‘Jerusalem’ Jez Butterworth’s state-of-England play opened at the Royal Court Theatre but I caught it on its triumphant transfer to the Apollo. I had heard the buzz around Mark Rylance’s remarkable performance. Unfortunately, so had everyone else. This was the second day that I had queued for hours for tickets, on what seemed like the coldest night of the year.
I will always remember that performance. A tour-de-force of comic energy that somehow managed to draw out the pathos of this character, almost by sleight of hand. Just how did he manage to make Johnny “Rooster” Byron, a drug dealing waster on the fringes of society so mesmerising? I can testify that night to Rylance’s mercurial talent.
His onscreen presence is no less absorbing. In contrast, his role as Thomas Cromwell in the BBC adaptation of Wolf Hall is a masterclass of understatement. I used to re-watch several scenes to appreciate just how skilful he is.
The greatest actor of his generation – although he never likes it said, I can’t resist saying it.
