Tama Matheson is a natural-born star, his smooth persona and natural approachability make him the perfect Don Pedro.
Tama takes on the role in Jason Klarwein’s ‘Much Ado About Nothing', an adaptation of Shakespeare’s rollicking, romantic comedy.
“The character of the prince [Don] is rather curious because he's sort of the outsider, and Shakespeare's very good at the outsider,” says Tama.
“The thing about the prince is that…[there’s] the sense that he's rather aloof, and he doesn't have the same connection to life that everyone else has. He's sort of a little bit… restrained or something. Although he's jocular, he has fun. I suppose it's an observation of Shakespeare's plays, how these either aristocratic or very wealthy people work.”
2016 commemorates 400 years since the death of The Bard Of Avon, so it is fitting Queensland Theatre Company celebrate the occasion with the playwright’s popular and accessible comedy, ushering in a new wave of Shakespearean admiration.
“I think that it's growing. I think at some point you just realise they're [Shakespeare’s works] great, and whether that applies to the level of maturity, you know, it's just the rise of the future. It’s tremendous because it says everything so clearly and cleanly about what it is to be human. And all of these fantastical plays are beautiful poetry, and I think in a way you have to grow into that.
“Every now and then you can have a sort of Baz Luhrmann ‘Romeo & Juliet’ kind of thing, which is phenomenal. [And] it's sweet 'cause everyone's briefly interested in it, but they don't necessarily go and read 'King Lear' and 'Macbeth'. They go ‘I like that.’ So in a way I think it's something that comes alive.
“I work in the opera as well, and they’re both these sort of things that are always there, but never enormously popular. But [they] remain popular through time, oddly enough. And they can't disappear because they're too human, they're too profound, they're too real, they're too beautiful.”
Many people are often put off by the archaic language of Shakespeare’s plays. However, there’s a sense of willingness and determination to get to the root of the bard’s words that is so incredibly important in understanding our own society, a belief Tama appears to share.
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“[You need to] be mature enough and receptive enough to the language and have enough knowledge about life and the experience of life to see how brilliant it is. And then not be worried about the slightly archaic English. There are a few sentences I won't understand, but the odd thing is that we don't understand our language [at all], and Shakespeare [himself] made so much of our language.
“The way we speak was set, to a great extent, from Shakespeare and the King James bible. You know, there are so many expressions we use every day, like ‘in my mind's eye, ’the world is my oyster’ or ‘hot blooded, cold blooded.’ And words like ‘machine.’ They appeared first in Shakespeare's language.”
Tama has previously worked with Director Jason Klarwein, a partnership Tama alludes has been advantageous for the production. “We have worked together many times before. Five times now I think. Four times as actors together on stage and then I directed him in 'Richard The Third' about a year and a half ago, which was great. And then the wheel's come full circle and he's directing me.”
‘Much Ado About Nothing’ is set to be a critical success. However, it’s very clear that no matter how many adaptations of Shakespeare’s classics, his incredible influence will live on for many years to come.
'Much Ado About Nothing' performs Queensland Performing Arts Centre 23 April – 15 May.
