Family, love and the songs of Bob Dylan are at the heart of Conor McPherson’s award-winning Girl From The North Country, which stops off at Birmingham theatre The Alexandra in February. The critically acclaimed production is set in mid-1930s America and features a group of wayward souls who come together in a rundown Minnesota guesthouse. What’s On recently caught up with newcomer Ross Carswell, who plays Elias Burke, to find out more...

It is every aspiring actor’s dream to land a named role in a hit show straight out of drama school. Ross Carswell is living that dream by playing Elias Burke in Girl From The North Country.

Set to songs by Bob Dylan, the musical picked up Tony Awards on Broadway and Olivier Awards in the West End. It tells of a group of people who come together in a guesthouse in Minnesota in 1934, in a United States of America still reeling from the Wall Street Crash.

Ross began rehearsals in May, just six months after graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and has been touring with the show as Elias since the summer.
“Elias is quite a vulnerable young person; he’s got the mental age of a four-year-old,” Ross explains. “He’s at the guesthouse with his mum and dad, and you get the impression they’ve been on the road for a long time and that they did have money and used to have a business, but with the Crash, that’s been lost. “For them as a family, the challenge is not having a base, and how they can stay together as a unit despite their difficulties. They’ve been there for a while, and it’s how they keep together despite losing everything.”

There were challenges for Ross in creating the character.
“Elias doesn’t speak much in the play, but the moments he has are beautiful and he’s a really sympathetic character. I have a lot of joy playing Elias, and I feel close to him, as he sees things very clearly. People don’t believe him to have much understanding, but he sees things very honestly. It’s quite funny to play a character that is observant in that way.
“You always want to portray a character honestly, and that means that in rehearsals you need to take a lot of time to fully understand them. Hopefully that means that when people watch the show, they get the full sense of that character and can be sympathetic to them. 

“The director, Conor McPherson, was really clear in what he wanted for all of the characters, because so many are quite complex. So, for example, the leading character in the play has dementia, and the son of the family is an alcoholic. It was about taking time to tell each character’s story fully and as truthfully as possible, so that the audience will feel really invested in those stories.”

The Burkes are just one family at the guesthouse. The story focuses on how these individuals and families come together during difficult times and change each other’s lives.
“Those changes are for better or worse, but ultimately it’s a story about family and hope. The beautiful thing about the play is that there are quite a lot of characters, and with each one of them, people will find different connections to their own lives and experiences they might have had.”

Girl From The North Country features a host of Bob Dylan hits, including Ballad Of A Thin Man, Like A Rolling Stone, Hurricane, Lay Lady Lay, Jokerman, All Along The Watchtower and the title song itself.
“What’s so interesting about Bob Dylan’s music is that the lyrics are universal. So it’s almost like when the music starts, we enter a different space, almost quite ethereal. And Simon Hale, the orchestrator, has transformed the music, so it’s really revealing about the characters without being too demonstrative. It offers a deeper look into the people. 

“A lot of the characters don’t really have time to be emotional because they’ve got so much going on. So you have these scenes that are quite ferocious, and then, I think, the audience can really see the soul of the character through the music. It’s really special; a combination you don’t really see too often in musicals.”

The show has also introduced Ross to a host of Dylan tracks he hadn’t heard before.
 “A lot of the music was quite new to me. I’d listened to a few bits just in passing or by recommendation, but when I got the role, I listened to a lot more. Bob Dylan’s music and the lyrics have a way of just catching you by surprise. You suddenly think ‘I can relate to that.’ The poetry of it is so powerful, so I have to say that I’m now a big Bob Dylan fan.”

But Ross is insistent that audiences don’t need to be familiar with Dylan’s songs to enjoy the musical.
“I’d say whether you’re a fan of Bob Dylan’s music or not, the show has got something for everyone. I truly believe that no matter what walk of life you come from, whether you enjoy musical theatre or not, this play will reach you in a really powerful way. 
“It was quite amazing - and I’ve never heard of this happening before - but when we were in Plymouth at the Theatre Royal, we had an incredible crowd and a man in the audience shouted out ‘Thank you.’ I think that’s often how people feel. Even though the show can be seen as quite sad ultimately, what we aim for and what people take away is a kind of catharsis through seeing people in the toughest of circumstances choosing to be loving.

“It’s incredible that we’re talking about a time which was almost 100 years ago, yet it feels more relevant now than ever before, with the cost-of-living crisis and the back and forth of energy bills, which is so terrifying. I hope that even though that rings true, people still come away knowing that there can be hope in that.

“It’s a compelling story, and it takes people by surprise. If you come with an open heart, you’ll find something you connect with.”

By Diane Parkes