Cyberpunk 2077 star on swapping Night City for Salem Witch Trials in London theatre role

Describing the story to any potential audience members who are more familiar with Drea’s futuristic work, the actor told Radio Times Gaming in an exclusive interview, "If you like a dystopian future, this is the feeling of a dystopian past...

"This was the Salem Witch Trials of the 1600s. All around the town, these accusations of witchcraft.

"People believed that it was possible to possess one another. And anyone who committed a sin, they committed it by being controlled by the devil. And so the play is really about, 'What are you willing to do to save yourself and condemn other people?'

"If you were called before this court and you were accused of witchcraft, your best hope was to accuse somebody else. And I think the world of [Cyberpunk 2077’s] Night City is a very similar place.

"I mean, it is cutthroat. There are mercenaries. Everyone is out for themselves, and it's about finding yourself in that world. And John Proctor, the part I play at the centre of the play, is a man who's struggling with his own sins and his own faults and his own, inevitably, his own mortality, exactly the same way that V is.

"So I think there's some nice similarities, in a way. If you are a fan of the game, I think you would really enjoy this play."

And how does Drea’s work as an actor change, when comparing a video game performance to a theatrical one?

Drea told us: "It's very different and very similar, in a way. I think there's something, particularly, with theatre and voice recordings.... it's the voice.

"In the Globe, you're in the elements, you're outside, a plane might fly overhead, and you're having to sort of create an intimate space and an intimate voice, but be heard in every corner.

"And I think in the same way, playing V or any other recording I would do, you have the microphone right there, but you're trying to convey… and I think it actually requires quite a theatrical performance, because you have no face, you have no body to convey any other emotion.

"I think that was something I learned when I first started [on Cyberpunk]. I recorded a few lines, and I would hear them back, and I would have thought I would have conveyed the emotion, but I was performing all of it, and actually so much of that has to just come from the voice.

"And when you work on a text like Arthur Miller's, where he's written the lines with such… they're so visceral, and they're so alive, the language is the thing that we have to bring to life.

"So yes, it's a very physical process on stage, but it's the physicality of your voice that I think is maybe a through line between the two jobs."

We went along to see the play last weekend, and it was such a treat to see Drea in a totally different environment, in a wholly different setting, pouring life and soul into such a conflicted character.

John Proctor, played by Drea, is caught in Catch-22 situation when his wife is accused of witchcraft by his mistress. Does he tell the truth of the situation to try and save his wife, even if that very truth could condemn him?

This play was new to me, but Drea brought some real humanity to it, and the lengthy running time flew by as the allegations and infuriation spiralled out of control in every direction before our eyes.

If you’ve stumbled into this story because of Cyberpunk 2077, we really recommend giving this play a look if you’re in London over the next month!

Check out the full interview below, where we also talk about Keanu Reeves, Drea's TV work in Baby Reindeer, and a whole lot more.

The Crucible is playing at Shakespeare's Globe until 12th July, and you can book tickets now for as little as £5.

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