After the opening night performance of Bryony Lavery’s news Tony nominated play Frozen, I had the opportunity to sit down and talk to the director, Billy Hayes. We were able to discuss his role as director in the play and why Frozen was the perfect choice for him. The main theme of the play is forgiveness, which Hayes knows quite a bit about from his time spent in a Turkish prison. He documented his ordeal in his book, Midnight Express (later made into an Academy Award winning film by the same name directed by Alan Parker and with a screenplay by Oliver Stone.) But it is theatre that ultimately saved his life.
OM: How did you become involved with this production?
BH: One of the actors was doing a tap and dance class and my lawyer was in there and she mentioned to him that they were looking for a director and she calls me and I read the play and immediately was hooked. It’s such a wonderful play.
OM: Were you familiar with the play before becoming involved?
BH: I had hear about it back in NY. It had won a couple of Tonys and I’ve heard people talk about it but I hadn’t seen it or read it. So once I read the play it became something that I had to do.
OM: What was it about the play that got you hooked?
BH: The first thing I do when I’m interested in a play is turn off all the phones, sit down, and read the play from start to finish. Once I read the whole thing, I turned to the first page and the first thing I wrote was “Forgiveness†and that’s the theme of what this play is. Shown in many different ways, but in truth, that is the bottom line.
OM: Despite the dark themes, there seems to be a lot of humor found throughout the play, how did you incorporate that?
BH: Strangely enough there is, part and parcel is the character of Ralph and what he does. During the rehearsal process, I encouraged the actors to find the humor in the play because of the seriousness and nature of the play. There is just enough humor to help balance it.
OM: I’ve read in an interview with the playwright, that the humor comes from moments when you know you shouldn’t be laughing, do you think that’s true?
BH: Yes, of course. It is true. You laugh rather than cry. The last line in the play is: “Perfect, another funeral.†And its true, some things are so difficult to deal with that you’d rather just laugh. There’s such a strong fragile line between laughter and tears.
OM: What was the rehearsal process like for this production?
BH: The rehearsal process is my favorite time. I never feel as alive as when I’m directing theatre—I’m also an actor. So while directing I’m literally living through each of the characters. Emotionally for the last 2 months I’ve been so caught up with it that at a drop of a hat I find myself all in tears. Real work affects me immensely and there’s some beautifully written stuff in this play.
OM: Which character do you most identify with?
BH: Interestingly enough, the character of Ralph is charming. Or else how can he get there? Girls love him. But, in truth I think I connected with Nancy because of the issue of forgiveness. And forgiveness in my own life—what with what happened when I was imprisoned in a Turkish jail. In truth I needed to forgive. The only way to move on with your like—like Nancy says—is to movie beyond your frozen state, otherwise it totally takes up your life. I think that the problem with other guys that do spend a lot of time in jail is that they don’t find the simple truth in forgiveness. If not, then you’re lost and for the rest of your life you’re all tangled up in yourself, so that is why I was able to connect with Nancy.
OM: So for you was this play a way of cleansing or closing a chapter in your life?
BH: Very much so. All theatre is like that. Theatre saved my life. There was a guy here tonight that wrote a book called Best Revenge: How Theatre Saved My Life and How It’s Been Killing Me Ever Since and it’s true. Theatre gave me a place to put all this stuff that I had inside me and taught me how to use it and thereby take away the own-ness of it. My acting teacher, Eric Morris, told me you’re like gold, if you’re able to mine yourself like gold, than you have the power to touch people with it.
OM: How do you feel now that the play has opened?
BH: It’s bittersweet. My role as director is over. I’m done. Now it’s the actor’s play. I want to be out there on the stage. I want to be out there but I’m finished. Now I have to find something else.
OM: Have you directed yourself in anything before?
BH: No. I’ve either directed or acted, but never both. I can’t imagine doing both—I don’t know how you could. I know some people do, but when I’m acting I’m so immersed in the character and to do both you’d have to step back as a director and find that third eye and be able to find that balance.
OM: With Hollywood just around the corner, you find yourself working with film actors all the time on stage. What is the appeal for a film actor to tackle a role on stage?
BH: If an actor is true to him or herself, it doesn’t matter—what matters is finding the truth in character and so it doesn’t matter where you work. People do theatre because they love it. Because there’s an energetic charge to play to a live audience. There’s also no money in theatre. People who come in to theatre with the hope that this is going to get them a T.V. job, will ultimately be disappointed. If that is their expectation, they’re setting themselves up for a fall.
OM: Now that you’re done with this project, what is next for you?
BH: I have no answer. I don’t know. But you never know, I have all sorts of things going on. I’m doing a documentary. We’ve been shooting for years and years and it continues. I’ve got other projects-writing projects and things I’m looking at but nothing specific. I’m just happy to get through opening night. When I drive home tonight I’ll probably feel that sense of completion.
OM: Going back to your experience in Turkey, do you plan to bring that to the stage in the future?
BH: Part of the reason we’re doing this documentary is to see how powerful a film can be in terms of how it affected the people in Turkey and the United States. And people still have that impression that that’s how Turkey really is, because of the movie Midnight Express. In Denmark, a version of the movie was done as a ballet. But, no. That’s not something I want to be involved with again. It’s done.
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