Tag Archives: Acting

A Refreshing Addition to the London Fringe Scene

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A Weekend at Vault

According to the publicity, Vault transforms a newly discovered labyrinth of tunnels underneath Waterloo to offer London three weeks of kaleidoscopically varied entertainment between 9 and 26 February 2012. Many of the shows in the festival are in the immersive theatre style, and whilst I have been a cast member in several immersive, promenade, and physical theatre shows, I have never been a spectator (aside from Alien Wars in the Trocadero many years ago). With this in mind, I went down to check out the opening weekend on behalf of Frost.

This was my first visit to the Old Vic Tunnels, and there was a certain frisson to arriving at Waterloo Station on a frosty February Saturday night, walking down the almost deserted street and descending the staircase into the graffiti covered underpass. Once at the door however, I was warmly welcomed and directed towards the bar to await the start of the 8pm performance.

Don’t Stray from the Path by the Wonder Club

I was excited about seeing this production, described as a beautifully dark spectacular promenade performance based on the story of Little Red Riding Hood. It started very well, with the action beginning in the bar as both Little Red Riding Hood and a musician sat on top of a couple of lockers, and other cast members came to talk to the soon to be audience. Eventually, we were all lead down the tunnel to the “Forest of Elsewhere,” where the adventure was to begin.

How to describe Don’t Stray from the Path? There was a strong physical theatre element to the show, including some excellent circus skills, and the promenade aspect was certainly there: however I think I have to come down on the side of performance art, as it was the meticulous attention to detail that really impressed me.

The Wonder Club made the decision to divide the venue into two levels, which almost doubled the room for installations, but I think it might have been better to use the height to elevate parts of the performance, particularly the aerial work, as the volume of people made it hard to see what was going on at times. The music was lovely, and one particular song held my attention during a dance where I could barely see the tops of the performers’ heads. The acting in this piece was dramatic rather than naturalistic, which I assume was a stylistic choice on behalf of the director. The ending was particularly good, with Red Riding Hood and the Woodsman bringing us full circle. The girls eerily smeared with chocolate on the way out were also very evocative of the dark side of fairy tales.

Overall, I enjoyed Don’t Stray from the Path, and would recommend it to fans of fairy tales, promenade theatre, and performance art. There were some very good ideas, and striking physical and musical performances from all concerned – it was a truly collaborative ensemble work, which makes it impossible to pick out anyone for special mention. I admired it on an intellectual level, but with a smaller audience and/or a bigger space, I could have really felt the Wonder.

Don’t Stray from the Path finished its run on 12 February. Visit http://thewonderclub.co.uk for details of future performances.

The Furies by Kindle Theatre

While waiting to get into the next performance, the queue was patrolled by bouncers, and T-shirts and CDs were on sale nearby. We entered a sweaty basement club, where we were greeted by the sound of pounding drums and guitar (Russell Collins and Phil Ward). And then came the girls.

The Furies is basically a rock opera telling the story of Clymtenestra. It is billed as a fusion of rock, metal and soul songs, but I would say that it is also heavily influenced by classical opera. Emily Ayres, Samantha Fox and Olivia Winteringham all have powerful voices and strong physical presence, and there wasn’t a dull moment either musically or story-wise in this audiovisual extravaganza. Clymtenestra was an operatic diva, some group songs wouldn’t have been out of place in a pop musical, and others, particularly those by Agamemnon, were pure heavy metal.

This wasn’t a promenade performance – the audience were not moving around following the action. As there was no seating, this meant standing in one spot for an hour, which for me meant being distracted from the enjoyment of the performance by physical discomfort. It wasn’t until I moved to the side and held on to a lighting rig, that I was able to be carried away by the music. Putting in seating appropriate to the setting, ie, rough chairs and tables, would only add to the atmosphere and make the audience’s experience more enjoyable – it would also make some of the show easier to see.

The Furies starts on a high and keeps getting higher, climbing to a spectacular finale. Although the staging is interesting and atmospheric, it would work equally well in a traditional theatre setting. Unfortunately I had to leave before the encore, as the next show was due to start. This is definitely one to watch. Thoroughly entrancing, mesmerising music.

The Furies is playing at Vault for the rest of the festival, ie, Thursday – Sunday until 26 February. Visit www.kindletheatre.co.uk  for more information on the company.

