Dan Barnes chats with Naomie Harris and Natalie Dormer about their new film The Wasp…
Directed by Guillem Morales (Back Room, The Uninvited Guest, Julia’s Eyes, Inside No. 9), The Wasp received its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival last week. Adapted from Morgan Lloyd Malcolm’s acclaimed play of the same name, the film follows Heather (Harris) and Carla (Dormer), two former classmates who, having not spoken since school, agree to meet for tea, as Heather proposes something that could have significant consequences for them both.
Naomie, what was it about the project that most intrigued you when you first read the script?
NH: It came to me via Sean Sorensen, a producer I’d worked with on Black and Blue. We’d stayed in contact, and one day he came to me and said, ‘I’ve found your next great project.’ I read a lot of scripts – as does Natalie, I’m sure – and it’s usually only about 1 in 25 that really touches and moves you to the point where you actually want to go on that journey.
[With The Wasp], I was shocked when reading it by how many twists and turns there were, how unexpected the ending was, and also just how much it resonated with me – I was bullied in school, and I loved the exploration of the lasting legacy of bullying in the film. I could really connect with that, and it made me emotional when reading it. Any opportunity to highlight the lasting effects of bullying is really close to my heart and, I think, very important.
Natalie, how different was the experience of performing a play in this medium, compared to the more traditional on-stage environment?
ND: It’s a joy, because a two-hander is a very intense experience and you’ve really got to support and rely on each other – especially when you’re playing characters that have such complex, multi-layered, strong emotions towards one another.
Being able to do multiple takes is obviously like being able to do multiple nights of performance, and that relied on Guillem [Morales] choosing which version of a delivery to go with. And the wordiness of the piece, I hope we carry it quite lightly – it’s done swiftly, it’s done with pace, it’s often done with humour.
Theatre is about ideas, and often really quite big ideas. Like Naomie, I was also fascinated by this idea of the ramifications of childhood trauma – they’re both victims of childhood trauma in different ways – and what that does in terms of colouring and tainting the rest of their lives. And Morgan [Lloyd Malcolm] really aims that the audiences doesn’t take sides, I think. You sort of swing in sympathy, and in the power play between the two of us.
It was a cardiovascular experience, and it required a lot of energy from Naomie and me, but it was very rewarding.
What was it like working so closely with each other for such intense scenes? How did you find that dynamic?
NH: It was incredibly hard. I don’t think I’ve ever done anything as wordy as that, even in a play. Having three-page monologues is really tough and you have to rely on each other to get through that, because you’ve got to stay in the zone, and the other person helps you get in the zone and holds the reality of that. It was really challenging, but Natalie is a phenomenal actress and she fully inhabited Carla. I was so impressed. Her commitment and authenticity really helped me.
ND: It’s a very specific thing, doing a two-hander. It was obviously a successful play, it did very well, and seeing it come alive on screen, you understand the DNA of what Morgan [Lloyd Malcolm] was trying to do – examining these two ‘anti-heroines’ at their most extreme. It completely hangs itself on the believability, depth, and history of that relationship. That’s a very special thing to do on film, you don’t get to do it very often.
I was surprised by how much humour there was – particularly in the first half – and by how quickly the tone shifts and the power dynamic changes. How did you find balancing those tones and transitioning between them?
NH: For me, I found it a relief, those moments of humour to lighten things up. That’s the weird thing about life, right? Emotions aren’t compartmentalised – you can be terrified and have a really funny moment at the same time. That kind of complexity in emotion is rarely portrayed on screen, so I thought it was so refreshing to see what Morgan [Lloyd Malcolm] did with that, and how she played with it. It was done also to remind the audience about them as children playing, and what their dynamic would’ve been like as children. Guillem [Morales] encouraged it in our performance as well.
ND: I think it’s very human, these gallows moments that we search for, to force us out of awkwardness or intensity. Guillem [Morales] is obviously a stable director of Inside No. 9, so he’s well-versed in balancing comedy versus horror or psychological thriller. It’s testament to Morgan’s writing, but it’s also testament to the director and our editor [Joe Randall-Cutler]. Strong team.
And Natalie, for those who haven’t seen the film, how would you describe what’s at the core of this story?
ND: It’s a fast-paced ride of a two-hander that explores the ramifications of childhood trauma and choice. I know that Morgan [Lloyd Malcolm] set out wanting to give two actresses something multi-layered that they could seek their teeth into, and I think she really achieved that.
Many thanks to Naomie Harris and Natalie Dormer for taking the time for this interview.
The Wasp had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival 2024, and will receive a wider release later this year. Read our review of the film here.
Dan Barnes
