Pryce, Atkins, and More Talk THE HEIGHT OF THE STORM

Hello, I'm Richard Ridge for Broadway World

Following a critically acclaimed, sold-out run in London's West End, Florian Zeller's new play, The Height of a Storm

which has been translated by Christopher Hampton, is coming to Manhattan Theatre Club's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre

Under the direction of Jonathan Kent, it welcomes back to Broadway Eileen Atkins and Jonathan Price

and we caught up with the company during a break in rehearsal. So we started it out of London

That first night in Cambridge, I think it was, we thought you know how the hell my god they like it and then instead of not just that but people

stopped us in the street all the time not just to say i love the show last night which is what's

normal but no i have to speak to you about the play last night and we were stopped and everywhere

we went people wanted to talk about it when we were running in london they wanted to talk in the

dressing room after it. It wasn't, oh, are we going to get to the restaurant? It was

no, no, no. But I mean, what did you think of it? And that is what I love about it. It

makes people go on talking and people are intrigued by it. The first reading I didn really understand it I went back read it a second time I understood it a bit more and the third time I was in tears reading it It a stunning piece of writing and it very much a piece of writing that involves the audience and needs an audience

I mean we're performing it for an audience but it's something for them to think about and to work out while they're watching it what's going on

I play Andre, who is Alina Kings, plays my wife. I play her husband

And we've been together, married for 50 years. And you'll meet our two daughters, a man visitor and a woman visitor

and Andre was a very famous novelist, writer who is now in some parts of this play

is experiencing dementia and when I say in some parts of the play

because there are parts of the play which are like flashbacks and times when he's very lucid

so it involves dementia but it's not about dementia Let's talk about your two leads

I mean like you said directing Jonathan Price and Eileen Atkins at the height of their career What it like just being in the rehearsal room with them Well they great They both They both of them I known for quite a long time

But it's wonderful watching them sculpt performances and the way they handle language

And this is a play partly about language, you know, about so much is implied and implicit

and there's so many layers in it and the way they mine the language is thrilling

Sharing the stage with Jonathan Price and Eileen Atkins, what is it like working with them

Listen, they've learned a lot from us. Tricky. You know, we had to really help out Jonathan and Eileen

with their performances. They were struggling, but I think we've got them up to scratch now, haven't we

Yeah, we took a few extra rehearsals with them. We gave them some notes. and yeah, Richie, you know what

They'll get there in the end. Eileen, we've taken out jogging in Central Park because we felt that would be

just something to sort of like, you know, ground her and... They are, you know, Richie

they are so amazing. They're just so always there and so easy

That the incredible Aren they so easeful Yeah and it I was saying to Some quite I never ever get bored Of being on stage I I

It is an absolute Honour And I know people It is an absolute

Honour and privilege To share the Share the stage With them It really is Yeah

You do feel you get better The more time you spend with them Definitely Definitely

Who told her what it's like Gosh no We haven't even had a chance

Because I'm new He's had about four days To rehearse I mean I'm I'm literally just like

a swan like my legs anything yet because you know she's just got to cram what we had and we had a

three-month run on top of a five-week rehearsal and she's got four days so explain to everybody

you've done the show you're the new addition yes i know and i'm feeling it no it's wonderful

everyone's been so gorgeous and welcoming and lovely i think i'm just frantically trying to do

like five weeks of work in a week um but i'm in extremely good hands and my sister is glorious and

so lovely and amazing. And so I feel like every time I look at her on stage

I feel comforted because she knows very much what she's doing. Lisa keeps saying this is her first straight play

I think like, well, yeah, you've only got one ball to juggle. How have you been doing the singing and dancing as well

But, you know, she's a consummate professional. She's been amazing. So this is easy for her