The Escape Artist Director: "Working With David Tennant Is Something Else"

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhihLD79h86rDKUTRQ-RHfqtYPDMA6nU5oF35v9py2tY3fzApuOu_Dhrjre7UiTHrOVqVMoQoQSSvuk7anx2S22fYSqe_SXUTh3peQ9ptcBjSOmjJbjz7_Re6Z_mKy_eYyetC3-kxE_kSU/s1600/thees7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhihLD79h86rDKUTRQ-RHfqtYPDMA6nU5oF35v9py2tY3fzApuOu_Dhrjre7UiTHrOVqVMoQoQSSvuk7anx2S22fYSqe_SXUTh3peQ9ptcBjSOmjJbjz7_Re6Z_mKy_eYyetC3-kxE_kSU/s640/thees7.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Interview with Brian Welsh, the director of David Tennant's new BBC One drama, The Escape Artist:</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Can you tell us what the title ‘The Escape Artist’ means to you?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The story is about Will Burton who is a criminal defence barrister. He’s at the top of his game and he spends his days getting criminals off on technicalities and using his amazing brain to work his way through evidence. ‘The Escape Artist’ refers to his ability to escape from any situation.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Where would you place The Escape Artist in terms of genre?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I would probably describe The Escape Artist as a legal drama that you never feel safe in. You know that there is danger. It’s totally unique.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What was your vision for the piece?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When I first looked at the script I almost saw it as a mixture of genres. In one way it is a courtroom drama and in another way it’s a Hitchcock-esque thriller. There’s also an emotional family theme at its heart, which deals with loss and grief. So that was one of the things that drew me to it, because I didn’t see it like other courtroom dramas.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How did you try to avoid clichés in the courtroom scenes?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We made a choice to use a big courtroom (courtroom one in the Old Bailey) that allowed us a lot of space and the opportunity to manoeuvre the camera around the environment in quite a unique way. I tried at all times to avoid descending into the clichés that we all know too well (i.e. do you swear by the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth). We tried to keep to the information that was necessary for the story and also the information that had an emotional resonance for the story.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">David Tennant plays Will, can you tell us about casting the role?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Well, David was on the show before I came to it, but working with him is something else. He’s a force of nature. It’s an incredible gift to be able to learn pages and pages of really complicated legal jargon and dialogue, whilst keeping an honest emotional truthfulness throughout. He’s a special man.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How much rehearsal did you do with David?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We talked a lot about the moral complexity of the piece. There’s almost a Machiavellian element to Will’s character. We also met some criminal barristers who had this swagger and charm about them, as well as wit and intellect, these were the attributes that allowed them to win in this ‘game’ that is essentially it. David and I spent time going through the script before we began filming about some of the subtext decisions. The script is really rich with subtext. We also played a lot on set, in some cases there was a number of ways in which it could go and David was great with it.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Can you tell us about Kate and Will’s relationship, and why it was so important to have Ashley playing Will’s partner?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When I read the script for the first time Ashley Jensen was the first person that came to my mind. She has a warmth and intelligence that felt like a great contrast to Will’s work environment. I think she really demonstrates the strength and stability of his home. I didn’t want the character to be a stereotype in any way, which was why it was so great that as soon as Ashley came in she was just full of ideas.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Can you tell us about Toby Kebbell’s character, Foyle?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I knew absolutely that Foyle had to be able to battle with Will’s intellect, and be as smart if not smarter than him at times. The story is essentially about these two guys and their slightly animalistic competition with each other. Toby, whom I’ve worked with before, I knew would elevate this character off the page. I talked to Toby a lot before starting about how we could really push David Tennant’s buttons. One of the most exciting scenes for me, even at the script stage, was when the two of them meet for the first time. There’s not a lot of action or high drama, it’s just two guys speaking. However, it’s the richness in subtext and what’s going on between them that make it so much more interesting to me.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Can you tell us about Monica Dolan and her character?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Monica Dolan is an actress whom I have admired for a very long time. She came onto the show very late and I was nervous because we didn’t have very much time to chat, apart from a two-hour phone conversation. We discussed this female character who is on the parish council and is quite sexually repressed. She sees this charming man who appears to be a pillar of the community, almost like a rock star. Monica is so wide open and instinctive as an actress that we shot a lot of her stuff on one day.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Could you tell us about Sophie Okenado and her character Maggie?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was really keen to cast Sophie as Maggie from the outset. I knew that she had some innate personal attributes that felt very in tune with Maggie. There was also something about her ethnicity and her desire to succeed in the Oxbridge-elite world that I knew Sophie could really identify with. There’s something about the way that she works, the rawness, the freedom she brings to it that’s the type of acting I really love. I’ve never seen Sophie do something twice from take to take.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In terms of Maggie’s character she’s always second place to Will. They regularly engage in sparring matches and he often takes her out when she least expects it. She’s utterly driven to try and beat him. Through this story she makes some decisions to try and put herself in that place, ultimately some real darkness comes out in her soul as well.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What was it like to film in the historical areas of London such as the old Bailey?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It was amazing to be in that environment. Quite early on we came up with a colour pallet for the look of the show, I wanted it to have a heavy, dark feel. I was amazed at how nicely The Old Bailey fitted in with our film noir vision. Then we found Kingston which had the same architect as the courtroom we used in the Old Bailey. It was important for us to stay authentic to that world but also to maintain the look we wanted.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There are some interesting, small scenes in the script like cancelling a subscription, why did you include moments like that?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Another thing that drew me to the script was that it explores grief in a very honest way. It deals with the everyday mundane things that one has to cope with after the trauma of loss. It could be cancelling insurance, or a bank card, or trying to get their password for something, and having to deal with these robots on the end of the phone who don’t understand what you’ve gone through. I suppose the bureaucracy of losing someone is beautifully illustrated in the script and was something that I could really identify with.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How was your relationship with David Wolstencroft?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When I came on board we only had the first script. I really enjoyed working with David and feeding through ideas, he’s a really collaborative writer. I had a lot of questions about Will’s character and also thematic questions on law and the legal system etc. David and I spent hours talking about that, and I enjoyed the collaboration.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Was having the audience jump out of their skin something you really wanted to happen?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Definitely. I think it’s important in a show like this where you have so much suspense and fear, you need those ‘jump’ moments. It’s part of what the audience buys into anyway.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How did you create that suspense?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It really is all about what you hold back and what you show. Trying to find a balance between the information that you need to feel that impending fear of doom, and what’s best left to the imagination. Also there’s choosing the right points for music and not pre-empting things too much. It’s an on going process that continues into the edit and beyond. You’re essentially always playing around to try and maximize those moments.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you were going to get somebody to watch The Escape Artist what would you say to them?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I wouldn’t want to say too much about the show because it’s so surprising in so many ways. I guess part of the beauty of it is that it’s a mixture of so many genres and you never quite know what’s coming next. I guess I would just plea to them to trust me because it will take you on a real journey.</span></div>

