March 2, 2002
By Katerina Yiamala

There are these people you simlpy love,
And, if you think, they're all you have.-
Don't search for reasons in busy minds
Your heart is peaceful: everything's Fiennes

The day I went to Crucible Theatre to watch Joseph in Edward II, I was lucky enough to have a kind of "double dose" of Joseph: The play started at 7:30 but before that I attended the so-called "Page to Stage": The director with all the members of the crew talked to 18-year old pupils about the play and their work on it.

The director, Michael Grandage, was very very good, willing to explain everything, from technical matters to the way he directed the play, ready to answer any question and lead you to a whole new world that seems to exist backstage. Witty man, full of life, with so much creativity! He came first on the stage and then invited the actors. They were all there and, of course, Joseph, the most discrete and shiest of them all. They inroduced themselves. Joseph was casually dressed, in casual clothes and trainers, as the director and most of the others.

I knew that Joseph is quite a simple and approachable kind of bloke but you know how it is: movies, TV, press, they all affect you and you forget that actors are real people, in flesh and blood. You expect a God, a supernatural creature, I don't know what. And when you happen to see them, you can't really believe it, your eyes search for something to certify that this the actual person, real, talented, live! Silly? Don't know...
So what amazed me about Joseph was that he was so... earthly! I mean, he was handsome, quite tall and thinner than I expected, altogether he seemed to be in a very good physical condition - but if you saw him in the street, especially in his casual clothes and trainers, you may pass him by. And if you asked me which was his most beatiful feature, I wouldn't say "his eyes, jaw or eye-lashes" (I'm sure that would have been the case, if I sat close to him)
What impressed me about Joseph was a sweet maturity, despite the young of his age. There was a general sweetness or better, mild and calm power about this person. He has a gentle and natural kindness, a discrete but strong presence. Let's say a kind of positive aura that either you have it or not. And it was Joe himself, as it turned out to be, that wanted to look like that, ordinary, unnoticed, normal, not a male peacock that goes around trying to attract attention. Down to earth, I guess,as they say...

The audience were teenagers still in school, in their final year, actually. This made the whole thing very lively and quite funny. All the actors were very sociable and seemed quite friendly. The children had a really good time. They had the chance to say what they expected the play to be about and a couple of them actually tried to direct a scene from it that the director had chosen. And it was so enjoyable watching the young girls-directors telling to Joseph, for example, "You,stand there! Do this or that!" Neither Joseph nor anybody else, though, did complain. On the contrary, they all enjoyed it and I have to say that the actor that played the king's lover, Gaveston (James D'Arcy, I think his name) was very very funny and friendly (as well as handsome, yes). They tried to explain everything to us: how the director and his colleagues decided to have this minimalistic stage, black in colour, as the clothes of the actors, so that everyhing would be more dramatic and every costume of any colour and any stage object would easily show off. The costumes were rather like modern clothes, not the beautiful but complicated ones of Shakespeare's time. The director wanted a discrete elegance in everything, with hints rather than whole and clear statements. This was also more economical too!
It was also very interesting when some of the technicians talked about the lights, the sound and all the other technical details. This IS a team's work, I thought.

OK, the most interesting part for me WAS Joseph, I have to admit it! He seemed to mix with the children quite nicely. Simple and open, he laughed with their jokes, really paid attention to everything that they said, willing to answer their questions, think their suggestions and very very good in dicussion. He has the gift of approaching you simply, directly, unpretentiously, explaining his views but at the same time he gives you the impression that he doesn't know anything, he wants you to walk with him, so that together you can discover things. Perhaps it was my idea but it seemed to me that he gave the most complete answers to the questions of the restless teenagers.
For example, one asked the actors how they prepare themselves before the play, how they cope with the stress. One said that he has some yoga exercise, another that he takes deep breaths ,another that he tries to relax and so on. But Joe... he said "yes,I have some exercise, some deep breaths but, most of all, I try to close in my mind the doors of my world and find myself in a new, different one, that of the play..."

Joseph seems to know what he wants and what matters for him in life and tries for this passionately but quietly, without asking for attention, the whole world doesn't have to know about him. I could detect, or at least I thought I did, a certain attitude in some of the men of the crew, especially towards the young girls, the usual attitude of "hey! look at me, aren't I something?!"
Joseph, though,was not even the half of that, he was rather shy I would say. This was absolutely clear at the end of the play, later in the same evening, when all the teenagers went crazy and gave him their greatest applause shouting, whistling, as if saying to him "Hey, man, you're one of us!". Joseph seemed rather embarassed, kept sending the kids a warm smile or looking down and shaking his head, as if trying to say: "No, no, I don't deserve this, this is a team's work!" and looked as if he wanted to disappear as soon as he could backstage...

I admit that, as I like Joseph, perhaps, I'm imagining things. I don't know the man personally (wish I could!). Nevertheless, his course of life, as I watch it from the media, his quality work and low life profile, all this tells me something: Joseph Fiennes, with his work and attitude keeps bringing quality into our lives and filling us with his calm power. And for this, I truly thank him!

As I was leaving Sheffield, I found myself realizing that my experience was really really useful. Joseph Fiennes with his attitude enhanced my belief that the truly precious things in life are simple and quiet. They can exist near you and you may have not paid any attention to them. They are there, though, steady, stable and pure, like a pearl in its shell. And when you are ready and lucky to open this shell, the treasure reveals itself to you, in all its beauty, truth and honesty. And this is what makes all the difference...

It's nice to see people like Joseph, full, content, kind. It makes you feel relaxed, optimistic and strong. I remember, as I was coming out of the theatre, in the cold, wintry atmosphere of Sheffield, I felt relieved thinking: "There is STILL beauty in this world!!"

Joseph Fiennes, thrive along!!!