Jorge Bosch, first Spanish actor candidate for an Olivier: “It’s a high to see the fans in London for theater”

He has achieved his candidacy for his work in ‘Kyoto ‘a production of the Royal Shakespeare Company which premiered in June at the Swan Theater in Stratford-Upon-Avon (William Shakespeare’s hometown) and is currently presented at the Soho Place in London, an open theater only three years ago. Written by Joe Murphy and Joe Robertsonand directed by Stephen Daldry (The director of ‘Billy Elliot’) and Justin Martintells the history of the climate summit that led in 1997 to the signing of the Kyoto protocol, in which there was an international agreement of the United Nations countries with the aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Bosch plays the Argentine Raúl Estrada-Yuelawhich played a fundamental role in the approval of the aforementioned protocol.

His candidacy has been the icing on an experience that is being, he says, “brutal on all sides.” To begin with, for acting in English -“It’s my third language” -; for working with the Royal Shakespeare Company and having also had the opportunity to do so in the hometown of the playwright; and to know firsthand the West End Londinense. «It is a high to see the fans in this city for the theater. The subway halls are full of plays ads, mainly musicals ». The actor admires the sense of industry that British theater has, “they are very workers, they rehearse more than in Spain!”

And that Jorge Bosch was about not embarking on the project. «I had looked for a representative in Paris, because my second language is French; I studied at the French Lyceum. But a casting director called me, Camilla-Valentine isola -He unfortunately died last month- he called me to do a test for the Royal Shakespeare Company. I was in those days rehearsing ‘short encounters with repulsive men’, from Foster Wallacewith Gustavo Salmerón; And I was also sick. I had no confidence, but Gustavo convinced me to do the test, that I had nothing to lose, and he helped me prepare it and record it. After four days they called me to do a second test, and later they asked me if I could go in a week … I had a trip to Japan already prepared and paid, but of course, I left everything. I had a few days to close the house, leave my dog ​​’placed’ and fly to London. We debuted in Stratford-Upon-Avon and they told me that if I was going well we would go to the West End … and here we are ».

‘The Grönholm method’, ‘All were my children’, ‘Glengarry Glen Ross‘,’ Lights of Bohemia ‘,’ Spy to a woman who kills himself ‘,’ invincible ‘or the aforementioned’ short encounters with repulsive men ‘are some of the theatrical works he has done Jorge Boschusual also in Spanish fiction. In ‘Kyoto‘, the actor is part of a cast of fourteen actors -“Muu good people all, there is no’ star ‘”, he says-, which means that rehearsing were twenty -five people. «The work tells how the Kyoto protocol was forged. It may seem a very arid issue, because it is full of data, dates and names, but the two authors and the two directors have had the ability to turn it into an exciting political thriller, and also with a lot of humor.

Mental tiredness

And they haven’t had ‘piety’ with him. «I asked them not to change the text, because if they moved me a file I fell in the castle … but no case. In fact, one day they changed me a little before leaving a phrase; He should say an appointment that is also well known in England, so or he said textually or everyone was going to realize. “Mental and physical fatigue is enormous,” says Jorge Bosch. They are two and a half hours of function and acting in English, and British -I lived a time in the United States -the level concentration is even higher. I end up exhausted; When they ask me what I do in my spare time I tell you to rest. It’s hard … but it’s very nice, unforgettable experience.

Among the many satisfactions that this project is providing, there is one that the actor considers very special. «I have been able to meet Raúl Estrada-Yuelathe ‘Kyoto hero’, he achieved, with a lot of work, to approve the protocol. I have talked to him on the phone and through video call. Without trying to imitate him, I have tried to collect his energy, his determination, his good humor … I called him when we premiered and then when I was appointed to Olivier, and replied: «But you know that the merit is from the character and not the actor, right? Demonstrates the humor it has. He considered inviting him to the premiere, but he is already older to travel. In April their children will come to see the function, I am as nervous as it is excited ».