BBC One David Tennant The Escape Artist TV Drama The Escape Artist Director: "Working With David Tennant Is Something Else"

Interview with Brian Welsh, the director of David Tennant's new BBC One drama, The Escape Artist: Can you tell us what the title ‘The Es...

Read more »

Truths About Fish Oil Weight Loss

<div style='font-style:italic;' class='uawbyline'>By Dr. Mary Butler</div><br /><br /> <div class='uawarticle'>Fish oil may or may not help you with weight management, or more specifically, fat management. Several factors come into play, some of which can enhance the positive effects of fish oil and others of which can undermine them.<br /> <br /> A multitude of studies have examined the potential effects of fish oil weight loss. Unfortunately, relatively few have shown how other factors might influence the results, either positively or negatively. This is why so many studies listed on PubMed, our national medical database, show contradictory results.<br /> <br /> In examining one study that compares fish oil vs. sunflower oil, from a 2007 article in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, we can see why results can vary. This and other such comparative reports point out the positive effects of omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil as well as the negative effects of omega-6 fatty acids in sunflower oil.<br /> <br /> In addition, this study also showed that a crucial factor for getting positive effects from fish oil is exercise. Even moderate exercise, such as walking for 45 minutes at 75 percent of age-predicted maximal heart rate, just 3 days each week, boosts the benefits of fish oil. In the absence of exercise, the effects of fish oil are insignificant.<br /> <br /> The bottom line among all the seemingly contradictory results of studies that entail the effects of fish oil on weight loss can be summarized in four take-home lessons:<br /> <br /> 1) The overabundance of omega-6 fatty acids from vegetable oils negates the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil. Our modern dietary intake of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids is in a ratio of about 20:1. It should be closer to 2:1. Consume less vegetable oil and more fish oil.<br /> <br /> 2) The benefits of dietary fish oil for fat loss and lean body mass are boosted by even moderate exercise. Such benefits are insignificant in the absence of exercise.<br /> <br /> 3) The positive effects from consuming fish oil are also negated by dietary sugar. Fructose and its ubiquitous occurrence in foods and beverages in the form of high fructose corn syrup can be particulary powerful in undermining the benefits of fish oil.<br /> <br /> 4) The daily amount of fish oil is crucial. It should be at least 1.5 grams, with 2-3 grams being even better. It is also important to take fish oil supplements that have the highest amounts of EPA and DHA, which are the two main omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil.<br /> <br /> </div><br /> <div class='uawresource'><br /> <div style='font-style:italic;' class='uawabout'><br /> About the Author:<br /> </div><br /> <div class='uawlinks'>Find out what real science has to say about fat loss at <a href="http://fatlossbiology.com/">FatLossBiology.com</a>.</div><br /> </div><br />

Truths About Fish Oil Weight Loss

By Dr. Mary Butler Fish oil may or may not help you with weight management, or more specifically, fat management. Several factors come i...

