The Play That Changed My Life: Jim Broadbent on Ken Campbell’s electrifying epic Illuminatus! | stage

A My teacher at Lamda had suggested early on that I might be suitable for Ken Campbell’s way of working. I didn’t have the courage to do anything about it. Finally I called and he said, “Oh, that’s remarkable because I’m about to do the most remarkable piece ever done on Planet World!” Read these books and come chat.” So I did done it.

The Illuminatus! trilogy [by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson] is a kind of science fiction piece that summarizes a whole range of conspiracy theories that were current at the time. It’s a huge thing that spans many different stories and characters.

It was the hot summer of 1976 and the play was set to begin in Liverpool. There was a character in the Illuminatus books! called Fission Chips. I think it was based on James Bond somehow, so I quoted from the book in my Sean Connery accent.

If you wanted to be there, you could be. I mean, I don’t think he turned anyone away. An extraordinarily diverse group of people [who included Bill Nighy, Bill Drummond, Chris Fairbank and David Rappaport] from all over the world who he persuaded to be part of this remarkable event for the Science Fiction Theater of Liverpool. I don’t think he ever auditioned as such. He just wanted to know what you could do.

So every morning we went to the rehearsal room on Mathew Street in Liverpool and there were the day’s pages. I made sure I got there before everyone else so I could pick out the good parts. I think I played about 12 total in the five games.

Ken was in brilliant form. So enthusiastic and so funny; and he introduced me to a whole new world of theater and showed me how to capture the audience’s attention. It was great training – and it was incredibly fun. He was so brilliant and confidence inspiring. And having just done quite a few plodding reps, I found it extremely liberating.

He never wanted understatement from the actors. (Unless he could say, “I want you to understate that. Even smaller!“) No. He just wanted you to make sure it was fascinating. At one point I said to him, “Ken, I’m a little worried that I’m upsetting the actor whose scene this is.” “Don’t worry about it. If you’re more interesting than him, that’s his problem.”

Ken had promoted it relentlessly, telling everyone it was the most remarkable piece ever performed. And he had asked all the major directors from theaters across England to come and perform there. One or two did, just briefly. When we were in Liverpool we agreed that we would do the first ever play at the Cottesloe Theater in London.

From the start in Liverpool I was sort of mates with Chris Fairbank; We would both make sure we got to work early. I remember saying to him in the first week, “From now on, our lives will be before or after Illuminatus!” And it was obvious that something very exciting was happening. We went to Amsterdam and then to the National Theater. Everyone wanted to see it.

The Olivier had just opened with a huge, problematic production of Tamburlaine the Great starring Albert Finney. There was a lot of controversy about it and how difficult it was. And when Chris and Ken went down to meet Peter Hall, Hall said to them, “So what’s it like directing a five-hour play?” How do you do it, Ken?” Ken said, “Well, it’s like Tamburlaine, though want To.”