David Payne’s acting career began almost as a lark. An audition for a small part in a play led to his being cast in a much more major role. Later on, he wrote a play of his own — a solo show about the life of C.S. Lewis, the famously faithful author of the “Narnia” fantasy books. The success of that show almost sounds like a fantasy in itself: Payne has made a career of portraying Lewis for two decades.

But he also plays another significant historical figure: Namely, Winston Churchill, the stout, determined, and yet also flawed statesman who saw the danger presented by Adolf Hitler when other British politicians were apt to gloss over the dangers that Nazi Germany presented. He had a long military history, which included serving during the Boer War. He achieved fame as a war correspondent and author and received the Nobel Prize for his writings in 1953.