Read more »

The Escape Artist Producers: "David Tennant is one of the most extraordinary actors I’ve ever worked with."

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDYIaSP-qV-yXlGarl4UKdnutuTtwCYkslArREpOMW2onNH_7B7WiG38Xi7R8YwDbQ14nfiAnAX3RlDfNt3PvkzGJBI8DZze1Pgyitszqhy6tiNKNcwsjUznU-P1AdmaUDMiKeqLkRH_c/s1600/thees6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDYIaSP-qV-yXlGarl4UKdnutuTtwCYkslArREpOMW2onNH_7B7WiG38Xi7R8YwDbQ14nfiAnAX3RlDfNt3PvkzGJBI8DZze1Pgyitszqhy6tiNKNcwsjUznU-P1AdmaUDMiKeqLkRH_c/s640/thees6.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><h1 class="minisite" style="clear: left; letter-spacing: -1px; margin: 0px; padding: 11px 8px 6px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></h1><h1 class="minisite" style="clear: left; letter-spacing: -1px; margin: 0px; padding: 11px 8px 6px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">Interview with The Escape Artists producers, Hilary Bevan Jones and Paul Frift:</span></h1><div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="section" id="section-1" style="background-color: white; line-height: 13px; margin: 0px 0px 32px;"><h2 style="border-color: rgb(20, 122, 200); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 3px; margin: 0px 0px 4px; padding: 6px 1px 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Hilary Bevan Jones</span></h2><div class="content content-rich-text"><div class="richtext"><div style="line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">David Wolstencroft has described your relationship as a ‘will they won’t they’ romance with regards to ever working together. Why now and why this project?</span></strong></div><div style="line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">David and I have wanted to work together for ages, but then he moved out of the country. Then we had a lovely lunch at BAFTA and that’s when the moment was right. He told me this idea and I leapt at it, within a couple of hours the working script had come around to my office and within another hour I’d read it and I’d told him I wanted to do it. So it all happened very quickly.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What was so appealing about the script?</span></strong></div><div style="line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There are so many different elements to The Escape Artist and that’s why I find it so appetising. When I first read it and the story unravelled something happened which actually made me jump a foot out of my seat. I was really shaken and really surprised. David’s writing always manages to surprise me and I absolutely love that.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Could you tell us a bit about the casting?</span></strong></div><div style="line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">David Tennant was the first choice for Will so that was fantastic when he said yes. We then wanted somebody you absolutely believe he could have a very sexy but happy relationship with, and Ashley Jensen was again a first thought, and is perfect. For Maggie, Brian Welsh had worked with Sophie a lot, and I had been longing to work with her for years.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I think Toby Kebbell brings what Will could have been in another life, in another time to the role of Foyle. Foyle is not the most pleasant of people but there’s something attractive about him, there’s a sensuality, a charisma. They’re both magnetic and I think magnets do sometimes attract and sometimes they repel and we really needed that dynamic at the core of the piece.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What did Brian Welsh bring to the project?</span></strong></div><div style="line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It’s the first time I’ve worked with Brian. I really loved Black Mirror, it was sensational and I knew other actors that had worked with him and they all spoke very highly of him. I think what he brings is an absolute focus, he’s wonderful with the cast but he also has a real vision for the whole piece. This is quite a tapestry so you need somebody who can stand back and make sure it all comes together and he does that really well.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Why is this suited to television in particular?</span></strong></div><div style="line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To be honest TV gives you extra time, it’s that simple. There is nothing else that would warrant it not being on a big screen except that 180 minutes is a bit long. You can explore the characters more and get into the nuances, where as in a movie of 100 minutes you can’t quite have the same scope. You can have scale obviously but you can’t get into those little extras.</span></div></div></div></div><div class="section" id="section-2" style="background-color: white; line-height: 13px; margin: 0px 0px 32px;"><h2 style="border-color: rgb(20, 122, 200); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 3px; margin: 0px 0px 4px; padding: 6px 1px 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Paul Frift</span></h2><div class="content content-rich-text"><div class="richtext"><div style="line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How did you get involved with the project?