The Great Puppet Horn by Pangolin’s Teatime

The final show of the evening was The Great Puppet Horn. Comfortably seated in the front row, I looked forward to something that would once again be a complete contrast to what had gone before. Accompanied by the Harry Potter theme music, Jeremy Bidgood and Lewis Young appeared on stage to introduce their show (the horn is ambiguous, apparently).

Puppets and political satire proved to be a serendipitous combination, and I was soon howling with laughter at The Boy Who Lived – in the East Wing (David Cameron). The audience were treated to magical explanations for university fees and immigration policy, and told about the influence of boy bands on the economy. There were also other non-political topical comedy sketches, such as The Life of Brian (Cox). But my personal favourite was Grammar Cop. Being somewhat of a pedant, grammar-wise, and a part-time English teacher to boot, it was hilarious to watch him battle his arch-enemy Mr A Postrophe.

This is basically a traditional comedy show with shadow puppets – which were excellent by the way: the skill in both their manufacture and use was evident. The only audience interaction was when, during the Grammar Cop sketch, there was a threat of reading Molly Bloom’s soliloquay – I couldn’t help begging them not to.

The Great Puppet Horn was well-paced, with the laughs coming thick and fast, and I had tears in my eyes by the end of the performance. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Pangolin’s Teatime on our television screens soon. Catch them if you can.

Like The Wonder Club, Pangolin’s Teatime finished their run at Vault on 12 February. Visit http://pangolinsteatime.com for news of future shows.

Vault Lates – Itchy Feet

As the puppet show was 20 minutes late in finishing, the vintage dance party was well under way when I returned to the bar area. If I say that Booker T & the MG’s Green Onions was playing when I entered, and that the last song I heard was Higher and Higher by Jackie Wilson, it will give you a flavour of the sort of floor fillers being spun by the DJ. The floor was hopping, though not unpleasantly crowded. If I’d had a friend with me I would have danced the night away, but, as I was alone, I left, like Cinderella, at midnight, to catch the last train home, already looking forward to returning the next night.

One night only at Vault. www.itchyfeetonline.co.uk

La Boheme by Silent Opera

Audience members at Silent Opera are given headphones to wear throughout the performance, through which the live singing is mixed with the pre-recorded score. This is a very clever means of having a full orchestral sound in a fringe venue. The sound quality was excellent throughout, which I assume was due to Sound Designer Ed Currie.

After checking our coats in the cloakroom, the audience found ourselves wandering round a Christmas market where Colline (Tim Dickinson) tried to interest me in a Greenpeace campaign. We were then escorted upstairs to Marcello, Rodolfo, Colline and Schaunard’s flat, where the opera began.

We were moved between several locations during the course of the show: some worked better than others. The flat, for example, was excellent, with various forms of seating round the outside (I sat on a blow up chair the first time) and the action taking place in the middle. The scene in the bar worked pretty well also. However, the occasions where the audience was standing three deep against the wall didn’t make for good visibility (I kept missing all the snogging bits!) and I would have found Mimi’s death scene more moving had I not been sitting on a cushion on a crowded floor.

I am a bit of a sucker for opera, and have been lucky enough to see both the Royal Opera and the ENO over the years. Musically, Silent Opera gave them both a run for their money. The score, by the London Symphony Orchestra, was wonderful, and all of the singers gave flawless vocal performances with emotion and pathos. The acting was strong, particulary by Mimi (Emily Ward), Rodolfo (Alistair Digges), and Colline (Tim Dickinson), as well as by those in the non-singing parts. Daisy Evans’ libretto was clever, interesting, and quite funny in places. The setting of modern day London worked well, and the headphones seemed to add, rather than distract from, that sense of being absorbed in the story which to me is the sign of good theatre (particularly opera or musical). I would have no hesitation in recommending this production to anyone, whether an opera buff, or someone experiencing the genre for the first time.

Silent Opera is playing at Vault for the rest of the festival, ie, Thursday – Sunday until 26 February. Visit http://silentopera.co.uk  for more information on the company.

