Helensburgh star in Glasgow for new take on ancient tale

The Helensburgh-born actor, who has had a string of high profile roles since graduating from Glasgow Clyde College in 2018, is delighted to be on stage in his "home city", at A Play, A Pie and A Pint in the west end.

“It’s like a rite of passage for any Scottish actor,” he says.

“Play Pie Pint is an amazing thing in terms of its output, and the fact that everyone appears in it, from veterans of stage and screen to new graduates of theatre, getting their first read on stage, is incredible.”

Reuben, who started out on stage in P3 at Hermitage Primary School, is appearing as Jason of the Argonauts in Medea on the Mic, a queer feminist retelling of the classic Greek myth, by artist and writer Nazli Tabatabai-Khatambakhsh.

Reuben Joseph is getting ready to appear in A Play, A Pie and A Pint in Glasgow's west end (Image: Contributed)

Based on the original tragedy, which tells a tale of a princess scorned, who then seeks revenge by killing her two children and her ex-husband’s new wife, this new play sees Medea reclaim her story and her sense of self with a new outlook for 2024.

Directed by Philip Howard and also featuring Hannah Jarrett-Scott as Medea and Marc Mackinnon as the Chariot Queen, this is the penultimate show of the lunchtime theatre series’ spring season.

Last time Reuben spoke to us, he was getting to grips with Macbeth for the fantastic all-Scottish version of Shakespeare’s famous play at the RSC in Stratford-upon-Avon.

“It was brilliant, and the all-Scottish cast just meant it felt like we were in a rehearsal room in Glasgow,” he says, grinning.

“It felt like it went by in a bit of a blur, to be honest. Roles like that don’t come along very often, so I was really trying hard to be present, if you know what I mean?

(Image: Newsquest)

“Making sure I was in the moment, enjoying the experience. It was like in Hamilton, where it's a whole year, but suddenly half of it has gone. You just want to make sure you don't miss it.”

Playing the lead role in West End musical Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s epic story about America’s founding fathers, gave him a “huge appreciation and the deepest respect for musical theatre actors”, he says, with a laugh.

“Honestly, it might be the same training and guidance that gets you there, but doing musical theatre, there are such completely different demands on your body,” he says.

“I was grateful for that role, but it was crazy how much of my life and my energy and schedule it took to fill that job.

“I was working with, and I do not say this lightly, Olympian-level athletes.”

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He shakes his head. “What they put their bodies through and how much they sacrifice is incredible.”

Exciting things are coming for Reuben, he reveals – more theatre, and he has just finished “a TV project”, neither of which he can talk about.

But he is currently excited to be at Oran Mor, following American history and Shakespearean tragedy, wrestling with another weighty tale.

“I didn’t know much about Shakespeare, and I know even less about the Greek myths,” he grins.

“But what Nazli has done is really pull apart this piece, so it actually helps that you’re not set in your ways about the story or what you think you know about it.”

He jokes: “In this case, my lack of culture was to my advantage.”

Jason is broken, manipulative and tortured.

“He’s fun to play,” says Reuben, cheerfully.

“That kind of man, who worms his way into positions of power, it’s really interesting. There are traumatic moments, of course, but there are laughs too. It’s quick, and intense.

“As Greta Gerwig said, drive it like you stole it, and there’s definitely been that kind of energy in the rehearsal room.

“I think it’s a really cool show for audiences to come and see.”

Medea on the Mic runs until Saturday, June 15.