</span></strong></div><div style="line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hilary called me quite early on and I was very excited because we hadn’t worked together since State Of Play. Though since then we worked together on Restless. When she told me it was a contemporary legal thriller written by David Wolstencroft, creator of Spooks I became even more excited. Then she told me it was going to star David Tennant, and the excitement levels went straight through the roof!</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What do you think the story is really about?</span></strong></div><div style="line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I guess it’s something to do with the existence of good and evil in life. Legal dramas tend to work out who is innocent or who is guilty, so it’s to do with that hunt for justice. I’ve always been fascinated by legal dramas in the sense that it is something that has been going on for centuries. When you get to the trial there’s something about that event - prosecution, defence, jury, judge - seeing that on film brings out that sense of justice in all of us.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How did you make sure everything was legally accurate?</span></strong></div><div style="line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We have a legal advisor who is a QC, Andrew Jeffries. We went to watch him at The Old Bailey and there’s certainly something of an actor in him and I think probably in every barrister because they are having to sell something to their public, the jury.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Were there any challenges on the shoot?</span></strong></div><div style="line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Shooting in Scotland was very challenging. It was snowing, very cold, possibly the coldest I’ve ever felt on a film location, and I’ve filmed in Iceland and Austria but this was very, very cold. It was a real challenge for the actors as they’re a bit more exposed than us - completely layered up in our clothing. We try and make them as warm as we possibly can but I think they are quite incredible to keep their concentration and deliver even in those circumstances. The crew too were incredibly professional, they just kept going.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Can you talk about working with David Tennant?</span></strong></div><div style="line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">David is one of the most extraordinary actors I’ve ever worked with. He’s incredibly professional, very good technically, he seems to be able to remember lines like no other actor I’ve come across. I think this role will take him to places no other role has taken him recently. I think it really pushes him to give a fantastic performance.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What made you choose Brian Welsh to direct?</span></strong></div><div style="line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We looked at Black Mirror and Mayday, they were both very striking pieces of television. Brian is young, he’s fresh, he’s got a lot of new ideas and it’s been a great joy working with him. I think he is really trying to bring out the Hitchcockian tension in the drama. He’s also extremely good with actors, he’s an actors director and we like that. And he’s very good at the visual side of it. He’s doing a great job.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Could you talk more about the visuals and look of the show?</span></strong></div><div style="line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Well we’re also very lucky to have David Higgs as our cinematographer. He is extremely experienced and gives all of the visuals a very rich look. His operating style is very dynamic, and he brings out all of the different aspects of the drama.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What about the location choices?</span></strong></div><div style="line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In terms of locations, there is a distinction between the very ancient and the modern. The legal world has been around for centuries and our characters live in the modern world so we chose some very ultra modern loft apartments for both Will and Maggie, and of course The Old Bailey, Middle Temple and the High Court in Scotland bring a great contrast to the piece and it works very well.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What audience are you aiming at with The Escape Artist?</span></strong></div><div style="line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Every so often a thriller comes along that bites into what the audience wants and pushes all their buttons, and that’s what we’re hoping to do with this.</span></div></div></div></div></div>