So, after spending the weekend at Vault, what are my feelings on immersive theatre? They are mixed. Don’t stray from the path was a promenade performance with lots of audience interaction, but with the other shows the audience interaction was limited and sporadic. Yes, I was close to the performers, but that is generally the case at fringe venues. I think perhaps there is a delicate performer/audience balance that needs to be achieved – although I am not suggesting one audience member at a time, as happens in some productions.

In conclusion, I would encourage one and all to visit Vault before 26 February when the festival finishes. All the performances have something to recommend them, and the venue is warm and welcoming. It truly does offer a kaleidoscope of entertainment. A refreshing addition to the London fringe scene.

Although The Wonder Club and Pagolin’s Teatime have both finished their run at the vaults, the studio performances are constantly changing. Both The Furies and Silent Opera are running till 26 February. More Vault Lates are on 17, 18 and 24 Febuary. There is also a cinema, where the Flicker Club hosts a season of horror films (mostly Hammer). Visit http://www.thevaultfestival.com for more details and booking.

 

 

The Fringe Report Awards 2012

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John Park has run the Fringe Report for ten years, and I am as unhappy as the other 400 odd people who turned up to the Fringe Report Awards that The Fringe Report is ending this year. John has run the Fringe Report without profit and has connected everything and everyone on the fringe of London, and indeed, the UK.

James Aylett, James Yardley and Lynn Howes.

The Fringe Report Awards took place at Monday 6 February 2012 at The Leicester Square Theatre. The Leicester Square Theatre was packed with the great and good of Britain’s theatre and acting talent. [Disclaimer: I am an editor, writer and photographer for the Fringe Report].

Jack Bowman and Catherine Balavage

The awards were as fun as ever and the list of winners is below. Goodbye to the Fringe Report. The fringe now weeps at your loss.

Elliot Grove – Outstanding Achievement Award – Film
Steve Forster – Best PR – Theatre
Flavia Fraser-Cannon – Best Creative – Producer, Photographer, Publicist
Paul L Martin – Best Producer – Cabaret
Sibyl Madrigal – Best Music Curator (for Boat-Ting)
Performers Without Borders – Best Encouragers of Talent
Steve Henwood & Wendy Matthews – Best Festival Directors
Guy Chapman – Outstanding Achievement Award – PR
Kiki Kendrick – Best Creative – Actor and Writer
Becky Talbot – Best Presenter – Radio
Kevin Sampson – Outstanding Achievement Award – Literature & Film
Vocal Motions Elastic Theatre – Best Theatre Company
Sasha Regan – Best Venue Director
Adam Morley – Best Director – Theatre & Film
Ricky Dukes – Best Artistic Director (Lazarus Theatre Company)
James Hyland – Best Performer – Solo Show (for A Christmas Carol / Jacob Marley)
Paul Sayers & Simon Bolton – Best Shakespeare Producers (Rooftop Theatre)
Paul Levy – Best Publisher
Tactful Cactus – Best Short Film (for Starcrossed)
Alison Wright – Best PR – Arts
Stuart Price – Best Creative – Director & Writer
Laura Pitt-Pulford – Best Performer – Musical (for Parade at Southwark Playhouse)
Alexander Parsonage – Best Artistic Director (Finger In The Pie)
Andy McQuade – Best Director – Theatre
Catherine Brogan – Best Poet

Interview with Homeland creators Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa

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Writers and creators, Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa talk 24, the process behind Homeland and ‘misunderstanding’ while shooting in Israel with Claire Danes.

When did you first become aware of Gideon Raff’s original Israeli television series Prisoners of War upon which Homeland is based, and what was the thinking surrounding the decision to adapt a U.S. version from the Israeli original? How is it similar/different to its predecessor?

Howard: I became aware of Prisoners of War when I got a call from my agent, Rick Rosen, who was stepping off a plane from Israel. He represents Keshet – the television company responsible for In Treatment, among other formats – and he said, pretty definitively, “I have your next show.” He described it briefly and it sounded good, and I suggested that it might be something Alex and I could do together (since Alex also happens to be a client of Rick’s). But the truth was, Alex and I were both so deep into the eighth season of 24 that when we agreed to do the project, we had no idea how different our final product would be from the original. So while the source material offered some compelling ideas for us to work with, making it work as a series for a U.S. and, really a global audience, required some wholesale reinvention from us.

What were some of the challenges in both story and character with translating Gideon Raff’s original vision? What are some of the factors involved in writing for an Israeli audience versus and American audience?

