47 replies to this topic

[igb]

An Amazon recommendation a few months ago convinced me to advance order "Covering McKellen: An Understudy's Tale" by David Weston, Rickshaw Publishing, London, 2011.   It turned up while I was away.   Jan will love it.  I'm 106 pages in to the 318 (!), although the font is rather large (to make it easier for the older theatre goer to read, perhaps) so it isn't actually as long as that implies.

I was slightly surprised that, in the light of the "actors playing minor roles in Hamlet and Macbeth write about their time at the RSC" books published of late, the RSC hadn't published this.  It's an account of the McKellen Lear/Seagull, from the perspective of the actor who was playing Gentleman in Lear and covering Sir Ian.   Upon reading it, I can see why the RSC hasn't published it: it's bitchy, bitter and opinionated, as though Nicholas Craig (Nigel Planer's aging actor who once shared a few lines with Olivier) had teamed up with Chips Channon to settle old scores, with advice from Mr Pooter.  Sylvester McCoy's spoons are boring and if they cut those they wouldn't have to cut the author's lines.  The Courtyard is fundamentally flawed and the old main house was perfect.  The oven in his RSC flat is dirty.  The women in Stratford aren't as attractive as they were in 1967 when he bedded Peter Hall's nanny.  IKEA isn't very nice.  Young actresses in the ensemble aren't interested in him.  The Dirty Duck isn't what it was.  Olivier's filmed Lear isn't very good.  John Barton is quite old.  Cis Berry isn't very interesting.  Voice coaching and warmups are a waste of time for the experienced actor.  Nick Hytner isn't all that.  Alan Rickman isn't all that.  Romola Garai is all that, but isn't interested.   The constant thudding noise as you read is the sound of names being dropped.

All that said, it's great.  It's fantastically indiscreet, and although at times you think it's an artful spoof a la Nicholas Craig (whom you can imagine doing the audio-book) it makes a change from the constant "all my lovely colleagues who are lovely" of the official line.  Weston has made a long career without having hit the heights, which is an achievement in itself (as he points out, most of his contemporaries have left acting), writes well and if he's a bit Pooterish, well, what of it?  Well worth reading, and well worth nine of your earth pounds.

[peggs]

They serialised parts of this in the telegraph the other week and I rather enjoyed it although it did mostly seem to be about how badly everyone got on and how arrogant and pretentious actors were (of course the telegraph will have picked the most name dropping controversial bits) but I have to admit some delight in reading it as it was so critical of fellow actors although he did seem to rather reverse Mckellen.

[Ian]

peggs, on 30 August 2011 - 10:33 AM, said:

although he did seem to rather reverse Mckellen.

rather Freudian typo  

[Marius Pontmercy]

I've just finished it, and I agree entirely. It's spectacularly train-wreckish at times, but so entertaining. It works because he comes across as badly as everyone else, so it's not a case of "I'm right and everyone else is awful".

To be honest I did find it very depressing towards the end. It's to his credit as a writer, though, that he captures so accurately the horrible feeling of working with (what he perceives to be) horrendous people. It's rare to hear people being so frank about their colleagues in this sort of situation - at one point he admits to feeling a little schadenfreude when Romola Garai (who he really doesn't like) got a bad review somewhere on the tour.

Some of the anecdotes are funny in a surreal sort of way - Gerald Kyd on a long-haul flight sitting in embarrassed silence next to the girlfriend he'd broken up with mid-tour, because they'd booked the flights and seats ages ago when they were still together. Also I'll admit I'm curious to know what his wife thinks of being described as a fag-hag.

On a pointlessly-personal level, I was happy that one of my favourite actors - John Heffernan - came across very well in the book, until near the end anyway, when Weston basically just lets rip at everyone for everything.

peggs, on 30 August 2011 - 10:33 AM, said:

although it did  mostly seem to be about how badly everyone got on and how arrogant and  pretentious actors were (of course the telegraph will have picked the  most name dropping controversial bits)

I don't think they did, actually - it's all like that!

[Jan Brock]

igb, on 30 August 2011 - 10:07 AM, said:

An Amazon recommendation a few months ago convinced me to advance order "Covering McKellen: An Understudy's Tale"

Oh this sounds splendid, I must order my copy immediately. Even the title is excellent (for those who like Carry On humour and are familiar with horse racing terminology).

[Weez]

I did find it a hugely compelling read, but the level of indiscretion meant it did get terribly uncomfortable after a while. It's also a little odd at times how he's so willing to be warts-and-all about some things (I really don't know who could possibly benefit from that much level of detail about Gerald Kyd's lovelife!) while being just close-mouthed enough to be almost frustrating about others ("certain members of the younger company" is a phrase that crops up frequently; why be secretive now, Weston, when you've been so indiscreet thus far?).

I honestly feel he was getting rather unhinged towards the end of the book. It's fair enough, he has been touring the world with the same hugely dysfunctional company for a year by that point, and if it was as bad as he made out, anyone would unhinge a little. But still. I'm glad I borrowed rather than bought this one.

[Jan Brock]

Oh, there is even a Kindle edition of it - excellent - starting reading it now .....

[igb]

Another fifty pages: The National Theatre is hideous, London has more theatres than other cities because it has enough tourists, Jews and gays to provide an audience, the staff at subsidised theatres are lazy, subsidised theatres are lazy, the RSC shouldn't have pulled out of the Barbican (Jan, are you _sure_ you didn't write this?), many BAFTA members have fat bottoms from eating too much location catering, Armisted Maupin is a gay Steinbeck, Tessa Jowell is sexier than expected...

The scene in which he arranges copies of a twenty-year old audio documentary he did about the RSC and gives them to all the actors, especially the younger ones who "may find it interesting", is priceless.

[Jan Brock]

igb, on 30 August 2011 - 11:41 AM, said:

(Jan, are you _sure_ you didn't write this

Quite sure, but I wish I had - it looks like the publishing event of the century and an instant cult classic:

"Trevor and Ian have decided that Lear will literally follow the meaning of “unaccommodated man” and strip naked in the storm. Ian Holm did it at the National and so did David Warner at Chichester. David, I remember, was remarkably well-endowed. I suppose I’ll have to show my all in the understudy rehearsals – but they can’t expect that much from an old man."

Anyway, I mustn't skip forward, let me start at Page 1.

[Michael H]

Excellent and amusing round up so far.  I read the excepts on the Telegraph website.

Quote

"certain members of the younger company"

Probably forgotten their names.

Quote

Tessa Jowell is sexier than expected...

Maybe.  My expectations would be pretty low, though.