Alan Turkington plays George Bernard Shaw, opposite Rachel Pickup as Mrs. Patrick Campbell, in this compelling exploration of a largely hidden relationship that quietly shaped the creation of Pygmalion with Shaw crafting Eliza Doolittle expressly for Campbell.

QX had a chat with Alan, and we discussed this rarely staged revival, his extensive career across stage and screen, as well as his experience being part of Heartstopper which has become a runaway success for Netflix.

Hello, Alan. Thank you for taking the time to talk to QX. You’re best known to many of our readers as Mr Lange in Heartstopper. Did you anticipate the scale of Heartstopper’s success when you first joined the show, and what do you attribute that success to?

Absolutely not. When I joined the cast of Heartstopper right at the very beginning – way back in the depths of COVID, in February 2021 – I don’t think any of us had any idea of the phenomenon it would become. I knew it already had quite a large online following thanks to Alice Osemna’s incredible artwork and stories, and I’d looked up Mr Lange online, but I had no real sense of how successful it would be or the reach it would have.

I’m not entirely sure why it’s resonated so widely, but I think it has a lot to do with being such a wonderfully positive queer love story – there just aren’t enough of those in the world. That’s not to say Alice doesn’t also tackle serious and important issues like mental health but simply having these characters and that hopeful story out there felt like something people really needed. There was clearly a thirst for that kind of representation, and it’s been incredibly moving to be part of that queer joy across the world.

How has being part of such a global phenomenon influenced your career?

It’s kind of hard to say the effect Heartstopper has had on my career, mainly because I don’t really think in those terms. What I can say is that it’s had a hugely positive effect on my life – and I suppose that naturally feeds into my career as well.

Your career spans theatre, television, and film. Looking back, what kinds of roles have taught you the most about your craft, and has being gay influenced any of your choices?

I’m not sure it’s specific roles that teach you about your craft so much as variety. Getting to work across different spaces, mediums and styles is what really develops you as an actor. I’ve learned something from every job, though not always in the same way.

Playing intimate spaces like Jermyn Street Theatre teaches you a huge amount about subtlety and connection. Moving to screen demands an entirely different approach – adjusting performance for the camera. And soaps like Hollyoaks require another skill set altogether; no one works harder than people in soaps. I genuinely believe there’s something to be learned from every job, and long may the variety continue!

When it comes to sexuality: I identify as queer. Choice of roles is a funny thing for actors, because often it isn’t really up to us. That said, the projects I feel most passionate about and actively seek out – particularly since Heartstopper – are those that tell untold queer stories and champion new writing, especially new queer writing.

You’re now about to play George Bernard Shaw in the revival of a two-hander,Dear Liar, opposite Rachel Pickup as Mrs. Patrick Campbell. Based on letters between the two, the play is about their largely hidden relationship. Shaw was famously witty, intellectually formidable, and a towering literary figure; how did you approach revealing the private man behind the public persona?

I’m about to play a little-known Irish playwright called George Bernard Shaw – a joke, obviously! He’s often thought of as this avuncular figure with the big white beard, but he’s far more complex than that.

What’s wonderful about Dear Liar is that it’s constructed entirely from the real letters exchanged between Shaw and his first Eliza Doolittle, Mrs Patrick Campbell – Mrs Pat. The research is built into the text; their words are right there on the page. Through those letters you really get the measure of both the man and the woman, despite the title.

I began with the letters themselves, then watched as much footage as I could. That’s when I discovered how playful and twinkly Shaw could be, alongside being cantankerous, sharp and occasionally infuriating. Beyond that, the aim is always to find the human being rather than do an impersonation – especially as I don’t look like him (or at least I don’t think I do!). Ultimately, you return to the text, because everything you need is there in their own words.

Jermyn Street Theatre is an intimate space. How does that closeness affect your performance and how does it facilitate the portrayal of Shaw´s evolving relationship with Mrs Patrick Cambell?

I love playing Jermyn Street Theatre precisely because of its intimacy, and that quality feeds beautifully into this play. Although Shaw and Mrs Pat were very public figures, their letters are incredibly private – loving, intricate and beautiful, but also frank, blunt, angry and honest.

Sharing those words with an audience who are only a few feet away creates something very special. At the start of the play, Rachel Pickup and I speak directly to the audience as ourselves, before gradually moving into these extraordinary characters – and I’ll leave it to audiences to discover how that transformation unfolds.

For audiences who know you from Heartstopper but haven’t seen your stage work before, what might Dear Liar reveal about you as a performer that they haven’t seen yet?

I hope they’ll be surprised by the story and the play more than by me. That said, if people only know me from Heartstopper, they might be surprised to discover that I’m Irish! I think they’ll also see a slightly spikier side to me than the rather passive – for want of a better word – easy-going Mr Lange. Though both characters are sardonic in their own ways.

I’m excited to show a different side of myself, but above all to share these extraordinary letters with audiences.

What do you hope audiences will take away from Dear Liar when they leave the theatre?

I hope they leave with a new perspective on George Bernard Shaw, but also with a fuller understanding of Mrs Patrick Campbell, who was an extraordinary woman in her own right. Their relationship – conducted largely through letters over decades – was radical and progressive, and deeply passionate.

It’s a throwback to a very different time, but it reminds us just how epic, intense and moving a literary and artistic affair can be.

Finally, what other projects are you working on at the moment?

I’m working on a couple of things that I can’t talk about – NDAs and all that. One is a video game and one is a television project, so fingers crossed for more of these projects to come! We’ve also filmed the Heartstopper movie – Heartstopper Forever, which should be out later this year. I love how Alice has wrapped up the story and I can’t wait for audiences to see it.

Outside of acting, I’m about to adopt a rescue dog from Spain, which is honestly what I’m most excited about at the moment – so expect many dog photos on my Instagram very soon.