Nick Gasson is currently starring in Wings at the Young Vic. His character is struggling to rebuild his communication skills after experiencing aphasia – a condition that affects the brain and leads to problems with speech and language.
We caught up with Nick to ask him these 11 questions . . .
1. Can you describe your character in Wings in three words?
Recovering stroke victim
2. What can the audience expect from this production that's different to anything else they are likely to have seen before?
Wings is an extra-sensory experience!
3. What’s the most exciting thing about being part of this Young Vic production?
Working with such an amazing team of actors and crew
4. Emily Stilson was a wing walker. What’s the bravest thing you’ve ever done?
Going on the 'tea-cups' ride at the funfair!
4. How do you think this show will make audiences feel?
Apart from hugely impressed at Juliet Stevenson's performance, I think they will feel like they have a better understanding of what goes on in the head of someone who's had a major stroke
5. What has it been like working with Natalie Abrahami?
Wonderful. Her approach is always collaborative and the final results are finely detailed
6. What are you usually doing 10 minutes before the show begins?
Reading the papers!
7. What is your favourite play you’ve either seen, read or worked on?
There have been so many but in terms of taking part, playing the old tramp Davies in 3 tours of The Caretaker. Plays that really stunned me when I saw them include Bent and Angels in America, both at the National Theatre.
What was it that first got you interested in the theatre?
Writing and performing in play at primary school
8. What’s the funniest thing that happened to you recently?
I was in my local bar in Spain and Bobby Davro walked in. You have to be fairly old to know who he is, but he was a popular comedian / entertainer on TV in the 1980's.
9. What’s the one thing you value most in life?
Got to be either health or the feeling of warm sun on your face
10. Who is your ultimate hero, and what would you say to them if you ever met them?
No longer with us: David Bowie. I'd say 'Fancy a pint?'. Alive: Judi Dench. I'd say 'Fancy a cuppa and a chat?'
11. If you could have been born in any era, which would it be and why?
I wish I'd been born in '67 rather than '57. So much changed for the better in those 10 years.
Wings runs at the Young Vic until 4 November. Juliet Stevenson stars as Emily, an aviator who suffers a stroke that destroys her sense of reality. Fragments of her life come together as she struggles to find her voice and sense of self.
Click here to book tickets from £10