BBC One David Tennant The Escape Artist TV Drama The Escape Artist Producers: "David Tennant is one of the most extraordinary actors I’ve ever worked with."

Interview with The Escape Artists producers, Hilary Bevan Jones and Paul Frift: Hilary Bevan Jones David Wolstencroft has described your rel...

Read more »

David Wolstencroft On The Escape Artist: "David Tennant Inhabits The Part Completely"

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6LOWRHjWwGq6_6h-r9P-ecqkKN7jaUHG1xHJhUX0Iw6YNrqWHpEtWEqYEBvOZtbstDFIlu0JVS9Xg4fb9AhRWk9TlMgcxZMBDHlD8f-gSOG4Lc3DJhs7qHQ_OfFD1buVIGE-wYglZKU8/s1600/thees5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6LOWRHjWwGq6_6h-r9P-ecqkKN7jaUHG1xHJhUX0Iw6YNrqWHpEtWEqYEBvOZtbstDFIlu0JVS9Xg4fb9AhRWk9TlMgcxZMBDHlD8f-gSOG4Lc3DJhs7qHQ_OfFD1buVIGE-wYglZKU8/s640/thees5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Escape Artists writer David Wolstencroft talks about the new BBC One drama:</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Why did you choose ‘The Escape Artist’ as the title?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Titles just materialise. When I created Spooks, that title was literally the first thing I wrote, at the top of the notepad. It was exactly the same with The Escape Artist. I knew I wanted to write a legal drama that had aspects of a Hitchcockian thriller to it. Something that didn’t go the usual way these types of stories can go, I wanted to give it an air of mystery and menace.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Can you tell us what makes this crime drama different?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There’s a tendency with legal stories to get caught up in the intellectual side of things rather than the emotional underbelly. I wanted to do something that from the gut rather than something that was about the ins and outs of the law, although this does of course involve that but I tried to frame it in a different way.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Can you tell us about the character of Will?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Will is the master of the machine that is the legal system. I wanted to write a story about someone who gets out of that machine and is promptly run over by it. I’ve had personal experiences with legal process both here and in America, and all of those experiences have resulted in me thinking deep, raw, primal thoughts. You’re dealing with these spectacularly complex legal concepts, having these meetings that are full of legal gibberish, and yet the overall feeling for me was one of boiling fury. I was like a caged animal, and so I wanted to put that into this story of a criminal barrister.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How important are Will’s family to his journey?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our private life often tells a more truthful story about ourselves that the one we project professionally. Will’s world - his marriage, his relationship with his son, is paramount in this story. It helps us identify with him. I don’t imagine I could be a lawyer or do what Will does, but he’s committed to his family, and that’s something I relate to very much. I think that creates a powerful emotional connection.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Did you have casting in mind when writing?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I rarely have anyone in mind when I write because I think that sometimes limits the character. In any case the right actor will also bring their own stuff to it. I have been very lucky in that David Tennant does just inhabit the part completely.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ashley and David had worked together before, that must have helped in terms of casting?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was so excited when we were talking about Ashley joining the cast as I’ve long admired her work in Ugly Betty and in Extras. I knew that working with them both was going to be a lot of fun because they’ve got a short hand together.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Could you tell us a bit about the part of Maggie played by Sophie Okonedo?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I think Will, Maggie and Foyle all share an element of the psychopath about them. What I love about Maggie and what Sophie has done with the character is she gives the impression that she would truly stop at nothing in order to succeed - but she never does go that far, she’s a brilliant lawyer.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How did you feel about Toby Kebbell being cast as Foyle?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was blown away by what Toby did. He was like a de-tuned television walking around the set. Deeply unsettling. The scenes between Foyle and Eileen especially. Those scenes really are messed up. When I wrote them I had an image in my mind on just how dark it would be but they went completely into the basement.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Was the character of Foyle based on any real-life criminals?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">No, but I think he evolved out of the need for him to be in the script. In as much as I wanted him to be as engaging a nemesis as possible. He needed to be intelligent and manipulative a classic villain. I also wanted him to have an emotional response, he stays very much true to what he believes in, even as a psychopath he goes into very dark hellish places but he still stands up for what he believes in, in a horrible way. He’s a man of honour, perversely, but the wires are all jumbled.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How did you put the twists and turns of the story together?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I did what I always do – I wrote myself into a corner and waited to see what happened. Will helped me get there, by that stage I knew him and although it sounds weird he sort of helped me do that.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Are there hints that Foyle and Will could have swapped places?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There are a lot of mirror scenes in the script to make that point. Brian (Welsh) does a great job in showing it using reflections in people’s glasses, mirrors on walls etc. That’s part of what I think the ambition has always been, to show reflections between the characters, showing their similarities. There are a lot of ways to approach the show that aren’t just about who done it and how.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Why did you choose television rather than film to tell the story?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I’m a TV addict. I grew up with the big event series like Cracker, House Of Cards, Edge Of Darkness. And the bar keeps being raised, which speaking personally as a writer I respond to very much. Look at something like Sherlock, and the way they tell stories on that show. I think television does allow you to inhabit a world in a way film doesn’t. I also wanted this to return. The BBC have been really supportive in that regard, they really got it from the beginning and we all wanted to make the same thing so it seemed like a perfect fit.</span></div>

BBC One David Tennant David Wolstencroft The Escape Artist TV Drama David Wolstencroft On The Escape Artist: "David Tennant Inhabits The Part Completely"

The Escape Artists writer David Wolstencroft talks about the new BBC One drama: Why did you choose ‘The Escape Artist’ as the title? Titles ...

