Have you entered to win tickets and dinner to Bard on the Beach? Vancouver is Awesome has two pairs of tickets and two pairs of lovely picnic meals from Emmelle's Catering to give away for Much Ado About Nothing on Saturday, June 26. Click here to enter!
I had a chance to chat with John Murphy (currently starring as the committed bachelor Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing) about the Bard, the beach, Vancouver and that evil villain Don John (not Johnson).
John Murphy as Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing. David Blue photo.
Are you from Vancouver?
I’m from Edmonton originally but I’ve been living here since ’86 so I’d say now I’m a Vancouverite more than an Edmontonian.
Is that a step forward or a step back?
(Laughs) Um, well … I guess in most ways it’s a step forward. There’s just more stuff happening here for my career than there was in Edmonton. Although Edmonton has a really vibrant theatre scene, I went to theatre school out here. You develop connections with your fellow students and most of the work you end up doing when you get out of school is people you went to school with, so there’s that. And plus … there’s the ocean.
There is! I’ve recently discovered it. I thought it was just that Trout Lake was really big… So, what neighborhood in Vancouver do you call home?
Kitsilano. I was in Point Grey for a chunk of time but I’ve lived here longer than I’ve lived anywhere in my whole life.
What is the best thing about living in Kitsilano?
Oh … God. It’s hard to put into words. Well, I walk out of my door, I live on on Yew St. and there’s basically everything I could ever need, it’s like a bunker. Basically, I could live here forever and not leave a two block radius. I’m right by the beach, great restaurants, great coffee shops, it’s a fantastic area. And, I’m within walking distance to Bard on the Beach!
Even better! No carbon footprint with you. When you do venture outside where can we find you?
Corduroy on Cornwall is a favourite haunt of mine and some of the Bard on the Beach people, although I think it’s more me than anyone … I drag people there. Sometimes I go to the Billy Bishop Legion [Dan Mangan revealed he hangs there during Night at MOV - RF] which is on La Burnam St., just off of Cornwall. That’s a great Kitsilano institution; it’s got really cheap beer and a great atmosphere, great people with great stories. Siegel’s Bagels is a classic for the smoked meat. Abigail’s Party on Yew St. is probably my favourite little bar in that area. It’s fantastic! Great atmosphere, great staff, they’re really laid back and they’re open until 2:00 in the morning almost every day.
It’s important to find places in your hood that have that. La Bodega downtown, great Spanish restaurant and tapas bar …
A classic!
… they’re open really late. Anyways, what do you get at Abigail’s Party?
Normally I would order a bourbon and a beer but I’m not drinking beer right now because I’m getting in shape for Bard on the Beach.
Not Beer on the Beach.
Right, not Beer Gut on the Beach. (Laughs) You can have a beard, on the beach – that’s very common in Shakespeare.
Benedick, the love-sick bachelor. John really rocks a 'stache. David Blue photo.
What Is Much Ado About Nothing about?
It’s about a man (Benedick) and a woman (Beatrice) who have this merry war of words going between them that is basically a cover-up for the fact that they really, really like each other. It’s very sitcom. All of his friends conspire to have him overhear them talk about the fact that Beatrice is in love with him, and then all of Beatrice’s friends conspire to have her overhear that Benedick is in love with her. Once they hear this, their hearts open up they realize that this is the thing they wanted most in life. Although my character is an adamant, fervent, religious bachelor.
What you’re describing doesn’t really sound like “nothing.”
The “Ado” part refers to the sub-plot. There’s also a villain of the piece, Don John …
Not to be confused with Don Johnson?
(Laughs) We could set it in Miami. Lots of open shirt collars…
…and no socks. It might actually work on the beach.
I’m gonna propose that.
It’s interesting that you said the play had a “sitcom” element. Much Ado About Nothing sounds like an episode of Elizabethan Seinfeld.
Well, to me it’s not far off from a sitcom. “I’m never getting married!” followed by a chorus of “Whaaaaat?” Cut to, getting married…
So this is one of the lighter and more fun of Shakespeare’s plays?
It is! Well, there’s some serious themes in it but you know how it’s going to turn out.
Any final thoughts you’d like to communicate about this fair city?
Well, it’s the greatest city in the world. That’s number one. You can go sailing in the morning and skiing in the afternoon…
…and then hit the beach for some Shakespeare at night.
Absolutely. You know, he wrote those plays to be performed outside and they really work well in that setting. It’s one of the greatest Vancouver activities to do during the summer, I think.