Howard: The imagined homecoming of two long-time POWs was really the dramatic engine of Gideon’s story. While this has a deep and immediate resonance with Israeli society (the capture of Gilad Shalit by Hamas for the last five years has been a national crisis) we have no analogous situation in the U.S. While Gideon’s was essentially a family drama, ours became a psychological thriller when we posited the possibility that the returning soldier had been turned into a terrorist and was being sent back here as the tip of the spear of a major terrorist attack on U.S. soil.

How did your experience on working on 24 influence your decision to do Homeland?

Howard: It felt like an opportunity to explore some of the same themes which we are still grappling with ten years after 9/11 – national security versus civil liberties, the nature of real threats versus imagined threats which we create out of our fear – but in a more nuanced way than we would ever achieve in the relentless pedal-to-the-metal narrative that 24 required. And while 24 was born and came of age in the shadow of 9/11, so much has changed in the world since then, the complexities and tangled consequences of our military actions being one of them, and Homeland lives in this far more complex world we now find ourselves trying to navigate as a nation.

Homeland premiered in the US almost directly after the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Was that a conscious decision?

Howard: It was just a confluence of events, which in the end turned out to be quite fortuitous, as did a number of other things. Osama bin Laden was killed when we were on Episode 2, eerily like the scene of Damian’s rescue; the Arab Spring. So a lot of the issues, you know, that seem to be a conflation of war on terror and the two wars we find ourselves in. This is after Abu Ghraib, after Guantanamo, after the prosecution of two wars of questionable merit. So this looks at the price to this country of what happened to us ten years ago. So the timing of it, I think, is significant, accidental, and fortuitous.

Both 24 and Homeland share similar themes of national security, terrorism and politics. Can you talk about your interest in exploring these subjects and how the two shows differ in their approaches?
Howard: Although the real-time format of 24 gave it a certain energy and a seeming realism, the fact that it told a story inside the course of a single day inevitably made it embrace improbabilities. So the idea of exploring themes like national security, terrorism and politics was subverted to the rigorous requirements of an almost impossible format. Because Homeland isn’t bound by the real-time format, we’re able to dramatise relationships and story arcs that take place over a longer time period, which has given us an opportunity to explore some of the same themes in a deeper and more nuanced way.
Alex: We also wanted to address the experience of veterans. The conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq are arguably the longest wars in U.S. history. Members of the armed forces are struggling with Post-Traumatic Stress and physical disabilities in record numbers. How will their experiences overseas find a context once these soldiers are back home? Brody’s journey is a way to ask that question in depth. What was he was fighting for? Just what are the values of his homeland? “24” existed in a real post9/11 world. And Jack was an action hero. In response to that, ten years later, things have become deeper and more complex. And the heart of this show is really psychological, how America is dealing with that tenyear period. And now it’s post Osama bin Laden.

Tell us about the cast. How did Claire Danes and Damian Lewis come to join the production? And can you describe the greatest attribute and flaws in the characters they play – Carrie Anderson and Sgt. Nick Brody?

Howard: Claire Danes was our first choice from the moment we sat down to write the pilot. She had just appeared in Temple Grandin and we were blown away by her performance. We even named the character Claire in our first draft. As much as Alex and I were fans of Damian’s from Band of Brothers, he became our first choice when we saw him in an independent movie called Keane.
Alex: Carrie has an extraordinary passion for life; her mental illness gives her an unparalleled intuition and appetite. But the highs give way to crippling lows, and that can be an intensely lonely experience. Brody trained as a sniper. He’s focused. He has incredible will. He’s survived an experience that would break most people. He’s also a soldier with a strong sense of duty and justice. As the season unfolds, we’ll learn how his eight years in captivity changed him, or just uncovered something he always carried inside him. Carrie and Brody are a great match in this season-long cat and mouse game. Each harbours secrets. And each understands the other in a way that no one else can. They have an intense connection-despite the fact that they might have radically opposing goals.

What can you tell us about the end of these 13 weeks? Will you solve the mysteries of Damian’s character?

Howard: This is a very, very interesting narrative experience. We’ve all discussed it. The first conversation we had with Damian and Claire was, how long can we keep the “is he or isn’t he” of it alive without feeling like we’re annoying the audience. And I think we have found a really satisfying way to tell that story where this uncertainty is actually compelling. And the answer is that we hope, that we answer those questions at the right time.

