TV star hits the road for Octagon bow

9:34am Friday 7th March 2008

ACTOR John Henshaw is more familiar behind the bar than as the roadside drunk he is playing in Road, which opened at the Octagon Theatre last night.

The play, by Farnworth writer Jim Cartwright, tells the story of life on one road in a depressed northern town in Thatcher's Britain.

Henshaw's character - drunken guide Scullery -wanders aimlessly up and down the derelict road, setting the scene while pointing out the grim features of the northern landscape.

One of 12 brothers and sisters, Henshaw was a refuse collector before breaking into acting. His career has since progressed from small roles in TV series like GBH, Cracker and Heartbeat, to major parts like Ray, the landlord of The Grape in hit comedy Early Doors, and Roy in The Cops - much of which was filmed in Bolton.

He also starred in films such as There's Only One Jimmy Grimble and Steve Coogan's The Parole Officer, and as John Prescott alongside Bolton-born actress Maxine Peake in ITV1's Confessions of a Diary Secretary.

TV viewers may also recognise Henshaw from the Post Office's advertising campaign.

Theatre has very much been a background player in his career, but he is enjoying the rehearsals for Road and is looking forward to his debut performance.

Henshaw, aged 56, who grew up in Ancoats, Manchester, said: "I've not done a lot of theatre. I came to the game late on and concentrated on TV. I love theatre, but there's not much money in it.

"I've seen Road before, but I've never been in it. I love Jim Cartwright's writing though.

"We'll have been rehearsing for about three weeks by the time we start and it's going all right so far.

"There's so much good writing in it. When the characters speak, you think that is how a real person would speak and you are almost led into your lines. That's the secret of good writing."

When John was filming The Cops 10 years ago, the Octagon was struggling financially and he said: "When I was in The Cops, the theatre was threatened with closure and we joined in the march to save it. If theatres like this closed down you'd only have the bigger places in the major cities left.

"The Octagon is a great theatre. You've just had The Crucible here, before that there was Oh What A Lovely War and after Road it's Spring and Port Wine. It would be very easy to just carry on putting on plays that will obviously be successful, but the Octagon doesn't do that.

"It's a real community theatre and there aren't many like it about."

John, whose family used to sell flowers and plants on Bury Market, recalls the filming of The Cops with fondness, and said: "We filmed all over Bolton, on an estate and in the town centre. A lot of the filming was done quite covertly, with cameras in the back of vans, but we used quite a few locals as extras. I've got a lot of affection for Bolton and it's great to come back here to work.

Also in the cast, Paul Simpson returns to the theatre after appearing in the MEN Theatre Awards Best New Play 2007 winner And Did Those Feet and Jim Cartwright's son James makes his Octagon Theatre debut. The production is directed by Noreen Kershaw, who starred in Brookside and has also directed Shameless, Heartbeat, Emmerdale and Coronation Street.

• Road is at the Octagon until Saturday, March 29, and tickets are available from £8.50 on 01204 520661 or at www.octagonbolton.co.uk

Angela Kelly: The column you love to read