FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TIM RICE
What are you working on at the moment?
My new show, From Here To Eternity. We open in October so I’m checking it’s as good as it can be.
When were you at your happiest?
When I was about nine, my father’s job took us to Japan, and we had a wonderful time sailing on a boat there. I probably didn’t appreciate it quite as much as I should have done, but I still had a great time.
What is your greatest fear?
An obvious thing to say is ill health. But I would think anything happening to one’s children is beyond doubt one’s greatest fear.
What is your earliest memory?
I definitely have one or two very vague memories of being in a cot or a playpen, holding the bars. I can remember being in hospital when I was about three. I think I had a bad case of flu or something.
Who has been your greatest influence?
My parents. They are both dead now, but I think about them a lot.
What do you most dislike about yourself?
A pathetic desire to be liked.
What is your most treasured possession?
I have a sweater my grandmother knitted for me that I still wear. I also have a watch that my father bought in Egypt in 1942 for about a fiver.
What trait do you most deplore in others?
Religious intolerance.
Do you have a fantasy address?
When I first went to Sydney about 30 or 40 years ago, I wish I’d bought a little house on the harbour. I couldn’t afford it at the time, but I wish I’d borrowed some cash and bought it because a) it would have increased in value enormously and b) it’s just a perfect place to have an address.
What do you most dislike about your appearance?
I suppose as you get older you get annoyed by the fact that you aren’t as wonderful as you were when you were younger. But sometimes I am lucky enough to work with people who are physically very handicapped and I just think, I’ve got nothing to moan about. If you have a spot or a dodgy knee it actually doesn’t matter at all. So general decline is the thing I worry about.
What is your all-time favourite book?
Pip, by Ian Hay. It’s a story of a young man from the age of six till when he gets engaged at about 30 and it’s a fascinating read. An old-fashioned novel.
Your favourite film?
I love Stanley Kubrick’s Paths Of Glory, starring Kirk Douglas, which is a tragic story about an insane French First World War general who tells his troops to go over the top.
Your favourite piece of music?
Summertime Blues by Eddie Cochran is hard to beat.
Your favourite meal?
A bacon sandwich.
Who would you most like to come to dinner?
Eva Peron, Jesus, Judas, and Elvis.
What is the nastiest thing anyone’s ever said to you?
I’ve had a lot of very bad reviews. You get a bit annoyed about them at the time, but they are only somebody else’s opinion, really.
Do you believe in aliens?
I believe there are other life forms elsewhere in the universe.
What is your secret vice?
I like being rude to road users – particularly cyclists – when driving, but only in the privacy of my own car.
Do you write thank-you notes?
Yes. Which phrase do you most overuse? Probably ‘yes’ or ‘right’.
What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
Lopping 30 years off it.
What would you like your epitaph to read?
‘It was good while it lasted’.
To book tickets to From Here To Eternity: 020-7379 5399, www.fromheretoeternitythemusical.com
My new show, From Here To Eternity. We open in October so I’m checking it’s as good as it can be.
When were you at your happiest?
When I was about nine, my father’s job took us to Japan, and we had a wonderful time sailing on a boat there. I probably didn’t appreciate it quite as much as I should have done, but I still had a great time.
What is your greatest fear?
An obvious thing to say is ill health. But I would think anything happening to one’s children is beyond doubt one’s greatest fear.
What is your earliest memory?
I definitely have one or two very vague memories of being in a cot or a playpen, holding the bars. I can remember being in hospital when I was about three. I think I had a bad case of flu or something.
Who has been your greatest influence?
My parents. They are both dead now, but I think about them a lot.
What do you most dislike about yourself?
A pathetic desire to be liked.
What is your most treasured possession?
I have a sweater my grandmother knitted for me that I still wear. I also have a watch that my father bought in Egypt in 1942 for about a fiver.
What trait do you most deplore in others?
Religious intolerance.
Do you have a fantasy address?
When I first went to Sydney about 30 or 40 years ago, I wish I’d bought a little house on the harbour. I couldn’t afford it at the time, but I wish I’d borrowed some cash and bought it because a) it would have increased in value enormously and b) it’s just a perfect place to have an address.
What do you most dislike about your appearance?
I suppose as you get older you get annoyed by the fact that you aren’t as wonderful as you were when you were younger. But sometimes I am lucky enough to work with people who are physically very handicapped and I just think, I’ve got nothing to moan about. If you have a spot or a dodgy knee it actually doesn’t matter at all. So general decline is the thing I worry about.
What is your all-time favourite book?
Pip, by Ian Hay. It’s a story of a young man from the age of six till when he gets engaged at about 30 and it’s a fascinating read. An old-fashioned novel.
Your favourite film?
I love Stanley Kubrick’s Paths Of Glory, starring Kirk Douglas, which is a tragic story about an insane French First World War general who tells his troops to go over the top.
Your favourite piece of music?
Summertime Blues by Eddie Cochran is hard to beat.
Your favourite meal?
A bacon sandwich.
Who would you most like to come to dinner?
Eva Peron, Jesus, Judas, and Elvis.
What is the nastiest thing anyone’s ever said to you?
I’ve had a lot of very bad reviews. You get a bit annoyed about them at the time, but they are only somebody else’s opinion, really.
Do you believe in aliens?
I believe there are other life forms elsewhere in the universe.
What is your secret vice?
I like being rude to road users – particularly cyclists – when driving, but only in the privacy of my own car.
Do you write thank-you notes?
Yes. Which phrase do you most overuse? Probably ‘yes’ or ‘right’.
What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
Lopping 30 years off it.
What would you like your epitaph to read?
‘It was good while it lasted’.
To book tickets to From Here To Eternity: 020-7379 5399, www.fromheretoeternitythemusical.com