Ncuti Gatwa's Born With Teeth co-star reveals intimacy coordinator worked with them on "physical" scenes
Ncuti Gatwa and Edward Bluemel are starring in a limited West End run of Born With Teeth.
It would be all too easy to expect a play about William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe – two of Britain's best-loved playwrights – to be about words, and words alone, yet Ncuti Gatwa's new play Born With Teeth is anything but.
"It's a lot more physical than you might expect," revealed Edward Bluemel in an exclusive chat with RadioTimes.com.
The Doctor Who and My Lady Jane stars are currently performing in Born With Teeth's limited West End run, with the former playing Christopher "Kit" Marlowe and the latter, Will Shakespeare. Both are locked in a intense battle of wills that combines their rivalry, flirtation, seduction and aggression, with the audience never quite knowing who has the upper hand.
"Definitely in our play Christopher Marlowe is a really scary individual, he's dangerous," said Bluemel.
"I remember one day in rehearsal, Dan the director told Ncuti to just abandon everything we had done and let the animal loose from inside Christopher.
"It was amazing to see Ncuti's bravery and charisma and flair that he can access, come out in the character, and genuinely really kept me on my toes and made me feel like I was in the room with someone unpredictable."
He added: "But even though Will in this play is a sort of an ingenue and seems gentler, there is a danger to him as well and it was about rising to it and standing up for himself in that moment."
When working on a show with such a charged atmosphere between the two lead characters, Bluemel spoke about how much trust was needed between him and Gatwa.
"It's all about safety when it's just the two of us for 80 minutes on stage. You want to look across and see someone that you trust and get the feeling that, you know, we've got each other. And we're there.
"Ncuti's an incredibly exciting actor to act with, he's very giving and a very kind person."
In the process of building trust, Bluemel confirmed the pair worked closely with an intimacy coordinator to work out some of the more physical scenes.
He said: "It really helped us get into our bodies and feel that confidence with each other. We're embarking on something every night that is a real journey, and an incredibly physical journey as well, be it through passion or aggression. So we've had a great team of people that have made that feel very safe.
While intimacy coordinators have become a staple of film sets over the last few years, their appearance in stage productions have been far less talked about. However, Bluemel revealed working with a coordinator was an "extensive process".
"It's so different with stage," he said, "We're doing it every night. It's not like when an intimacy coordinator comes in and works with you for a day on a sex scene or a kissing scene or whatever. It has to set us up for the weeks to come."
However, Bluemel made it clear the level of intensity and layers in this play were all a part of what drew him to it. "As soon as I did the audition and saw that Ncuti was cast as Kit, I thought 'Oh my gosh, this is going to be incredible.'"
"It's an unbelievable game of cat and mouse... but who is the mouse?"
When can I see Ncuti Gatwa in Born With Teeth?
Born With Teeth is running until 1st November 2025, with shows every Monday to Saturday.
Where can I see Ncuti Gatwa in Born With Teeth?
You can catch Born With Teeth at Wyndham's Theatre, right in the heart of London's West End. To get there your best bet is heading to Leicester Square on the Northern or Piccadilly Lines.
How to get Born With Teeth tickets
Tickets are available on LOVE Theatre and London Theatre Direct starting from £27.
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