re doing a soap.
“And for those reasons — and those reasons are still there, really — it’s not something that I’m looking for. But I don’t think it’s something that they’re looking for, anyways.”
Jason also recalled some of his favourite storylines that he got to be a part of during his time in the ‘dales.
He said,“we did what they used to call a bubble, when you’ve got a particular story that shoots almost like a complete mini film. And I was lucky enough to have a few of those while I was there.
“All that stuff with Charity, where we went away and stayed in the cottage and I tried to kill her — that was really fun to film. I love working with Emma Atkins, who plays Charity. She’s wonderful.
“I loved working with Gaynor Faye, when we did the fire at Home Farm. That was quite a full-on experience, with lots of stunts and pyrotechnics.
“There were lots of set pieces that we did that I adored doing.”
Jason told how there are“a lot”of roles that he would love to take on some day — although he doesn’t“want to jinx it”.
He said,“there are a lot of dream theatre roles that I’ve got, lots of Shakespeare that I haven’t done.
“One that I’ve ticked off, which I was so happy about, was Astrov in Uncle Vanya by Chekov — that was a part that I’d wanted to play since I first read Chekov in my late teens. I got a cache to play that about five years ago.
“It was everything I’d hoped it would be. It was a wonderful experience.
“Those sorts of jobs come along once in a while, they’re not everyday — but I don’t want to jinx it.” ■
Theverdict runs from May 30 until June 3 at The Gaiety Theatre. For more information or for tickets, visit gaietytheatre.ie.