Read more »

Ashely Jensen: "I think there are a lot of women that would be slightly jealous of my bedroom scenes with David Tennant"

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDiUY-F6ouyupFt7cZprqfjNPXQRpWrMP5HZqPMwZdajxEdW2dxwVYPB_xh8qREJOPeMa4KktB0iYDF7iCa7B36vkFWEIfCCc2_aDrAGnzmIXAXC65f3eGg8EnEQ_Y3B8qNm1qvn_fXKQ/s1600/thees2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDiUY-F6ouyupFt7cZprqfjNPXQRpWrMP5HZqPMwZdajxEdW2dxwVYPB_xh8qREJOPeMa4KktB0iYDF7iCa7B36vkFWEIfCCc2_aDrAGnzmIXAXC65f3eGg8EnEQ_Y3B8qNm1qvn_fXKQ/s640/thees2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">David Tennant's The Escape Artists co star Ashley Jensen has been chatting about working on the BBC drama:</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It’s a fantastic script - was that what drew you to the part?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I think every actor says it ultimately comes down to the script. In this case the script was such a brilliantly executed story, with very complex moral dilemmas, that I couldn’t say no. Quite often when you read a script you find that life gets in the way, you have to do something else and you get distracted, but this was a genuine page-turner, so I really, really liked it.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You take different jobs for different reasons and I think because David and I have a good rapport it will add to the impact of the story. I wanted to be part of that.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How do the producer and director manage to reflect the twists and turns of the script in the finished films?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The way it’s been shot very much sets the tone for the whole piece. It’s a collaboration of course, the casting, lighting, directing just as much as the writing of the script, but to have the wonderful base to work from is always a great place to start. When I first discussed it with our director Brian he told me that he wanted to shoot it like a Hitchcock thriller, so it would have subtle lighting and interesting shots, and indeed from what I’ve seen he’s achieved that.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">David Wolstencroft describes The Escape Artist as a thriller set against a legal back-drop?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That’s what’s so interesting. You can almost set a thriller anywhere but I do think it is fascinating to watch the British legal system in action. The story has several different levels - David is going on this journey where he has to address things that he has believed in all his life. He’s questioning his whole way of thinking and his life has just been turned on its head so I think this is an intellectual show as much as it is a thriller. With any good thriller you should get to the point where you ask yourself, what would I do? The Escape Artist absolutely does that. If you’re asking yourself those questions then that’s good story telling.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Did it make accepting the job easier knowing David Tennant was going to be your on-screen husband?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">David and I knew each other from 20 years ago. We did theatre together in Scotland and then worked in theatre together 10 years later. We’ve kept in touch throughout that time which helps when you’re playing a married couple that need to be so familiar with each other. I think there are a lot of women that would be slightly jealous of my bedroom scenes with David Tennant - but it’s all part of the job!</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You’re known for both your dramatic and comedic roles – do you approach them differently?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I wouldn’t say I approach drama in a particularly different way to comedy. If anything I approach American and British comedy a little differently. All of the American comedy I’ve done is quite often about the lines, whereas the British comedy is about the space between the lines and the things that are not said.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What was the shoot like for you as a whole?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I seemed to be literally on my back the whole time. I was in a bath on my back, I was in a bed on my back. So I would get up and walk into work then lie down. The glamour of it all!</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What was it like working with Monica Dolan?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Monica is a friend of mine. It’s funny actually - I was just saying earlier that when women get to the age of 40 they’re split into two categories - you’re either playing the Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction or the Anne Archer in Fatal Attraction. My good friend Monica is definitely Glenn Close and I’m definitely Anne Archer!</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What is the dynamic like between your character and Maggie?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I think women can be their own worst enemies sometimes. Maggie is so deeply patronising to Kate but it’s Maggie’s insecurity and her need to constantly prove things to herself. Kate is the bigger woman I think because she is very secure in her relationship. Maggie wants affirmation whereas Kate is very secure in who she is and what she has, so it doesn’t really affect her.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What were the producers Hilary Bevan Jones and Paul Frift like to work with?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">They have a body of work that is BAFTA winning, with wonderful, eclectic, interesting scripts, so knowing the calibre of work they have behind them you always felt in safe hands. They were always around and they really were brilliant producers!</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The story is heavily set in British law, could that be an issue for international viewers?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I think really this is a morality tale of good and evil, and those themes are universal – so in terms of a drama and a thriller it works for everyone. I also think it is quite interesting for an international audience to see how British law works because it is so steeped in history. It’s not like Judge Judy - we still wear wigs and there are rules you have to adhere to and speeches that people have to make. It was fascinating for me as I didn’t really know much about it before.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How was it working within such an ensemble cast?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I think we got a certain calibre of actors wanting to be a part of The Escape Artist because they believed in the script and in Brian and David’s vision for the films. It’s a very creative piece of filmmaking and as an actor that’s always exciting to be part of. Gus, who played my on screen son Jamie, was absolutely brilliant, I think child actors these days seem to be getting better and better. He was so free and very receptive. Before a scene we would have a bit of banter and he didn’t get shy or embarrassed or coy or feel silly about it and he was very much there and very open.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Did you feel at all protective towards Gus given some of the darker subject matter?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Well Gus wasn’t allowed on set for the more disturbing scenes. Production went to great lengths to do that which was the right thing to do. He was completely unperturbed by it. Gus, I believe, is 12 but looks a lot younger.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You must have felt at home with all the Scottish accents?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It’s always nice to hear the dulcet tones of a Scottish accent. I spent six yours in America being the only Scottish person. I used to make jokes about being the token jock and of course out there a jock is a totally different thing and they all said, ‘what you play football?’ and I found myself having to explain my sense of humour.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Why should people tune in for the show?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I want people to watch it because good drama makes you question things and question yourself, like a good book can and going to the theatre makes you have a discussion afterwards. This is the sort of piece that will have the audience asking themselves what would they do in that situation, and what would provoke them to make them go that far?</span></div>

