Although well known in the Sydney theatre scene, Socratis Otto is relatively unknown in Melbourne. But with the actor preparing for his Melbourne debut, in a new production of Georg Büchner’s Woyzeck at the Malthouse, that is about to change.Left unfinished when Büchner died in 1837, Woyzeck – a searing critique of the dehumanising nature of war – was first performed in 1913. Otto first encountered the play at university, some 16 years ago, and says he’s never forgotten it.
“It kind of reminded me of the big Shakespearean plays like Hamlet, because it’s such an epic and a tragedy. There’s its theme – revenge – and you have this pure soul who is bombarded by everyone else’s disillusionment with themselves… I always remembered it.”
Based on a true story, Woyzeck focuses on Otto’s character: a young soldier driven mad by his commanding officers’ exploitation and cruelty.
“It’s exactly what happens to a soldier,” the actor explains, “what the rules and mechanisms of being a soldier in a battalion are, the results of that, the pressures of that, post-traumatic stress disorder, all that stuff. It’s quite relevant in terms of how soldiers behave with one another and what they do to one another; how they feel about the enemy … that we don’t even acknowledge another man as a human being: he’s an enemy and therefore he must be exterminated. How that seeps into other people’s minds even when they’re actually brethren in a battalion.”
There are strong parallels between Otto’s part in Woyzeck and one of his best-known role to date, that of George Dyer, the suicidal rough trade lover of English artist Francis Bacon in Stephen Sewell’s Three Furies. Like Woyzeck, the story of George Dyer is a working class tragedy, but according to Otto, the plays’ elements of social criticism are not what most attract him.
“I think it’s more with working particular people,” he says thoughtfully. “This sounds weird or silly, but the people that were involved in Three Furies … and the people who are involved with Woyzeck are really, really exciting and innovative and really inspiring people, and it just happens that they’ve chosen these works.
“You do things, you have to do things when you first become an actor in this country; you kind of go for anything and everything that you can. Sometimes they’re horrible experiences, but you need to; but ultimately you start to think, ‘You know what? I’m going to pass on that because I actually don’t want to spend six weeks or three months working with people or ideas that aren’t challenging enough’.
“And when you’ve got people like [Three Furies director] Jim Sharman, who’s a legend, he’s subverting theatre by doing Three Furies the way he is, and now this … Of course Woyzeck is a different thing, it’s a kind of rock’n’roll show as well, but it’s interesting. Maybe they [the directors] think of me as fitting into those roles a bit more easily? I dunno, dude.”
Directed by Malthouse Theatre Company’s Artistic Director Michael Kantor, this version of Woyzeck is a truly international production: an English translation of an Icelandic production of the play, which premiered in London in 2005 and features new songs composed by Australia’s Nick Cave and Warren Ellis. It’s an exciting blend of talents, and the opportunity to work again with Kantor is one Otto did not want to pass up.
“I’ve worked with Michael before and I really like his… his… he’s just unafraid to keep pushing boundaries and testing himself; he’s just not safe at all. He likes taking risks. And Tim Rogers is in it! He’s a cool dude. And you can’t say no to playing a character like Woyzeck.”
Ironically, despite the successful career he has had since graduating from the National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA) in 2000, acting was never Otto’s childhood dream.
“I always knew I wanted something to do with the creative arts, whether it was writing, making my own projects, performing. Performing is actually the one I least thought I’d pursue, I don’t know why. I think the arts … sort of encouraged me to be expressive, I guess.”
This isn’t to say his parents discouraged expression, he quickly adds.
“I think my folks kind of, well, they always allowed us to do what we wanted but I think they hoped it would be a bit more stable, and something that would bring a bit more financial gain to us, or security,” he laughs.
“I think because I listened to so much rock music and heavy stuff that my dad would always just not understand that, and he’d be like ‘What are you doing dude, you’re listening to all this…’ He’d hate it, and he sort of thought I was on the way out or something. Music just sort of grounded me for some reason.”
Woyzeck at the Malthouse Theatre, January 31 – February 28. www.malthousetheatre.com.au
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