ALEX Hassell is being hailed as one of the rising stars of the Royal Shakespeare Company and even teaching main attraction and veteran actor Antony Sher a thing or two about improvisation as the pair portray the roguish relationship between Falstaff and Prince Hal in Henry IV Parts l & ll.

“I hadn’t thought about the old actor-young actor relationship between us before, and the whole play and Hal’s part is concerning lineage. It’s interesting to play a part that many important actors have played in this company. To be with Antony Sher, Jasper Britton and many other experienced actors I do feel proud and privileged to have my name on a bit of paper alongside them and to be forever on a list of people who have played this part,” he says.

Hassell, who will bring the two-play RSC season to Newcastle Theatre Royal, points out that he’s also affected by the young and old debate with some cast members being ten years younger than him.

“It’s surprising to me that this has suddenly happened. The parts you play change (as an actor ages) and the sort of people you work with changes. Antony Sher works so hard still. I came in at 4.30pm and I wondered who was humming on stage and I realised, ‘Oh wow, that’s Tony already here because it takes him so long to get ready (donning a body suit and wig),” he says.

“Because he’s in so early, we don’t see him as Tony Sher ever. Occasionally, you might see him walking in or at a function, but for a whole month we’ve only seen Falstaff. I think he’s getting thinner and thinner under all this costume. Apparently that’s the Falstaff diet,” says Hassell.

The actor, who has appeared in films such as Cold Mountain and Calendar Girls and TV shows such as Silent Witness, Hustle, Miranda, Love Soup and Robin Hood, has taken time out from running his own theatre company to re-join the RSC.

His message to other newcomers to acting is not to get intimidated if you’re appearing opposite a famous face or two. “Otherwise you can’t work with them. I have to do what Hal should be doing and just think of Tony as Falstaff. You can’t put them on a pedestal, even if they are there, otherwise you can’t work properly. The other guy’s got enough hard work on this plate without having to worry about other people,” says Hassell, who reveals that Sher doesn’t bother about people having to greet him as Sir Antony.

“I hear some of the Sirs do like their title, but Tony’s not one of them,” he laughs.

One concern for fellow actor Jasper Britton, who plays Hassell’s stage father Henry IV, is that he knew Hassell’s father had died and saw the young actor become tearful when the pair acted out Henry’s death scene.

“I have my own theatre company (The Factory) and the way we work is really about exploring what comes from a great level of crafted spontaneity and not just wild. I really felt that’s how I’m at my best to freshly hear what’s being said to me and what I’m saying.

I’m not the kind of actor who can convincingly fake cry. The RSC is a mindboggling experience for me and there are certain evenings when we do Part I and II in a day that when I get to that scene some things make me very upset. My dad died a few years ago and people have wondered about this, but what made me really upset was Jasper and the imaginary idea that what he was saying was true and what if I’d really let him down. I suppose I should take all this as a compliment,” says Hassell.

He’s previously been in the RSC Othello cast in Newcastle and also coaches at Tyneside’s Samling School for opera singers.

“I think we are excited about exploring different audiences because at this point there is so much still in the plays. I believe in touring even though it can be irksome, as an actor, to have to live up your life and move it around, and not just stay in Stratford or London,” he says.

The main dilemma for Hassell is that while he’s playing a lead in Henry IV, his job as artistic director of London-based The Factory theatre company is on hold.

“Other people are now doing the day-to-day running, but we are doing The Odyssey which has done Oxford, Bristol and at the Bussey Building in Peckham Rye and we are trying to raise money to go back there. Our plan is to do a rep performance of Hamlet, The Seagull and The Odyssey in one theatre,” says Hassell.

“I vaguely worked out that there are 30 students per drama school and there are five drama schools and that’s every year and makes a lot of people coming into the industry, So, it’s very hard to get work and to get work you like. What you never know is the one person who makes a living out of all this,” he adds.

  • The RSC season appears at Newcastle Theatre Royal from September 25 to October 11. Henry IV Part I runs Sep 25 to Oct 4, 7.30pm (matinees Sep 27 and Oct 2 & 4, 1.30pm), Henry IV Part II Sep 26 to Oct 4, 7.30pm and The Two Gentlemen of Verona runs Oct 7 to 11, 7.30pm (matinees Oct 9 & 11, 1.30pm).

Tickets from £13. Theatre Royal Box Office: 08448-112121 or book online at theatreroyal.co.uk