Ashley Jensen BBC One interview The Escape Artist TV Drama Ashely Jensen: "I think there are a lot of women that would be slightly jealous of my bedroom scenes with David Tennant"

David Tennant's The Escape Artists co star Ashley Jensen has been chatting about working on the BBC drama: It’s a fantastic script - was...

Read more »

Today's Teamster News 10.11.13

<a href="http://www.teamster.org/content/hoffa-secret-us-euro-backroom-trade-talks-are-more-same" rel="nofollow">Hoffa: Secret U.S. - Euro Backroom Trade Talks Are More Of The Same</a>  teamster.org   ...An article in Wednesday’s New York Times details how corporate leaders met last year with European officials on the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) months before trade negotiations officially began...<br /><a href="http://www.teamsters117.org/teamsters_agreement_prevents_layoffs_at_workforce_central" rel="nofollow">Teamsters' Agreement Prevents Layoffs at Workforce Central</a>  Teamsters Local 117   ...Members of Teamsters Local 117, employed at Workforce Central in Tacoma, have voted to forgo their contractual rights and significantly reduce their hours in order to prevent layoffs, which would have otherwise resulted during the federal government shutdown...<br /><a href="http://www.teamster.org/UPS" rel="nofollow">Five UPS Supplement Ballots Counted</a>  teamster.org   ...Ballots have been counted for five UPS local supplements/riders so far, and four have passed. Go to <a href="http://www.teamster.org/UPS" rel="nofollow">www.teamster.org/UPS</a> and <a href="http://www.upscontractrfacts.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.upscontractrfacts.com/</a> to view the results...<br /><a href="http://triblive.com/neighborhoods/yourmckeesport/yourmckeesportmore/4853839-74/agreement-janocsko-police#axzz2hLHlVin0" rel="nofollow">Whitaker council approves police deal</a>  McKeesport Daily News   ...Whitaker council unanimously approved a three-year agreement Wednesday for its police force with Teamsters Local 205 in White Oak, Pennsylvania. The workers will see their wages increase by $1.40 over the next three years...<br /><a href="http://www.calaborfed.org/index.php/page/legislators_travel_to_hanford_express_support_for_marquez_brothers_workers" rel="nofollow">Legislators Travel to Hanford Express Support for Marquez Brothers Workers</a>  California Labor Federation   ...In August, 200 workers at a Marquez Brothers cheese production plant in Hanford (Kings County) voted to join Teamsters Local 517 in Visalia, Calif. Last week, three Assembly members drove eight hours to meet with them and demonstrate their commitment for California Latinos to realize the American Dream…<br /><a href="http://www.tristate-media.com/pdclarion/article_120f6776-314f-11e3-950b-001a4bcf887a.html" rel="nofollow">Hurst: Privatized sanitation might not cost jobs</a>  Princeton Daily Clarion   ...The Teamsters Union represents half the workforce within Princeton’s (Indiana) water, sanitation and sewer departments, but according to Mayor Bob Hurst, only seven people would be affected if the city decides to privatize its sanitation system...<br /><a href="http://www.timesheraldonline.com/news/ci_24274816/berkeley-pyramid-brewery-workers-protest-layoffs" rel="nofollow">Berkeley: Pyramid Brewery workers protest layoffs</a>  Vallejo Times Herald   ...Cat Wiest, a laid-off Pyramid Brewery worker and shop steward, doesn't buy her bosses' contention that the company must furlough the 15 workers at its Gilman Street location for six to nine months while the facility undergoes upgrades. She suspects the real reason for the layoffs is due to the August 7 election when 12 of the 15 workers voted to join the Teamsters...<br /><a href="http://mynorthwest.com/11/2371827/Grocery-strike-looms-as-negotiations-resume" rel="nofollow">Grocery strike looms as negotiations resume</a>  KIRO News   ...Unions, including the Teamsters, are lining up to support Seattle-area grocery workers if they go on strike due to failed negotiations...<br /><a href="http://truth-out.org/buzzflash/commentary/item/18247-florida-woman-threatens-bankster-s-life-with-a-gun-and-gets-dad-s-million-dollars-returned" rel="nofollow">Florida Woman Threatens Bankster's Life With a Gun and Gets Dad's Million Dollars Returned</a>  Truthout   ...Daphne Davis invited a top bank executive to her office at the Piggly Wiggly grocery in Apalachicola, pulled out a Smith & Wesson .40-caliber pistol and threatened to shoot him dead. "I told him my face would be the last one he would see if he didn't get Daddy that paperwork," Davis said. The documents came 20 minutes later...