When Cerith Flinn got sent the script for Dylan Costello’s new dark comedy “Fresh Meat” he did not flinch. A challenge had landed at his feet and he saw no other option than to rise to the challenge he was presented with. As a recent graduate of the Drama Centre, he knows full well that good acting jobs are hard to come by and he is more than willing to grab any opportunities that come his way with two hands.
pliments in the play, but he just bats them off or doesn’t even realise that they are compliments. He is kind of like me in that way, I can really relate to that in him.” Having found a connection with Lenny allowed Flinn to undertake his dark journey without further hesitation. Whilst Flinn concedes that he has the confidence which Lenny lacks, sharing traits has been beneficial in creating a rounded character.
“I am starting at the deep end, with a cannibalistic play.”
Yet confidence issues aside, Lenny’s compulsive need for death is removed from Flinn’s own driven mindset. Whilst Flinn thrives on life and new challenges, life itself is too great a challenge for Lenny. “He has this chirpy demeanour which contradicts the fact he is deeply lonely and desperate to die. He’s grown up a single, lonely child without any parents. His mother put him in a care home when he was very young, so he grew up without love and affection. He didn’t have any attention from anyone. Without any love, he has been driven to this stage.”
Not that he has need to worry, since his graduation just over a year ago, the Llanelli boy “went straight into theatre, “Under Milk Wood”, which as a Welsh actor made me very proud. Then I did TV, “Hotel Babylon”, a great experience. My goal is to continue to get roles that allow me to grow as a young actor .” Upon speaking to Flinn, a hunger for success is instantly evident, this hunger clearly allows an openness to prevail that many a performer may allow to crush them. He openly admits “I am prepared to take on any challenge, I’d give anything a go. I am starting at the deep end, with a cannibalistic play.” “As soon as I read the script, I knew I had to do it. It is a really great script, Dylan Costello has really done a good job.Even though I knew it would be a challenge I was excited.” Far from being perturbed by “Fresh Meat”’s challenging subject matter, Flinn studied the role he was being asked to play in order to find out if the role was worthy of his time. It did not take long before he realised that the desperately lonely Lenny Sharp was really not that far removed from himself. “He is a vulnerable character and the dark comedy aspect of the script appealed to me. It showcases my skills really well, one of those is vulnerability and sensitivity. But even though he doesn’t know it, he also has great comic timing. I just related to that. I like that he is just completely unaware of the personal situations going on. I am just as useless. I am useless with girls, I never know when a girl is attracted to me or anything.” “He is completely naive. He is paid a lot of com-
“I like that he is just completely unaware of the personal situations going on. I am just as useless.” A desire to die as his driving force, Lenny is unable to kill himself. This plot device allows Costello to explore in comedic fashion the dark world of cannibalism. “ He can’t bring himself to commit suicide. People may ask why doesn’t he do it himself, but he just can’t. So he hires a hitman to do it for him. But the hitman falls for him as well, so he can’t kill him. So, he meets a stranger, who offers Lenny another way out, a very alternative way, he offers to eat Lenny. He is a cannibal, he calls it euthanizing. He calls himself a humanitarian. I’d call him a murderer, but he is adamant that he isn’t as if the person didn’t want to die then he wouldn’t do it. In his eyes it is euthanasia. “Fresh Meat” will make you uncomfortable. There are scenes that are in your face, but it is purely a dark comedy. It makes you sit up and notice.” “Fresh Meat” runs 8th June – 4th July The Courtyard Theatre, London www.act1productions.com
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