Zeb Soanes reveals why his stoke at age of 44 pushed him to star in play about Alec Guinness

by

As Mark Burgess’s play, Two Halves of Guinness, returned to the stage, Zeb Soanes was backstage in his dressing room, getting ready to perform the story of the renowned 20th-century actor, Sir Alec Guinness, over the next two hours.

Soanes received many encouraging messages from loved ones, but one card stood out. It was a personal reply, written over 30 years ago, from the celebrity Soanes admired.

John Soanes is one of the UK’s most recognizable and popular radio voices. After a 25-year career at the BBC – starting as a TV announcer and becoming a Radio 4 newsreader, with appearances on shows like The News Quiz and presenting the Shipping Forecast and the Proms – he now hosts a prime-time evening show on Classic FM.

Having trained as an actor and left a job in repertory theatre to join the BBC – a career he unexpectedly continued for over forty years – Soanes developed a love for classic British films, especially the comedies made by Ealing Studios. He quickly became a fan of Alec Guinness, noting that while actors like Laurence Olivier tended to project a larger-than-life persona, Guinness drew audiences in with a more subtle and inviting style.

When he was 17, Soanes was so impressed with his idol that he wrote them a letter. He carefully avoided mentioning Star Wars, a role that, while successful, had become a bit of a burden for the actor. A week later, Soanes received a reply at his home in Suffolk – a brief but encouraging message that simply said, “Good luck with your career.”

Want to see this content?

This section includes content from Instagram. We need your permission to display it because Instagram uses cookies and similar technologies. By selecting ‘Accept and continue,’ you’ll allow Instagram to load and function as intended.

Alec Guinness is brilliantly portrayed by Soanes in “Two Halves of Guinness,” a clever and personal show where he shares stories about his remarkable life and career, including encounters with many famous people.

Alec Guinness is well-known for playing all eight members of the D’Ascoyne family in the 1949 film Kind Hearts and Coronets. However, on stage, actor Charles Soanes took impersonation even further, portraying a total of 33 characters, including famous figures like Sir John Gielgud, Peter O’Toole, and Dame Edith Evans. Soanes’s remarkable ability to mimic voices often playfully frustrated his colleagues; while at the BBC, he’d entertain himself by calling producers and impersonating coworkers Peter Donaldson and Brian Perkins.

Soanes has been preparing for this role for a long time. He first saw the play Two Halves fifteen years ago, but knew he wasn’t ready for it then. Interestingly, people are always surprised by his youthful appearance, commenting that he doesn’t look as old as he sounds – he jokes that visitors expect a white beard and pipe!

A couple of significant events then occurred. In 2021, at the age of 44, Soanes suffered a stroke at his home in London. While waiting ten minutes for an ambulance, he felt incredibly grateful for his life, but also aware of things he still wanted to accomplish – including finishing this play. He also realized that 2025 would be the 25th anniversary of Guinness’s passing, and he felt ready to take on the role himself.

I was really interested to hear that he left the BBC in 2022 to host his own show on Classic FM. He explained it’s all about storytelling, but he felt much more free at Classic FM because he could truly be himself and wasn’t tied to a script. Since then, he’s been doing some amazing things too – he became Chancellor at the University of Suffolk, and he’s passionately working to get a statue of Benjamin Britten built in Lowestoft, where the composer grew up. It’s great to see him doing what he loves and giving back!

You know, I sometimes wonder if I’ll ever face a quiet period like the actors I admire, but I try not to dwell on it. I’m lucky enough to have a lot of different projects going on – what some call a ‘portfolio career’ – and honestly, I thrive on the variety. This play, in particular, has been a real passion project, and I’m constantly grateful for the chance to be up on stage, finally sharing a story I’ve always dreamed of telling.

  • Two Halves of Guinness is currently touring the UK – tickets are available now

Authors

Caroline Frost

Read More

2026-03-16 20:53