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When Dame Eileen Atkins admitted in 2014 that theatrical work had personally brought in the princely sum of £13,000 in annual earnings, it was a stark reminder of how many thespians actually subsidise the art of ‘live performance.’ Advertisement voice-overs and of course, movies, make the financial difference. In view of this fact, when a play is castigated by the critics, it must make many amongst the cast question the wisdom behind it all.

Marc Warren knows this feeling. His West End performance in “Cool Hand Luke” in 2011 received a lukewarm response from critics whilst the play itself was slated. The tale of a defiant prisoner on a Florida chain-gang drew heavily upon its source material – the 1965 novel – yet the whole production paled in comparison to the 1966 movie starring Paul Newman. Warren himself, handled his banjo and harmonica duties competently, whilst drawing effusive praise for the infamous scene where he downs fifty boiled eggs with both panache and more than a little sleight of hand.

A former member of the National Youth Theatre, Marc Warren has tasted enough success in his career to date, to slough off the occasional setback. In his role as Danny Blue in the long running BBC Tv series “Hustle”, he was the sometimes careless yet brilliant con artist with a great “grift sense.” Destined to become the best con artist in the world — something his character is all too ready to believe, his ego being the greatest weakness he has yet to overcome – Warren was the lynchpin, and the series was all the weaker for his absence throughout the last three seasons.