Post by Clive on Dec 7, 2014 21:11:30 GMT 9.5
Miranda Richardson: 'I don’t like labels of any kind'
THE BBC is recreating Mapp And Lucia, a wonderful comedy of snobbery, starring the Blackadder actor
Published: 00:01, Sun, December 7, 2014
By David Stephenson
Miranda Richardson opens up about the new BBC comedy remake Mapp And Lucia
What was it like filming in Rye?
Just like Miss Elizabeth [her character Mapp] and Georgie [Steve Pemberton, who also adapted it] walking down the streets, there were similar vignettes in the town itself. You would see people playing bridge in the middle of the afternoon. It was sort of rather marvellous.
What was it like playing Miss Elizabeth?
Too much fun, so much so that we hope to have the chance to play it again. My favourite scenes were the opening sequences, when she was being shown around the house. This was close to Elizabeth’s heart.
The costumes and set looked like fun
Mine only amounted to jazzing things up with the odd scarf. You don’t get everything absolutely sorted (character-wise) before you start shooting, it’s an organic thing. So the whole thing is constant while you’re filming. Not exactly research, but delving into character as you go along.
The other thing was to work in the actual house [of author EF Benson] and the town where it is set and the environs. We also had the use of the gardens, which had never before been allowed. We also built a garden house [where Benson wrote the book before it was bombed by the Luftwaffe] on the plot, to accommodate a camera, apart from anything else. It was just delightful.
There aren’t many dramas or comedies which are, if you like, female and almost middle aged! Would you agree?
There’s an increasing number of dramas I think on television recently that I found myself wanting to watch, such as Happy Valley, so that’s encouraging, and I always admit the possibility of change.
Not to be depressing about it but the demographic is changing and people have more say in what they want to see. We also had Last Tango In Halifax but this is a classic.
How wonderful that he created two such strong opponents. They don’t have to be some received “dolly” idea of womanhood.
Did you watch the 1980s TV version?
I didn’t. When you come to a project like this, it’s one of the choices you make. I’m quite pleased because I don’t feel any particular pressure from that adaptation.
You were introduced as “Queenie” and Anna Chancellor [Lucia] as “Duckface” at the show’s launch. Did you mind?
Well, I don’t like labels of any kind. I think people probably know about that character by now, but there’s nothing wrong with making people laugh, if that’s the legacy, but we’ve both done loads of other stuff.
How were the false teeth?
It was difficult, particularly for eating, but when you’re working with someone like Steve Pemberton from The League Of Gentlemen, you have to get into “externals!”
There’s a lot about the teeth in the books. It was a little treat at the end of make-up. I would slip them in at the last minute and go, “Ah, there she blows.”
Mapp & Lucia, BBC1, December 29, 9.05pm
THE BBC is recreating Mapp And Lucia, a wonderful comedy of snobbery, starring the Blackadder actor
Published: 00:01, Sun, December 7, 2014
By David Stephenson
Miranda Richardson opens up about the new BBC comedy remake Mapp And Lucia
What was it like filming in Rye?
Just like Miss Elizabeth [her character Mapp] and Georgie [Steve Pemberton, who also adapted it] walking down the streets, there were similar vignettes in the town itself. You would see people playing bridge in the middle of the afternoon. It was sort of rather marvellous.
What was it like playing Miss Elizabeth?
Too much fun, so much so that we hope to have the chance to play it again. My favourite scenes were the opening sequences, when she was being shown around the house. This was close to Elizabeth’s heart.
The costumes and set looked like fun
Mine only amounted to jazzing things up with the odd scarf. You don’t get everything absolutely sorted (character-wise) before you start shooting, it’s an organic thing. So the whole thing is constant while you’re filming. Not exactly research, but delving into character as you go along.
The other thing was to work in the actual house [of author EF Benson] and the town where it is set and the environs. We also had the use of the gardens, which had never before been allowed. We also built a garden house [where Benson wrote the book before it was bombed by the Luftwaffe] on the plot, to accommodate a camera, apart from anything else. It was just delightful.
There aren’t many dramas or comedies which are, if you like, female and almost middle aged! Would you agree?
There’s an increasing number of dramas I think on television recently that I found myself wanting to watch, such as Happy Valley, so that’s encouraging, and I always admit the possibility of change.
Not to be depressing about it but the demographic is changing and people have more say in what they want to see. We also had Last Tango In Halifax but this is a classic.
How wonderful that he created two such strong opponents. They don’t have to be some received “dolly” idea of womanhood.
Did you watch the 1980s TV version?
I didn’t. When you come to a project like this, it’s one of the choices you make. I’m quite pleased because I don’t feel any particular pressure from that adaptation.
You were introduced as “Queenie” and Anna Chancellor [Lucia] as “Duckface” at the show’s launch. Did you mind?
Well, I don’t like labels of any kind. I think people probably know about that character by now, but there’s nothing wrong with making people laugh, if that’s the legacy, but we’ve both done loads of other stuff.
How were the false teeth?
It was difficult, particularly for eating, but when you’re working with someone like Steve Pemberton from The League Of Gentlemen, you have to get into “externals!”
There’s a lot about the teeth in the books. It was a little treat at the end of make-up. I would slip them in at the last minute and go, “Ah, there she blows.”
Mapp & Lucia, BBC1, December 29, 9.05pm
