Copyright 1993 Telegraph Group Limited   
The Daily Telegraph 


January 16, 1993, Saturday 

SECTION: Pg. 36 

LENGTH: 1060 words 

HEADLINE: SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING: Isolation of the Spider Man Actor Brent Carver admits his weekends can be lonely - but, as Serena Allott discovers, that's exactly the way he likes it 

BYLINE: By SERENA ALLOTT 

BODY: 
   IT IS NEARLY three months since Kiss of the Spider Woman opened; and since Brent Carver - who plays Molina, one of the two cell-mates - was hailed as "a wonderful new star" with a gift for "devastating poignancy". Carver arrived in London from Canada, with the production, early last October and it has taken him until now to feel truly settled in. "I think it takes that long to acclimatise yourself to anything, particularly when so much of my focus is on work." Carver, it must be said, does not look like one of nature's great adapters. In his 30s, he has a wide-eyed and fawn-like demeanour which suggests he is still adjusting to finding himself on planet Earth. His London weekends sound isolated and lonely and he does not deny this. The things he does to pass the time are, he says, "somewhat the same" as those he does at his base in Southern Ontario, "but I know more people at home". The bulk of Carver's Saturday is, of course, spent in the theatre - "although having the matinee at 3pm rather than 2pm or 2.30pm is great - it gives you an extra hour to the day." He is the only actor I have met who appears to relish his weekends in the same way that office-bound workers do. He lives alone (as he does in Canada) in an apartment close to the theatre. "I get up around 10.30am, not too early because I never go to bed until a couple of hours after the show finishes. I find it hard to go to bed. I love to have oatmeal for breakfast: I was brought up in the Rocky Mountains, and my mother made hot cereals all the time in the Canadian winters when I was a child. "Then, generally, I shower and get ready. I make an attempt to organise my mail." Carver, his brow deeply furrowed, fiddles with a small pile of fan letters on a table beside him. "I receive quite a number and I never quite know how to reply. I don't want to sound too pat, but . . . " Leaving the insoluble problems of his post behind him, Carver likes to go and sit quietly in St Martin-in-the-Fields Church in Trafalgar Square. "I like it there, it's so full of contradictions and it's a beautiful building. Then, just before I go to the theatre, I usually go down to Neal's Yard and pick up something to eat." Carver has been a vegetarian - except, he admits, "I sometimes eat fish when I'm out" - for 15 years. He finds Neal's Yard, with its wholefood shops and cafes, terrific for a creature of his food habits. "If I'm cooking, it's basically pasta and vegetables or hot cereal, toast and tea. That's what I have in the morning and it's usually what I have after the show - just toast or whatever is there." On Saturday he aims to arrive at the theatre by 1.45pm, leaving himself about 45 minutes in which to warm up before getting ready for curtain-up. "Some days you feel as if you need more time, on Mondays for instance. I used to come in at 6pm all the time for evening performances. "I warm up on the stage; it's just a case of acclimatising yourself. I do a bit of observation, have a look at what's happening, and I do a physical warm-up. Usually when I'm working I do work-out classes, but this time I think that the warm-up plus the show is quite enough. "I feel a combination of nervousness and anticipation. As with all actors it's a case of trying to eliminate too much thinking, or being too judgmental about what's actually happening. You can only hope that the audience is getting the story; you can't worry about how they're feeling about it." Back in his dressing room Carver brews up "tea, or a certain combination of honeys and juices that are good for keeping you hydrated". Then, having changed into his costume and applied his make-up, he sits, having a little time to himself. "Often I like to listen to music - all sorts, sometimes by friends of mine." The cast collects in the wings shortly before the curtain goes up. As Carver points out, with the exception of one latecomer they have all been together for nine months, first in Toronto, then here. All of them "out-of-towners", they are, he says, "terrific company performers", but they do not appear to play a huge part in his life outside the theatre. Between performances Carver likes to sit alone again for half-an-hour or so, and then he goes out to get something to eat. By the time he returns it is almost time to start getting ready again. He finds distinct differences between the audience at the matinee and evening performances, but ask him to define them and he shrinks back into his armchair looking more worried and alarmed than ever. "There are differences in us as well," he says eventually. "You're tuned up, even if you're a little tired. It's the last performance of the week and there's a feeling of 'Okay, here we go'." Saturday night is the only night Carver feels he can really go out. "Sometimes we just sit and talk in the dressing room for a while, sometimes we go across to the pub. "I try not to stay up too late so I can get a good Sunday. I don't really go to nightclubs; I've been maybe twice since I've been here. Initially I think it's going to be fun, but it's a little boring really." In recent weeks he has been going straight home to have a bath, put on his pyjamas and read (mostly non-fiction or magazines) or watch television. "By the time I sit down to it it's generally 11.30pm, so I just watch what's on - movies or there have been a couple of good documentaries. I think British TV is great, the sense of humour is terrific." Next morning he wakes up around 11am, has a cup of tea and goes to buy a newspaper. Since he has been here he has tended to spend his Sundays walking. "Last Sunday I went to Chalk Farm by tube and walked on Primrose Hill. I tried to decide whether the people there were flying their kites properly, then I just walked past the zoo and right through Regent's Park down to Oxford Street. There was frost on the ground - it reminded me of home. Afterwards I went and had a meal at The Stockpot, which is relatively inexpensive." I say that it sounds a lonely day and Carver agrees. "But it's also a day of rest on which I try not to do too much, or to do something that makes a change - even if it's just going to a movie. On Sunday evenings I generally just stay in. I like to phone Canada, or just take it easy." 'Kiss of the Spider Woman' is playing at the Shaftesbury Theatre. The album of the show is released on Feb 1. 

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH 

LOAD-DATE: January 16, 1993