Marcus Okonkwo arrives at the stage door ten minutes early, in a cap and a long wool coat, and apologises — there's no need — for the cold he's been battling through rehearsals.
"I've been saving my voice," he explains, unwrapping a lozenge. "Anya keeps asking me to shout less, but you try shouting less as Hamlet."
It's the Wednesday before the first preview, and our production of Hamlet — directed by Anya Kapoor, the newest addition to the theatre's associate artist roster — is taking shape at pace. The concept: a Hamlet set in a surveillance state, where Elsinore's corridors are lined with cameras and every soliloquy is potentially being logged.
"It's not a gimmick," Marcus insists. "Or — well, I hope it isn't. What Anya's doing is asking: what does it mean to grieve in private, when privacy isn't possible any more? That's a question I think everyone my age understands. Every WhatsApp you send is archived somewhere. The idea of having a truly private thought feels increasingly quaint."
Hamlet opens at Northfield Theatre on 15 May. Marcus Okonkwo plays Hamlet. Tickets from £15.