Dynamic New Director

The Algarveans Experimental Theatre group is going from strength-to strength. Its regular plays are attracting wider audiences and getting better and better reviews. Recently the excellent amateur dramatic company was joined by Paul Kloegman, who had a long acting career in Canada. Sophie Sadler went to meet him to discuss his directing debut with the Algarveans.

When I meet Paul Kloegman for a coffee, he has just finished the run of the latest Algarveans production of Whose Life is it Anyway, which ran from 22nd to 24th November in the Auditorio Carlos do Carmo in Lagoa.

The stage play was adapted from the 1972 television play of the same title, the stage version premiered in 1978, winning an Olivier Award for the best new play. The subsequent Broadway adaption in 1979 won The Tony Award. The lead part was originally written for a man and was played by Ian McShane in the television play followed by Tom Conti on stage. Brian Clarke rewrote the part for Mary Tyler Moore in the Broadway production when Conti left.  

Paul is an actor whose film credits include Along Came a Spider (2001) starring Morgan Freeman, TV drama Once Upon a Time (2011), Awake (2005) starring Jessica Alba and TV series Psych (2006), where Paul acted alongside Vinnie Jones. He also has a long list of theatre acting and directing credits to his name.

Originally from Shepherds Bush, Paul trained at the Acting for Theatre and Television Drama Guild in Isleworth, London. He emigrated to Canada in 1974 with his first wife and in the 1980s became a professional actor, after working in telecommunications. His acting work has been solely in Canada and while he speaks with an English accent, all his screen acting roles have been with a North American dialect.

He tells me that while many US dramas, like Suits, are shot in Canada they are mostly cast in the US making it difficult for Canadian actors. Paul diversified his talent however and built a successful directing career; “I fell into directing naturally. You can deal with a piece, with an actor´s eys which helps.” His most challenging directing role was Rosencranz and Guildenstern are Dead. A more light-hearted project was when he received permission from Rowan Atkinson to put some episodes of Blackadder on the stage.

He directed the most recent Algarvean´s production which starred his wife, Deborah Kloegman, in the lead role of Claire, which was played Kim Cattrall in the West End production in 2005. Paul is keen to point out that there was no nepotism involved; “I didn´t cast Deborah in the role. She had already been given the part when the original director had to withdraw due to personal reasons. We met each other in an amateur dramatics group in Canada and she is very talented, so I enjoy working with her.”

Deborah joins the conversation to tell me that she does get stage fright; “As you get older you worry more that something will go wrong!”

Born in South Africa Deborah Kloegman grew up in Canada and was involved in community theatre since she was 12 years old. With theatre training at the University of Alberta Honours Drama programme also The Banff School of Fine Arts. She then swapped the drama of the stage for the drama of the courtroom and became first a lawyer, then a supreme court judge!  

She never lost her love for acting though and appeared on stage in numerous productions in Canada, Israel, Spain and Mexico. She was delighted to be part of such a powerful show. One of her favourite quotes in the play is spoken by her character Claire: "I am not asking anyone to salute my choice, just to recognise my right to make it."

Deborah explains; “She is referring to her request to be released from the hospital to die quietly with as much dignity as I can muster. Claire is not asking that people decide whether she should live or die. The decision is whether she is entitled to exercise her right as an individual to choose her own destiny, or whether morality dictates it should be decided by the medical professionals who think they know best. This makes for an interesting dialectic about the true meaning of "professionalism", the human spirit and the answer to the question "Whose life is it anyway?"

Paul admits that the weighty subject matter of euthanasia meant that the show was not a sell out as generally, people prefer more lightweight themes. He says though that in many ways it is very humorous and the audiences really enjoyed watching it.

“The lead character is paralysed so stays in bed the whole show. My biggest challenge was that the amateur actors weren´t so experienced and were not familiar with more serious roles. But as an actor myself I hope I was able to guide them. All actors need to understand what they are saying and why they are saying it. All the information about that character is in the lines the play-write has written.”

I am keen to get to the bottom of what the glamorous life of an actor is really like; Paul tells me; “It is very difficult to make a living from acting and apart from a very short period I have always supplemented my income with other work. Of course, every actor dreams of having their big break but most film and TV castings are like a cattle market! It is all about your look and you are auditioned before you even open your mouth.”

Deborah and her husband, Paul, recently moved to Portugal from Mexico where they had retired. They found the lifestyle there did not suit them and were drawn to Iberia where they had had a holiday home on Costa del Sol. From there they discovered Portugal and have just bought a property near Silves. They researched and contacted theatre groups before they moved and joined The Algarveans on their arrival.

The experimental theatre group was founded in September 1991, after an advertisement in the local paper attracted some twenty interested people who gathered at Jerry Lane’s house. The outcome was the theatre group was formed and the decision taken to put on the pantomime “Puss in Boots” in the following January. It is a non-profit making organisation, run by a committee who decide on the productions to be put on.

The next production will be, Ladies’ Day by Amanda Whittington. It will take place during Lagoa's Humorfest at the end of March in the auditorium and if you are keen to see Paul in action he takes the part of Barry, a bookie. He will also be directing Quartet in March 2020.

If you fancy treading the boards yourself the Algarveans are always looking for new talent, front and back of stage and you can become a member by going to their website.

It is great to see the Algarve attracting new talent and we can all look forward to seeing the Algarveans going from strength to strength!

http://www.thealgarveans.com