Are you working with any official consultants from the CIA or another government agency to advise on storylines? How do you make the plotlines authentic?

Howard: Alex and I have very different processes when it comes to this. Alex tends to do a lot of research, and I tend not to because I’m lazy and I prefer to keep my imagination unencumbered by the facts – and usually find myself able to retrofit reality to what I need the characters to do. I find that plotlines are authentic when the characters are authentic – which is to say, act like people you recognise.
Alex: At the writers’ office, we do a significant amount of research in order to get the details right – and given the subject matter, it wouldn’t be a surprise to find that we’d been flagged for the terrorist watch list. We’re very lucky to have a few official consultants, including a contact at the CIA and the representatives of Muslims On Screen & Television. We even have an imam on set to work with non-Muslim actors to perfect their salat prayer rituals. But, as Howard says, the authenticity of the characters comes first.

Where is production set? Did any of the filming be on location in the Middle East?

Howard: The production is set in Charlotte, North Carolina, which will double as Washington DC and Virginia. For the pilot, we were able to film in Israel, which doubled as Baghdad. There was a little misunderstanding with the location person, and so there was a little bit of an adventure while we were there.

What do you mean by “misunderstanding”?

Howard: Well, it wasn’t like shooting in L.A. where you lock down a street and, you know, get a license from the city. This was a little bit more ad hoc than that, and so let’s just say certain people didn’t get distributed their location fee. And then the rumour circulated that we were actually CIA plants, and then you can imagine what happened.
Alex: And the next thing –
Howard: The next thing, Claire was being rushed away in a van by security.
Alex: Claire was in the back of a car going a hundred miles an hour out of town. We got it on film
Howard: We hope we’ll have the chance in the future to do some more remote shooting in that part of the world.

Frost would like to thank Channel 4 for this interview.

True Blood is Back!

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True Blood is back with fairies, panthers, wolves, vampires and witches all in one tiny American town. This should be interesting….

Spoiler Alert

Sookie is back after going missing for two years.(she was hanging out with fairies and her dead grandfather) A lot has changed since she left and her brother has sold her house. But who bought it? Eric, and not surprisingly, that causes some problems.

Season 4 Episode 1 “She’s Not There”

Sookie journeys away from Bon Temps leaving Eric and Bill to win back the human public.  Elsewhere, Jason learns that no good deed goes unpunished.

Season 4 Episode 2 “You Smell Like Dinner”

After returning to Bon Temps, Sookie adjusts to the town’s new realities. Meanwhile, Bill reveals more about his past and Eric crashes a witches meeting. The witches put a spell on Eric and he loses his memory. Sookie ends up looking after him. Little does she know that her brother has been kidnapped and someone is trying to use him to have babies with.

True Blood is pure fantasy. It is lots of fun and it is also very adult. Not one for kids but a good evenings entertainment.

True Blood is on FX every Sunday, 10pm.

The Wireless Theatre Company Presents THE STRANGE CASE OF SPRINGHEEL'D JACK

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The multi-award winning* Wireless Theatre Company proudly presents its first-ever audio serial:

THE STRANGE CASE OF SPRINGHEEL’D JACK

Starring Julian Glover.

Synopsis:

London, 1837. An inhuman fiend stalks the night. With no time to lose, brilliant young police constable, Jonah Smith, must unmask the monster before he strikes again. Follow our hero on a terrifying adventure as he races to solve… The Strange Case of Springheel’d Jack!  

Episode One: http://wirelesstc.wordpress.com/2010/12/24/the-strange-case-of-springheeld-jack-episode-1/

Episode Two: http://wirelesstc.wordpress.com/2011/06/27/the-strange-case-of-springheeld-jack-episode-ii-the-crypt-of-evil/

Episode Three: http://wirelesstc.wordpress.com/2012/01/27/the-strange-case-of-springheeld-jack-episode-iii-the-face-of-the-fiend/

All three episodes of this thrilling, award-nominated** audio serial are available to download free.

