(October 2016) Aymeric d'Hérouël steps out as Katurian, in The Pillowman, which runs 5-9 October 2016 in Mersch.

Which character do you play and is he/she like you?

I play the writer Katurian, author of hundreds of short stories which through a tragic series of events get him in trouble with the police. I for my part have never been in trouble with the police in my life, in my life… so check – he’s not like me. Phew, that was a close one. However, I hope to be a little like him, and in a sense I think we all do, as he honestly tries to take responsibility for his actions.

The Pillowman is both comical and dark. How do you prepare yourself for a play such as this and what has been the most challenging aspect to work on?

Well, the comical part is something I look forward to naturally and it’s great to see the absurdly funny situations come to life in the interactions between the characters. The dark parts I try to encounter with a sound portion of naïvety, if that makes any sense now. Some scenes are quite hard indeed, some physically, others psychologically, but hey, nothing a good bottle of fermented beverage or four can’t help to overcome. On a more serious note, I just try to go with the flow of the story being told and establishing that flow over the course of the play has been the most challenging part, since Katurian’s situation changes immensely throughout the Pillowman’s three acts.

Without giving anything away, what is your favourite line in the play?

“It's the children the Pied Piper was after. To begin with. My idea was he brought the rats. He brought the rats. He knew the townspeople wouldn’t pay. It was the children he was after in the first place.”

Have you enjoyed bringing this script to life? Will you be back for more?!

I definitely enjoyed bringing the script to life! The production team is great and the way of directing has been interesting and motivating. Whether I’ll be back for more depends on so many things though, both of professional and personal nature, and of course on the availability of suitable roles, but never say never again.