Clive Marlowe - 15 Years Understudying the Same Roles and Becoming a World Record Holder

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Clive Marlowe joins hosts Kara Alb and Liam to discuss his unprecedented 15-year tenure as an understudy for The Mousetrap, reflecting on the evolution of theater culture

Key takeaways

• Clive Marlowe holds a world record for 15 years as the longest-serving understudy for The Mousetrap, highlighting a shift from exclusive rehearsal practices to fully inclusive processes.
• Marlowe recounts a 'horror moment' during rehearsals for The Woman in Black where director Robin Hereford warned him he would be replaced if he didn't master his lines.

Main topics

• Understudy culture and rehearsal inclusivity
• Performance anxiety and stage preparation techniques

Notable quotes

"I love the craft. I love being able to feel one can move people, you can make them laugh, you can make them cry, all of that."

Conclusion

The episode offers a compelling look into the often-overlooked world o

Transcript preview

Speaker 1 (0:00) Hello, it's Cara and Liam and welcome to your On Tonight Encore. Speaker 2 (0:04) We wanted to share with you some of our favourite moments that have really stuck with us as we've gone away from the microphones in the studio. Speaker 1 (0:10) And if you enjoyed the encore, go listen to the full show. The link to the episode is in the description. Hope Speaker 3 (0:16) you enjoy! Speaker 2 (0:17) Have you noticed there's been a change in the mindset surrounding understudies going on and principal cast members feeling like they can take time off? Has that become more common as it's become more acceptable? Yes, I think definitely. Speaker 3 (0:30) I mean, I have had... I mean, I would say when I first started, the class system was very much alive and kicking in the mousetrap. I can well remember, for instance, in terms of rehearsals, attending rehearsals, we didn't used to. The understudies now attend the same rehearsal period as main cast. So it's three weeks. Back in the day when I started, I came in and the contract was such that it could be midway through the cast contract. And so I wouldn't have rehearsals as such. I'd start, in fact, I started on the 3rd of July, 2010. I think my first rehearsal, understudy rehearsal, just with the understudies was two days later. Speaker 2 (1:11) And Speaker 3 (1:12) so I do rehearsals with the understudies and never work with the main cast. And I can remember as well. getting, because the actors would get that the cast members, main cast members would get notes. And sometimes they wouldn't tell the understudies what the notes were. I can remember going up to my, again, no names, knocking on the door. Did you get any notes today? And it was almost, yeah, don't you worry. Nothing to, nothing to. bother about sort of thing. And the thing I remember is the guy standing in the doorway, not letting me even come into his dressing room. Now I think things have changed dramatically because basically we attend the understudies, which is how it should be, attend all the rehearsal period. And it's just far more inclusive. Speaker 1 (1:53) We like to talk about, we've got hero and horror stories is the way we describe it, of the moments where you're sort of, you save the show because... Without understudies, the show gets cancelled. But then on the other side of it, it being sort of horror stories, like you said, sort of going on at a moment's notice. Are there any that stick with you, particularly of your hero and horror stories? Speaker 3 (2:16) The Woman in Black, which I have to say was wonderful. Have you seen it at all? Well, I understood an actor called Paul Chapman. There was also an actor called Michael Burrell, Robert Demacher. And it's a wonderful, wonderful role. But if you think about it too much in advance, because you're effectively on the whole play, it would freak you out. Speaker 3 (2:38) I did struggle, if I'm honest, in rehearsals with lines, and it's important. So this is probably the horror moment. And I can remember Robert, excuse me, Robin Hereford saying to me, the director, do you know, Clive, you've got to know these lines. If you don't know them next week, we are going to have to get someone else in. And because, you know, I was going through a bit of a time at the time of it, at the time of my personal life, I thought, right. I've got to do this. I do not want to screw this up. And I didn't. I went back the following week and I, it's just, it was, I just got lazy and, you know, other things were happening and it was a real, it was a salutary lesson. So anyway, so, so that was, that was, that was kind of a bit of a horror moment for a week. Speaker 2 (3:26) That's interesting because you, so when you went on, it was actually okay, but the horror was leading up Speaker 3 (3:31) to it. When I went on, it was absolutely wonderful. But the two things I remember about that is that at the interval, so I'd