 

The Strange Case of Springheel’d Jack Cast:

Christopher Finney, Matthew Jure, Jessica Dennis, Jack Bowman***, Ben Whitehead, Colt Holt, Trevor Cuthbertson, Jamie Cartwright, Ceri Gifford, Simon Walters, Ashley Munson, Lizzie Goodall, Andrew MacBean, Caitlin Birley, Debbie Leigh-Simmons, Mariele Runacre Temple, Charlie Adams, with Jonathan Hansler, Nick Lucas, David Benson and Julian Glover.

Crew:

Writers: Robert Valentine and Gareth Parker.   Editor: Andrew Swann. Music: Francesco Quadraruopolo. Artwork: Jamie Egerton. Producers: Mariele Runacre Temple, Robert Valentine and Jack Bowman. Director: Robert Valentine.

Awards and Nominations:  

*Mariele Runacre Temple; Best Radio Drama Producer, 2009, Fringe Report Awards; Best Entertainment Producer, Best Online Multi Platform Creator, Radio Academy Radio Production Awards

**Mariele Runacre Temple, Robert Valentine and Jack Bowman; Radio Academy Radio Production Awards, 2011, nominated for Best Drama Producers.

***Jack Bowman; Radio Academy Radio Production Awards, 2011, nominated Best Radio Creative.

 

The Wireless Theatre Company’s mission is to keep radio drama and comedy alive and well in the 21st Century by creating original, relevant and exciting audio productions – both for radio lovers and the ‘Facebook Generation’ – which can be downloaded free to computers, iPods or MP3 players directly from the Wireless Theatre Company website. Wireless Theatre creates a platform for fresh new writers, up and coming acting talent and interesting new ways of producing audio theatre.

 

Billie Piper Interview: A Passionate Woman.

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A Passionate Woman: Billie Piper plays Betty in the Fifties

 

Are you a fan of Kay Mellor?

“Yes, I loved Band Of Gold – it was my favourite show and one of the reasons I wanted to start acting. I couldn’t believe how compelling Samantha Morton was. It was a great series and Samantha was incredible. I’ve always loved Kay’s work.”

Did you feel pressured playing a character based on Kay’s mother?

“Naturally. It must have been quite emotional for Kay to watch this story being played out before her, however it was helpful and essential to have her around. Kay was able to paint a very detailed picture of her mother and she was keen for me to think about her mum in that situation.”

What drew you to the role of Betty Stevenson?

“I felt profoundly moved by the story. I’ve just had my first child and my marriage is young, it’s a testing time. I think Kay was reluctant to cast me – I begged for an audition. I felt confident with the accent but I’m sure that will be up for discussion! It was a tough job – lots of crying and screaming but well worth it though.”

Tell me about your character?

“Betty is a young wife – quite a peaceful character. She is emotional, sensitive, thoughtful, and compassionate. Not outspoken or feisty. Betty is very poor and lives in a block of flats with her husband, Donald. She loves her son, Mark – and it’s quite desperate love. She absolutely lives for him which plays out in the Eighties episode where Sue Johnston plays the role of Betty.”

Betty’s relationship with Donald seems complex – do you think she has ever been in love with him?

“Betty has an old fashioned relationship with her husband. He goes to work all day, doesn’t really talk to her that much, doesn’t ask her how she is doing – it’s all very practical. They don’t talk about how they are feeling. They both put up and shut up. Betty spent all day at home with the baby – she is not a modern woman, unlike her sister, Margaret.”

Betty seems to fall for Craze immediately…

“Betty is completely bowled over by Craze, this reckless polish neighbour who moves in. He is married to Moira who is the complete polar opposite to Betty. Moira is very liberal, outspoken, sexual – a great spirit which Betty is incredibly jealous of. I don’t think Betty has ever felt love or passion or lust like it before in her life. Craze sexually liberates her and teaches her things she never knew existed. Betty becomes obsessed with him which starts to become quite destructive.

“She has this enormous secret and she eventually confides in her sister Margaret – who is fiercely expressive, a rebel. She hates her husband and is desperate to sleep with someone else! She is so very different and the only one privy to Betty’s secret about Craze.”

Did you get to meet Sue Johnston, who plays Betty 30 years on?

“Yes, I did. We had a day’s crossover during filming – she’s so lovely and an amazing actress, I’ve always loved her. Sue sent me a lovely note to say if there is anything you want to know or talk about regarding the character to let her know.

