Curtain Calls: Actor Mackay on London stage in ‘Angry Alan’
I often receive emails from various actors and theater companies telling me what latest project is about to hit the boards, but none was more welcome than an email I received from a London PR firm recently. It seems former Walnut Creek resident Don Mackay, who cut his acting teeth with Center Rep, Fantasy Forum Actors Ensemble and many more local companies, was about to open in a one-man show in London entitled “Angry Alan.”
I still remember wishing MacKay well when he announced many years ago that he was heading off to the likes of Los Angeles and Broadway to try and make a living as an actor. He’s certainly succeeded. I had the pleasure of seeing him in Tahoe several summers ago when he appeared with the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival. Now residing in London, MacKay recently appeared there in “True West” opposite Kit Harington from “Game of Thrones in London’s famed West End and had the lead in “Moon for the Misbegotten” in Ireland.
He’s also on the “telly” in “Deep State,” a British espionage thriller series. As the reccurring character Martin Collins, Mackay returns for a second season with a premiere date of April 28. The show can be seen in the United States on Epix. But right now Mackay is busy performing in “Angry Alan,” a darkly comic play about masculinity in crisis that runs through March 30 at Soho Theatre in London. The show was a smash hit at the Edinburgh Festival.
When Trump was elected, Mackay felt an artistic response was vital, so he asked British playwright and friend Penelope Skinner to write something for the Aspen (Colorado) Fringe Festival. She agreed to create a one-person play but only if Mackay agreed to act in it.
“Yikes, I never imagined I’d be interesting enough for an audience to watch on stage alone for an entire evening,” says MacKay.
For months, he and Skinner discussed the character: someone who doesn’t understand feminism and feels left behind, economically downsized in America and falls into the men’s rights movement.
“Performing early incarnations of ‘Angry Alan’ in Aspen; Delhi, India; and then finally at the Edinburgh Fringe, where we won the Fringe First Award, showed us that we had caught the zeitgeist. We have a president that, unwittingly or not, is the de facto leader of the men’s rights movement and white supremacists. I wanted to understand what would drive an average guy to potentially radicalize,” Mackay explains.
“Angry Alan” has already been asked to return to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August. From there, Mackay hopes to tour it to New York, Canada and around the world, including the Bay Area.
“I’d love to bring it to the intimate theater at the Lesher Center in Walnut Creek,” he adds.
If you can’t make it to London to see “Angry Alan” (tickets at sohotheatre.com), you can catch Mackay on TV in “Deep State” and, hopefully, see his one-man show in person at the Lesher!
Clayton: Join four energetic, fun-loving women of a certain age for drinks and more in “The Savannah Sipping Society.” Produced by Clayton Theatre Company and directed by La Tonya Watts, the show runs March 28 through April 13 at Endeavor Hall, 6008 Center St. in Clayton.
The unlikely quartet consists of Randa, a recently fired architect; Marlafaye, a newly divorced Texan; Dot, lately widowed; and Jinx, their spunky life coach. A laugh-a-minute comedy, the show also deals with more difficult subjects as the women bond and discover lasting friendships and a determination to live in the moment. For tickets, call 925-222-9106 or go to claytontheatrecompany.com.
Martinez: A cross-dressing antique collector whose museum served as a key meeting place for LGBT citizens during World War II provides a tour de force for Randall Nott as Onstage Theatre presents “I Am My Own Wife.” The clever piece by Doug Wright continues through March 24 at the Martinez Campbell Theatre, 636 Ward St. in Martinez. For tickets, call 925-350-9770 or go to campbelltheater.com.
Walnut Creek, Antioch: If opera is your love, you won’t want to miss New York City tenor Alex Frankel. Raised in Walnut Creek, Frankel joins the Contra Costa Chamber Orchestra at 2 p.m. March 23 and March 24 to celebrate some of the world’s most beloved Italian music. Performances take place at El Campanil Theatre (elcampaniltheatre.com) in Antioch on March 23 and Lesher Arts Center (lesherartscenter.org) in Walnut Creek on March 24.
Walnut Creek, Pittsburg: You can catch “The Great and Glorious Mr. Toad.” Presented by East Bay Children’s Theatre, the musical joyride for the young and young at heart will be performed March 23 at Del Valle Theatre, 1963 Tice Valley Road, and April 7 at the Firehouse Arts Center, 4444 Railroad Ave. in Pittsburg. Come and enjoy the fun with motor maniac Thaddeus Toad, cantankerous Badger, philosophical Rat and wide-eyed Mole. For tickets, go to ebctonline.org.
Alameda: Detailing marriage and the single life in equal measure, Stephen Sondheim’s “Company” still resonates today as busy young people try to juggle demanding careers with a social life. Directed by Dennis Lickteig, the Tony Award-winning musical will show at the Altarena Playhouse, 1409 High St. in Alameda from March 29 through May 5. For tickets, call 510-523-1553 or go to altarena.org.
“The show itself, with its unflinching look at marriage, will give the audience much to think about — what it means to be committed to someone and the journey to get to that remarkable place,” says Lickteig.
Sally Hogarty can be reached at sallyhogarty@gmail.com. Search for “Curtain Calls” by Sally Hogarty at eastbaytimes.com to read more of her reviews online.