Interview: "I've Been Working On My Accent A Lot!": Actor Rupert Young On Privilege, Power, And Justice In AFFLUENZA

Riverside Studios has launched its Mainstage 26-27 season with a new play, AFFLUENZA. Written and directed by Andy Sandberg, the play is set in the Hamptons, a group of seaside villages in New York, and explores the ripple effects of power and privilege surrounding a teenager’s drunken car ride. Recently, we had the chance to speak with Rupert Young about being a part of AFFLUENZA. We discussed what made him want to be a part of the production, what he hopes audiences take away from the show and what it is like to be playing an American in London!

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What made you want to be a part of AFFLUENZA? 

First of all, when I was sent the script to have a read, it was really nice to read a new play, and I really enjoyed it. It was a very interesting subject matter, and quite dark, but also, there's a lot of humour in it, and the chance to play really interesting characters. And then I met Andy, the director, and he had an amazing vision and was one of the nicest people I'd met. I got off the meeting with him, phoned my agent and said, “I would love to work with this guy, because he's just so nice and kind and has a great vision. Hopefully, he’ll bring some good people and he'd written a great play, as well!” So it all worked out.

Can you tell us a bit about AFFLUENZA? 

Yeah! Andy's been very clever to take something that happened, but fictionalise it for our own story. But in a nutshell, without giving too much away, an underage boy gets involved in a tragic car accident whilst drinking, and then it's the ripple effect of privilege and what happens from the knock-on effects of that. What's interesting is we all read stories of things that happen too regularly - bad things or injustices - and then we have our view in the moment of how annoying it is, but we very rarely follow through on what happens. Not just the victims, but how, if something bad happens, it doesn't just stop there. You don't just get let off - it affects you forever. So it's a very interesting story with wealth, privilege and ripple effects. 

Are you able to tell us anything about the character or characters you play?

So I play a lawyer [Brad] in the beginning who meets the family of the person who is going to be on trial to try and come up with a defence. He's someone who's very good at his job, but he's waiting for that big thing - to make a splash in the world. To not just follow the rules, always trying to come up with a defence in that emotional battle about doing the right thing. You want your client to win, but also, you have that moral dilemma of right and wrong.

And then the other character [Dylan] is very much an antithesis of a well-done lawyer who's successful - someone who is a bit down on his luck. Life has been hard for him -  that's about all I can say. But it's very different, which is nice!

What has the rehearsal process been like so far? 

It's been great! It's been very very intense. Like any job, the first couple of days, you’re getting to know people, and as I touched on before, he's [Sandberg] brought such a wonderful group of people, both on stage and off stage. We have a cast of six, and there's a lot of words and depth to it. But the main mission was to learn this, so that we can really take it up levels. Everyone has been living this. It's not just the long day in the rehearsal room. It's waking up early - for me, anyway - and then falling asleep most nights, holding my script in a chair and hoping it sinks in! So it's been very intense, whilst also being a really fun room. It's three guys, three girls who are all phenomenal actors and at different stages of their career - people who have been doing it for a long time and people who are making their stage debuts. So it's been such a brilliant collaborative and exciting process. It's been fun, and it's been intense as well, in the way that you want it to be.

What is it like to be taking on an American play, but to perform it for a British audience? 

Well, that was one of the things that drew me to it! I've always been very interested in American plays and playing American characters. I didn't realise that over half the cast were going to be American! In the past, I got away with what I thought was an okay American accent. I've been working on my accent a lot! But that's what's really exciting - the flow of American writing and new plays.

It'll be really interesting to see what British audiences think of it. I'm excited because there's also that disconnect that if people don't necessarily, it's going to open up a lot of questions. I think it's very relevant wherever we are, as we know. But it's easy to go. “Okay, let's step away.” So I'm excited by that!

What is it like to be performing at Riverside Studios? 

Brilliant! I don't live too far, so that's one amazing thing. So, especially when the sun's out, walking a lot - I can walk along the river. I've been getting here quite early to read my script and learn my lines. I grew up in Hammersmith, so in the old building that was here before they rebuilt, I used to come here quite a lot and meet friends. And, if I was learning lines for things, I would come and sit in there. It was always such a great hub of activity, and I've seen some phenomenal things over the years. 

You touched on it a little bit before, but what do you hope audiences take away from AFFLUENZA? 

Well, I hope that people will take away the understanding that we all go through things at some point in our life - traumas, amazing things, whatever it may be. It's easy, especially for a Brit, to repress and never fully deal with things. I think we're getting better at working through things from our history, good and bad, that tell us who we are today. So I hope that opens up a lot of interesting questions of things that aren't dealt with, or aren't spoken about. I hope that people get that. As a cast, we're going, “How are people going to take this?” I don't completely know the answer! I hope it'll be something that will open up a lot of questions. I hope people don't leave and go, “Yeah, that was nice.” I hope it's something that people are really connected to. If they feel something, whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, I hope that opens up conversations. 

And finally, how would you describe AFFLUENZA in one word? 

Thrilling!

AFFLUENZA opens tonight and runs until 28 November at Riverside Studios