Bronson: Man Behind the Myth
Francis Saunders in a powerful new drama
Bronson is a new one-man stage production coming to the Kino-Teatr in St Leonards. We caught up with the team who will bring the production to life in a play that explores the nature of the man behind one of Britain’s most notorious names. Born Michael Gordon Peterson in 1952, arch-criminal Charles Bronson borrowed his pseudonym from the Hollywood star. He was first jailed in 1974 for armed robbery and spent nearly 50 years behind bars due to repeated violent outbursts, rooftop protests, and hostage-taking. He later changed his name to Charles Salvador, and became known for his prison artwork.
Local actor Francis Saunders, whose performance as Gangster No. 1 was so powerful a couple of years ago, will no doubt bring the same Tony-Soprano-like ambiguity to the Bronson character. “There’s so much more to explore than the image people immediately have in their heads. Everyone knows the name Bronson – the violence, the prison stories, the larger-than-life personality,” he says. “But as an actor, I’m interested in what’s underneath all of that. What happens to a man after decades within the prison system? Where does the man end and the character of ‘Bronson’ begin?”
Being alone on stage is for him one of the biggest challenges of the part. “There’s nowhere to hide. You have to hold that audience on your own. It’s physically and mentally demanding.” But he’s excited about that responsibility.
THE TEAM
Director Sean Broughton worked as a special effects artist/director for many years with a variety of internationally famous directors. He has been directing his own plays for almost 30 years, and has known Francis for 25 of those, and they have collaborated before. “There’s something both terrifyingly dark and deeply moving in this script, and I knew immediately that Francis has the ability to make this a truly memorable performance.”
He has found the rehearsals extremely rewarding: “There’s something about theatre, being able to rehearse and finesse, that you don’t always get in film. The smallest of inflections, the briefest of looks. The nuance of the performance, and watching Bronson’s character surface and blossom.”
Dean Stalham has the role of Assistant Director: “It’s been a privilege to contribute to the production and to learn from Sean’s approach. His direction, vision and ability to handle difficult material with focus and sensitivity have been inspirational.”
Music is also an important part of Bronson. There’s original music by De Crâne, a local, post-punk, alternative band – they have four numbers on Bandcamp which certainly elicit the right kind of rather menacing atmosphere. Saunders feels that the music helps to create the isolation, tension, and occasional sadness of being inside the cell, that it becomes “part of Bronson’s internal world. There are moments where the music can say something that I don’t need to say as an actor.” De Crâne’s score, he feels, projects both the darkness and the humanity of the piece.
De Crâne also created sound effects. “We’ve had to create pieces that suited and conveyed an overall feeling. If it hasn’t been the right feel, then the team has had no problem telling us so, and that’s what we wanted. Making the sound effects was comical at times – recording yourself urinating in a metal bucket…”
The producer of Bronson, Jo Morgan, has stepped back into producing here in the UK after some years working at Smoke&Mirrors, a US special effects company. She says she has found the whole process, the commitment, creativity and collaboration, hugely inspiring.
Asked about the Bronson character, Sean Broughton says: “It’s theatre. We’re exploring identity, punishment, isolation, masculinity and what happens to somebody after spending so much of their life within an institution. I don’t want to tell an audience what they’re supposed to think.”
Tickets: kino-teatr.co.uk. Performances: Kino-Teatr, St Leonards, 15-16 October
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