“People change a lot over all those years and what happens when you are younger really shapes you as a person and so I didn’t want to mimic or do some imitation of her as Betty. We were doing our own interpretation of the character at that time – knowing what they know.”

Tell me about your character’s Fifties-style dresses?

“I really liked them. I find costumes massively helpful especially when you’re playing quite a well turned out character. Betty was obviously very poor although every button was sewn on properly; there were no loose hems, the collars were stiff – the clothes do start to relax after she meets Craze and they become more colourful and passionate! I love costumes and I love period costumes.

“It was freezing up there though and there aren’t enough clothes in the world to keep you warm – cold like I’ve never known it before!”

How do you think you’d have coped living Betty’s life the Fifties?

“I thought about it the whole time and it must have been just so hard. It’s not massively dissimilar to stories my Gran would tell me about how she brought her family up – seven kids, small house. It was so different for wives and mothers then. Never having enough money or having desires outside of the family home.

“Nowadays, we have a lot of opportunities as women to go out and work, socialise, confide in lots of people, network and we are endlessly banging on about how we feel. It was just taboo – those kinds of subjects. I have a very fortunate lifestyle.”


The inspiration for my Passionate Woman By Kay Mellor

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The inspiration for my Passionate Woman

by Kay Mellor

I must have been about 28 when my mother told me. She was at the sink washing up at the time and I was drying the pots. It’s hard to remember what’s fact and what’s fiction now, but I’ll try.

“We had a bit of a thing,” was how she described her affair with the Polish neighbour that lived in the two-roomed flat below her. I thought I was hearing things. One minute we were talking about me and my husband having a bit of a fall out and somehow the conversation turned to Mum telling me how she’d committed adultery with a Polish fairground worker.

 

Now you’d have to have known my mum to realise how shocking that was. She was the most ordinary woman, very mumsy, not a vain bone in her body. She wasn’t one to show her emotions, she was strong but affectionate with me and my brothers. She wasn’t a man’s woman, she had three sisters and was, in her own way, a bit of a feminist – way ahead of her time.

My dad had a violent streak and she divorced him when I was three, refused to wear a wedding ring, wouldn’t accept money off him and refused to take ‘handouts’ from the state, preferring to work full time as a tailoress instead. It sounds nothing now, but you’ve got to remember this was the 1950s, people didn’t get divorced. You married and that was it – for better or worse. I remember the other kids off the council estate making fun of me and my brother, saying we didn’t have a dad.

Anyway I digress.

“His name was Craze and I loved him with every breath in my body,” she continued. She’d mentioned a man and the word love in the same breath – it was unheard of for her to say that; even her second marriage had not been successful.

But even more shocking than that, I realised that tears were falling from her eyes into the washing up bowl. I tried to reassure her.

“I’m happy for you Mum, I’m glad you found someone to love.”

“He was murdered.”

“What? In Leeds?”

“In a fairground brawl. I’ve never been able to tell anyone.”

It was hard to take it all in and then I realised that not only had Mum never told anyone about this affair, she’d never been able to grieve properly for the man she’d loved and lost.

For the best part of thirty years she’d held onto this grief – it had been locked in. No wonder her marriages hadn’t worked and she found it difficult to show emotion. She had no trouble showing emotion now – 30 years of tears cascaded into the washing up bowl as she continued with her story. At the end of it she was exhausted.

“You won’t ever tell anyone will you?” She made me promise. And I didn’t – for 10 years. Then it was my younger brother Philip’s wedding and I could see this really pained her as she faced a life alone with my stepfather Alan.

He was a good man and the marriage should’ve worked. He was the same religion (my dad was a Catholic, Alan was Jewish) and he was political – a strong socialist, but they clashed.

 

The look in my mother’s face reminded me of the day she told me about Craze. Somehow these two events – my mother’s affair and her youngest son getting married – were linked.

A play was burning inside of me and I started to write it for the West Yorkshire Playhouse. I called it A Passionate Woman – because I realised that’s what my mother was.

I set it on the day of her son’s wedding. Betty climbs into the loft to escape from all the arrangements and chaos and drops the flap shut! Her dead lover Craze comes to her and she relives her time again with him. Her son and husband realise she’s in the loft and try and coax her down to the wedding, but she’s not going anywhere – except up!

