After waiting 20 years for his bucket list role, Adelaide’s newly adopted leading man Matt Hyde is heading back on stage in one of the most powerful plays of the late 20th Century, as Independent Theatre’s lead in BENT.
If you thought he ventured into a dark place in his award-winning one-man show at the Adelaide Fringe last year, prepare yourself for an even more gripping performance in the dark, anguished role of Max in Martin Sherman’s gut-wrenching expose on the persecution of gay love in Nazi Germany.
The last time BENT was performed in Adelaide was back in 1980, the year Hyde was born. This year it makes a comeback as a headline production of Feast Festival.
“I love Independent Theatre’s ambition. They are never frightened to tackle some of theatre’s biggest challenges or to take on big, epic plays like Don Carlos and the Maltese Falcon - works even major theatre companies would shy away from,” said Matt.
“I saw BENT 20 years ago when I was in arts school, in London, and said one day I want to play that part.
“By my late 30s I was worried the opportunity was going to pass me by, until Independent Theatre’s Artistic Director Rob Croser approached me.”
As a lover of causes Matt has travelled the world, including several trips to the orangutan sanctuaries of Borneo.
“I’m a huge orangutan activist. They are beautiful zen-like creatures - irresistibly cute and so intelligent - and of course, critically endangered and on the verge of extinction. It’s deeply tragic,” Matt said.
“As a gay man, I’ve become very politically and socially aware as I’ve gotten older. There is lots of stuff to feel passionate about particularly the persecution of minority groups. Black Lives Matter and #MeToo have really drawn attention to that.
“BENT is still a very important story in 2020. In many ways, it can be just as tough being gay today. In 72 countries it is still a criminal offence. Even in places where it is not illegal there are lots of societal pressures.”
Independent Theatre’s production of BENT opens at Goodwood Theatre on Friday November 13 with an outstanding local cast featuring Lindsay Prodea, Tom Murdock, David Roach, Eddie Sims and Henry Bleby-Williams. The production features Independent Theatre’s signature hand-crafted sets and authentic uniforms supplied by military costumier Ken Kurtz, of the Adelaide Hills.
“It is great to be part of such a wonderful cast – a beautiful cast,” said Matt. “BENT takes you to an exhausting, dark emotional place so you really have to trust the actors you are with to let yourself be that vulnerable and emotionally exposed.
“I’m very proud to be involved. I like challenging theatre. Theatre should make people uncomfortable so they feel like they have gone through an experience.
“Bringing on a new performance right now is a real act of bravery too because COVID could spark up at any time.
“COVID has been horrific. In the UK, theatres can’t even open even open. The last time that happened was during the bubonic plague. It’s unfathomable and heart-rending.
“But it’s brilliant being in rehearsal and creating again. As artists, creating is our livelihood and our reason for being. It’s where we belong.”