The Royal Court | ChicanePictures

David Calder

Nominated for four Olivier Awards, including Best New Play, Jennifer Haley’s haunting sci-fi drama about the darker side of the internet The Nether transferred to the West End last month from its sell out run at The Royal Court.

One of the other nominations in Jeremy Herrin’s immaculate production is David Calder for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. He plays Doyle, a frail science professor and family man whose alter ego is a prim young nine year old girl called Iris, who hangs out with male visitors and lets them chop her head off as often as they like. Just your average fun night out at the theatre, then.

David’s extensive stage and screen credits include King Lear, Macbeth, Titanic, Hustle, Midsummer Murders and the Bond film The World is Not Enough. “This is mind bending, it’s ingenious and it’s ethically challenging…. superbly cast and stunningly designed.”

After The Nether, which finishes on the 25 April at The Duke of York’s Theatre, David slips back in time, playing Winston Churchill in The Audience at The Apollo.

Provocatively titled, Cock was Mike Bartlett’s punchy new Olivier award winning play, which premiered at The Royal Court in 2009, directed by James Macdonald.

When John takes a break from his girlfriend, he accidentally meets the girl of his dreams. But difficulties arise when you realise you have a choice. It’s a piece full of the male member slang connotations, including the traditional British ‘cock and bull’ story and staged in a circular bullring, or more aptly, a ‘cockpit’.

The brilliant BAFTA award winning Ben Whishaw played ‘John’ – the only properly named character in the play, with the rest of the quartet labelled ‘M’ ‘W’ and ‘F’ – man , woman, father. The equally talented Katherine Parkinson was the only female cast member, playing ‘W’, a tender divorcee.

Shy, but always friendly, Ben, who is currently mesmerising audiences and critics in Mojo, signed at the Noel Coward stage door after a performance of Peter and Alice in April 2013. I then sent the sketch to Katherine who was the lead in Before the Party at the Almeida.