The play went into rehearsal with the glorious Anne Reid playing the middle-aged Betty. Two days before press night, I thought I should take Mum to see the play. It was essentially Mum’s story, but I’d changed loads of things and I was interested to see if she realised it was her story. She absolutely loved it, wanted to see it again.

The second time she saw it, she turned to me at the end and with tears and bewilderment in her eyes she said: “This is my story.”

I reassured her. “Yes, but I’m not going to tell anyone and you’re not, so who’s going to know?”

Then came the opening night of the show. All the press were there. The play went well and as is customary with a new play, the cast, myself and the director David Liddiment all sat on the stage to answer questions. One particular journalist kept asking me where I got the idea for the play – “Did something or someone inspire it?”

I could see my mother sat in the middle of the audience – I had to protect her and keep my promise. I replied: “Yes, someone did inspire me to write it, but I’m not at liberty to say who it was.”

And then from the middle of the auditorium came –

“It was me!”

I looked up. My mother was waving her hand in the air; her eyes were gleaming with pride. “It’s MY story!”

And as the press turned to interview her, I watched the years of shame and secrecy drop away. My mother came out publicly – she’d had an affair, she’d known love, she had a sexual awakening, she was A Passionate Woman.

Two years later the play opened in the West End to rave reviews. The play ran for a year at the Comedy Theatre and has toured extensively all over the world. Film rights were fought for, but I held on to them tightly as I didn’t want Cher playing my mum on a rooftop in Detroit.

It’s still running in Poland I think.

Kay Mellor is the writer of A Passionate Woman.

 

Sue Johnston On A Passionate Woman

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A Passionate Woman: Sue Johnston plays Betty in the Eighties

 

How easy was it to portray Betty – the character Kay’s mother is based upon?

“Kay told me the whole story about how her mother admitted to a lost love. There is a scene in the second episode where I tell Mark (Andrew Lee Potts) about Betty’s affair and the fact she never loved her husband and that’s what happened to Kay – she came up to me afterwards in tears.

“It added a certain kind of pressure and in a way, the compliment that she wanted me to play her mother gave me confidence and there must have been some essence of her mother that she saw in me.”

What happens to Betty 30 years on from the affair?

“Betty has a mini-breakdown. She leaves her son, Mark’s wedding and eventually finds herself on the roof – you don’t know whether she is going to throw herself off or not…”

How do you feel about Billie Piper playing Betty 30 years younger?

“I was flattered and I kept thinking – as long as they don’t show my nose… Betty must have fallen over at some point and broken it! We both had brown hair for the character and I wore brown contact lenses.

“When I look at old photographs of me at 19 and 20 I don’t look anything like I do now! Billie is lovely – sure she’ll be brilliant. I met her as I was finishing and she starting. We had a drink and had a chat.”

You have played wife to Alun Armstrong before?

“It’s my third time married to Alun Armstrong! Donald is a different character – very loving. He is taken for granted though and is the safe one Betty married. She carries this yearning, and of course she’s put it all into her son – the love that she thought she’d lost.

“The biggest loss is when she discovers he is going to Australia to live with his new wife – that’s the breaking point.”

Do you get the impression that Betty is not happy because of this marriage?

“You get the impression that she’s lived through her son, so she has been happy as she has had him. Donald’s always on the outside and she never realises – when it all comes to a head, that’s his point – Donald is upset as he says to her that she has never needed him, and never wanted him. Betty and Mark have been a tight unit and she’s lived her life through him so now she doesn’t feel that she has anything left to live for…”

Do you think people will identify with the character of Betty and her situation?

“I think they might, I know I did because my mother lived a lot of her life through me and when I left and went to live in London she said: ‘My life’s ended now’, which felt terrible! Not bad enough to say: ‘Well, ok, I won’t go’, though!”

Did you spend any time on the roof when you were doing the shoot?

“I spent about three days on that roof. We had a stunt woman, but I like getting up there and doing it myself and I was well supported. Once you’re up there it’s quite amazing. Alun made me laugh when he was climbing up the roof, I think he was waiting for them to shout cut but they didn’t so he kept going and his face was very funny!”

What are you most passionate about?

“Liverpool Football Club, I’m afraid!”