Brian Beacom

IMAGINE the outcome if actor Alec Baldwin shot Donald Trump through the head.

Setting aside the fact Baldwin is far less than keen on the President of the US, it’s still highly unlikely to happen.

But it puts in perspective the reaction of the night of April 14, 1865, when John Wilkes Booth killed President Abraham Lincoln.

The story of the assassination that fateful night in the Ford theatre in Washington is told in His Final Bow, this week’s Oran Mor play, which transports us back to the Deep South.

“John Wilkes Booth was a very famous actor in his day,” says James MacKenzie, who plays Booth.

“But he was so convinced of his beliefs in the South he was prepared to sacrifice his career (and, as luck would have it, his life) in defence of the South.

“This was a politically motivated killing, a man who believed in slavery and that right wing ideology.”

Peter Arnott plays it set in a tobacco barn in Virginia 12 days after the assassination where Booth and his companion Davy (Alex Fthenakis) are holed up and surrounded by the blue coats from the north.

But James points out the original intent was not to kill the President, but to kidnap him, in exchange for Southern prisoners who were in Yankee jails.

“He and Davy (Herold, a wannabe actor) thought if they captured Lincoln he would become some sort of martyr.

“But the pair changed their mind on a whim and decided to kill the President rather than take him hostage.”

Booth wasn’t insane. But his politics and his ego combined to make him a huge figure in history, for all the wrong reasons.

It’s clearly a great opportunity for James to play the unhinged actor. But he does bring a massive amount of experience to the role.

Early on in his career he starred in children’s TV series Raven. More recently he was seen in BBC Scotland’s River City playing Gary Trenton, Robbie’s gay lover.

“I only went in for two episodes and ended up being on the telly for a year,” he says. “And it was a great place to work.”

He adds; “I loved the show. It’s a juggernaut, you are up against the clock all the time to film scenes, and it’s a great training ground for telly.”

James’s theatre work is extensive, ranging from Macbeth to Sunshine On Leith. And he is in constant demand for voiceover work, perhaps thanks to a delightful hybrid accent which mixes his hometown Biggar with Edinburgh where he studied.

It seems acting was inevitable. His dad is actor Michael MacKenzie, who currently plays Alastair in River City.

“My dad was quite proud I chose to follow in his footsteps,” he says.

The pair have appeared in five or six plays together.

“He was also in Raven with me, and more recently of course we were in River City together.”

James says it’s been great working with his dad. But does he ever get told off by the old man?

“Sometimes,” he says, laughing. “But we’ve probably told each other off.”

Father and son actually played love rivals a few years back in the Scots reworking of Moliere’s classic Let Wives Tak Tent.

“I won the girl in the end,” he says, grinning. “A triumph of youth over experience.”

James is married to actress Helen McAlpine, whom he met at drama college. He and his wife have actually appeared together in the same play the Thrie Estaites, with his dad.

His Final Bow

It clearly explores the relationship between the two characters. It explores Booth’s mind, a man who attempts to explain himself to the world.

And the drama is evident, given the two characters are waiting, like Butch and Sundance, to be captured and killed.

James adds, “It also has a comedic element. Booth is a huge Shakespearean actor, and this lends itself to laughs. He has this attitude ‘ Don’t you know who I am?’

James doesn’t have to get the Colonel Sanders accent exact.

“We’ve worked out since he was a Shakespearean his accent would reflect this,” he says, grinning. “But I think I get by ok.”

• His Final Bow, Oran Mor, until Saturday.