Alan and his nephew John Montanaro share more than just family ties. They talk to Sandra Aquilina about comedy and their next production, Completely Hollywood (Abridged).
When did you discover that you could make people laugh?
JOHN – My grandmother always told me that when I was born and the doctor spanked my bottom, I laughed instead of crying. I just love to laugh and I love anything related to comedy. I was quite a class clown, with a very weird sense of humour, as my friends would always remind me.
ALAN – I have vague memories of improvised slapstick routines for my younger cousins. I’m talking elaborate Chaplin-esque routines that would have me walking into doors, falling on my butt, and the occasional pie-in-face. One such routine had me walking through a glass door and ending up with 12 stitches on my upper arm. Much mirth was had by all.
Is it harder to do comedy?
JOHN – To do any genre well is hard; I just find myself more at ease doing comedy, because that is where my passion lies. I just love the sound of a full house bursting into rapturous laughter. I have done quite a few black comedies, which required some straight acting, and which were extremely funny. It is all about the timing and the delivery, both in comedy and in drama.
ALAN – It was William Claude Fields who famously said that comedy is serious business. It always amazes me how you could get one actor to recite a funny line and it flops, then another actor will repeat the exact same line with the same inflections and have everyone in fits. Why is that? I don’t know. I guess it’s got something to do with timing. Personally, I think it may have helped me to be raised on a diet of the greats: Morecambe & Wise, The Two Ronnies and, later, Monty Python and Fawlty Towers.
Alan, do you feel more comfortable doing humorous roles?
Comfort is perhaps the wrong word, but I find serious roles more challenging. My ideal brand of theatre would be comedy with pathos – a show that will make people laugh and cry and laugh again within the same hour. I used to think I should take on more serious roles, but it doesn’t bother me any more as long as I’m enjoying what I do. And I do.
How does one family produce two successful comedians?
JOHN – It is only two that have taken to the stage – but the whole family is hilarious and much funnier than I am. From the Montanaro side we all have a very British sense of humour. My fondest memories are spending hours in front of TV as a family watching Yes, Prime Minister, Allo Allo, Monty Python and the all-time classic Fawlty Towers, to mention but a few. These are the programmes that have shaped the family’s sense of humour and have also had a great influence on the type of plays that we chose to put up.
The ability to make people laugh doesn’t make us clowns
ALAN – It produced more than two – my dad was a wit who would come out with comments that would make Oscar Wilde glow and my mother often comes out with some sparkling one-liners.
John, theatre or TV?
Theatre without a doubt. The rush of a live performance and the instant gratification is where I get my kicks from and it is the reason why I cannot stay away from the stage for too long. I found TV to be too cold, the wait to see the finished product and the reaction from the audience was too long, and most times I would even have forgotten the scene completely.
What’s the biggest myth about being a comedian?
JOHN – I guess that we can’t be serious and will try to find the comedy in every situation. However there is a time and place for everything. We can be very serious and passionate about issues that are close to heart, like everyone else.
ALAN – That we can’t be serious. We can. And often are. The ability to make people laugh doesn’t make us clowns – but it does give us the ability to be serious in a lighter way.
What has been your biggest professional challenge?
JOHN – My biggest challenge is time. Like most actors in Malta this is something that I do on the side, after a day at the office and spending some time with the family before rushing off to rehearsals. I have no time to read the script, so I need to learn my lines by recording them, so that I can listen to them whilst driving in the car, or on a morning jog.
ALAN – Lines. Learning lines. I am so envious of fellow actors who have photographic memories and learn entire chunks within minutes. I say envious but what I really mean is that I hate them and think they should be banned from the stage, no matter how talented because, essentially, they’re cheating.
What attracted you to the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Completely Hollywood (Abridged)? Is there a design to the pieces you choose?
JOHN – This is the third Royal Shakespeare Company production that I am performing in, following the hugely successful The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) and All the Great Books (Abridged).
Both had the audiences in stitches. It is a formula that I love and that audiences love too. When it comes to choosing pieces, James Calvert and myself pretty much have the same sense of humour so we basically choose scripts that that make us laugh.
ALAN – I was fortunate to be one of the three actors in Shakespeare Abridged which audiences loved. Plus, I enjoy working with John and James.
Completely Hollywood (Ab-ridged) by the Reduced Shakespeare Company runs at the University’s Sir Temi Zammit Hall from May 1 to 3 and from 8 to 10. It is produced by Mostly Harmless Productions.
www.mostlyharmless.com.mt