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Hugh Laurie Delivers in Soapy British Political Drama ‘Roadkill’: TV Review

On October 29, 2020May 20, 2021 By helenistic No Comments

Soapy British Political Drama Delivers

By Rebecca Strassberg | October 29, 2020 | Variety

We’ve been conditioned — mostly thanks to corruption, greed and a steady abuse of power — to mistrust politicians. For many, skepticism is such a deep-rooted emotion when it comes to the government, even being too trustworthy becomes suspicious. But you need not worry, that isn’t that case for Hugh Laurie’s Peter Laurence, the center of PBS Masterpiece’s saucy political miniseries “Roadkill.” Go ahead and bank on those instincts. What begins as a straightforward story unravels into an interconnected evening soap, better paired with gin than tea and crumpets.

When introduced, well-known political figure Laurence has just won a libel lawsuit. A smug grin from ear to ear, he’s off to discuss it with Mick the Mouth on “Alltalk,” a trashy radio show on which he appears weekly. It seems par for the course these days that a once guarded political figure could go off the rails on the airwaves or social media. High off getting his way in the high court, Laurence says, “People like me because I break the rules,” foreshadowing what’s to come.

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Print Media Reviews Roadkill

Roadkill reviews: Critics heap praise on Hugh Laurie’s performance

On October 19, 2020May 20, 2021 By helenistic No Comments

Critics have given ‘Roadkill’ a mostly warm reception

by BBC Staff | October 19, 2020 | BBC News

Hugh Laurie as Laurence Peter — The Telegraph said Hugh Laurie was “charismatic” as fictional MP Peter Laurence

The four-parter, directed by Line of Duty’s Michael Keillor, stars Laurie as a controversial Conservative minister.

The cast also includes Us actors Saskia Reeves and Iain De Caestecker alongside Peaky Blinders star Helen McCrory.

Critics lauded the performances in the BBC drama but had some caveats, such as the “dodgy dialogue”.

Several newspaper critics bestowed four stars out of five on the first episode, which sees Laurie’s character Peter Laurence battling to stop both his public and private life falling apart against a backdrop of political plotting and intrigue.

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Interviews Print Media Roadkill

BBC Media Centre: Interview with Helen McCrory

On October 7, 2020May 16, 2021 By Gingersnap4Helen No Comments

Helen McCrory Plays Dawn Ellison in Roadkill

by Staff | BBC Media Centre | October 7, 2020

Dawn’s problem with Peter is that she doesn’t recognise him, and because she doesn’t recognise him, she doesn’t realise how dangerous he is.

— Helen McCrory

What attracted you to the role?
I knew David Hare’s work very well. When I came out of drama school and first worked at The National Theatre I saw Racing Demon and Murmuring Judges, he was doing a triple bill there at the time. I’ve seen his work but I’d never seen him write about right-wing politics and I think that has brought another edge to his work, which is so blunt, brutal, funny and scathing. It has a sharpness that I really enjoyed when I read it. All the characters are pretty venal, but they’re quick and they’re bright and they’re ambitious. They’re also honest and I think that that is a very interesting story to watch.

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Interviews Print Media The Deep Blue Sea

Helen McCrory: ‘This is a woman’s private space, invaded by others’

On July 9, 2020April 24, 2021 By helenistic No Comments

Revisiting The Deep Blue Sea

by Chris Wiegand | The Guardian | July 9, 2020

As the National Theatre streams a bold revival of Terence Rattigan’s The Deep Blue Sea, its star discusses a potent mix of sensuality and torment

‘It has a beautiful wisdom and simplicity’ ... Helen McCrory in The Deep Blue Sea. — ‘It has a beautiful wisdom and simplicity’ … Helen McCrory in The Deep Blue Sea. Photograph: Richard Hubert Smith/AP

Director Carrie Cracknell described one day in rehearsals with you as an “almost spiritual experience”. How would you define your collaborative relationship?

We first worked together on Medea in 2014. We took Ben Power’s new adaptation and delivered an all-singing, all-dancing production of a Greek tragedy set in the 20th century on to the massive Olivier stage in six weeks. So ours was a collaboration formed in the furnace. We worked together at breakneck speed. So when we came to work on The Deep Blue Sea, the task seemed much simpler.

I hope I speak for Carrie, too, when I say we now have an implicit trust and respect for each other. Carrie possesses a rare quality that all the best directors have: no ego. The best solution in the rehearsal room is used, she has no concern who it belongs to, just that the play is served. She encourages everyone to trust their instincts and never attempts to dominate but quietly edits, taking ideas and losing others. The Deep Blue Sea was one of the most profoundly happy experiences I have ever had in a rehearsal room. She has a gentleness and non-judgmental quality that make you feel you could do anything. I hope we have the opportunity to do it again.

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Print Media Quiz Reviews Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking

Quiz Finale Recap: The Court of Public Opinion

On June 14, 2020May 19, 2021 By helenistic No Comments

The Court of Public Opinion

By Emma Dibdin | June 14, 2020 | Vulture

Ironically for a story about trivia, Quiz is built around an unanswerable question. Charles and Diana Ingram and Tecwen Whittock were found guilty of cheating, but still maintain their innocence, and it’s likely nobody but them will ever know the full truth. And just in case we were still in any doubt about how thoroughly the makers of Quiz have embraced this ambiguity, the finale ends with an imaginary Chris Tarrant breaking the fourth wall to echo our collective thoughts: “So, come on then. What’s the answer, after all that? Tell us. It’s killing me.”

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