Theatre / Bristol old vic
Dangling from a rope over the Avon Gorge – all in the name of theatre
Close to the Clifton Observatory, next to a sign warning of the dangers of the cliff face, mountaineer Simon Yates is talking to actor Ed Hayter who in a few days time will be playing him on stage at the Bristol Old Vic.
“This is quite surreal,” Yates laughs. “It’s quite amazing. He does look a bit like me as well. Not me now!”
Yates is best known for his role in a near-fatal climb that he and Joe Simpson made in the Peruvian Andes in 1985.
is needed now More than ever
The book Simpson wrote, Touching the Void, was later made into a film and is now transferring to the theatre for the first time, opening at the Bristol Old Vic on Saturday.
“I’m as interested as everybody is about seeing how they manage to do it,” Yates adds. “How the mountains are going to be transferred to a theatrical environment.”
Actor Ed Hayter (left) is playing mountaineer Simon Yates (right) on stage at the Bristol Old Vic
This recent sunny morning is the first day that Hayter has met Yates, although he tells him that he has already watched several YouTube videos.
“He’s a lovely chap, as I expected him to be,” Hayter says of Yates, after quizzing him about various aspects of the ill-fated descent of the 6,300-metre high peak Siula Grande.
Recreating a now world famous moment of this descent, actor Josh Williams – who plays Simpson – is being lowered down over the side of the Avon Gorge by Touching the Void climbing consultant Dave Talbot.
Actor Josh Williams suspended above the Avon Gorge by Dave Talbot – photo by Jon Rowley
For Touching the Void director Tom Morris, watching on from a safe distance, this is a key part of the rehearsal process for the show that opens in Bristol before transferring to the the Royal & Derngate in Northampton and the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh.
“A lot of what people remember from the film is the extraordinary landscape photography,” Morris tells Bristol24/7.
“We cannot compete with that in a theatre, but people use their imaginations far more there, people can feel as if they are on the mountain themselves, that’s what theatre can uniquely do.”
Bristol Old Vic artistic director is the director of Touching the Void
Morris calls the moment that Simpson is hanging and Yates has to make the decision to cut the rope a “pivotal” one in the story, and one of the reasons why the production team and actors are here today.
“The closer we can get to the heart of the feeling for the actors, the closer we can get to the heart of the feeling for the audience,” Morris says.
With cries for help coming from Williams over the side of the ledge, the question from those by the Clifton Observatory was whether this was still acting or real life.
Fortunately, it was acting – as Williams confirmed when he climbed back over the metal fence next to the sign shouting in red capital letters: DANGER CLIFF EDGE KEEP OUT
Josh Williams safely back on the other side of the fence
“How was it, Josh?” somebody on terra firma shouts.
“It was terrifying,” Williams says, now slumped on the floor. “But it was great to get a feeling of that dangling, that overwhelming feeling of helplessness. that feeling of not having anything to do, jut having to hang and wait.
“A word came out of my mouth that I was not expecting after that first drop. I cannot begin to imagine what that must have been like for Simon and Joe.”
Touching the Void is at Bristol Old Vic from September 8 to October 6. For tickets and more information, visit www.bristololdvic.org.uk/whats-on/touching-the-void
Main photo by Jon Rowley
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