<br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/10/08-4" rel="nofollow">Hell No! to Citizens United 2.0</a>  Common Dreams   ...The Supreme Court of the United States is poised to continue dismantling restrictions on money in politics in a new case that begins today: McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission...<br /><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/09/military-death-benefits-denied-shutdown" rel="nofollow">White House to restore military death benefits denied in wake of shutdown</a>  Guardian   ...Solution expected following mounting outrage over denial of benefits to families of service members killed in action...<br /><a href="http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/226957321.html" rel="nofollow">Government efforts to protect health and safety are slowed or halted as shutdown lingers</a>  Associated Press   ...The government shutdown has slowed or halted federal efforts to protect Americans' health and safety, from probes into the cause of transportation and workplace accidents to tracking foodborne illness...<br /><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/10/07/this-cancer-patients-treatment-is-on-hold-because-of-the-government-shutdown/" rel="nofollow">This cancer patient’s treatment is on hold because of the government shutdown</a>  Washington Post   ...In April 2012, Michelle Langbehn was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer that affects 1 percent of cancer patients in the U.S.. After nine months of chemotherapy, she and her doctor began looking into other potential treatment options, including a trial at the National Institutes of Health, which is now on hold because of the government shutdown...<br /><a href="http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/207311/the-5-creepiest-things-about-how-the-koch-brothers-engineered-the-shutdown/">The 5 creepiest things about how the Koch brothers engineered the shutdown</a>  Death and Taxes Magazine   ...This weekend, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/06/us/a-federal-budget-crisis-months-in-the-planning.html?pagewanted=1&_r=4&hp&">The New York Times</a> revealed how the Koch Brothers and Reagan Attorney General Ed Meese engineered this here shutdown we’re dealing with right now, and how they’d been planning it ever since Obama was reelected...<br /><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/09/richest-1-percent-wealth_n_4072658.html?utm_hp_ref=business" rel="nofollow">Richest 1 Percent Hold 46 Percent Of The World's Wealth</a>  Reuters   ...Global wealth has risen by 68 percent over the past 10 years to reach a new all-time high of $241 trillion and the United States accounts for nearly three quarters of the increase, Credit Suisse said in its World Wealth Report...<br /><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/10/food-stamps_n_4076938.html?utm_hp_ref=business&ir=Business" rel="nofollow">Anxiety As Stimulus Hike To Food Stamps Set To End</a>  Associated Press   ...A temporary increase in food stamps expires Oct. 31, meaning for millions of Americans, the benefits that help put food on the table won't stretch as far as they have for the past four years...<br /><a href="http://www.newyorkwater.org/content/newsletters/13_jul_aug_supplement.pdf" rel="nofollow">TPP - Trading In Our Sovereignty Fast-Track to a Train Wreck</a>  Croton Watershed Clean Water Coalition, Inc.   ...Imagine that all we have done to protect our lands, lives and livelihoods from fracking, secretively signed away. Imagine our right to redress grievances bypassed by a tribunal of private sector corporate lawyers, with no chance to appeal their legally binding determinations...<br /><a href="http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/10/09/preventable-medical-errors.aspx" rel="nofollow">New Report: Preventable Medical Mistakes Account for One-Sixth of All Annual Deaths in the United States</a>  Mercola.com   ...Our conventional health care system is in desperate need of radical change, and the findings published in a new report clearly backs up this assertion...<br /><a href="http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/dark_money_group_wins_irs_recognition_as_tax-exempt_nonprofit_20131008" rel="nofollow">Dark Money Group Wins IRS Recognition as Tax-Exempt Nonprofit</a>  Pro-Publica   ...The IRS has granted nonprofit status to America Is Not Stupid 2013 a so-called dark money group best known for a 2012 <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz6qcM10nUA&feature=youtu.be" rel="nofollow">election ad</a> featuring a talking baby who compared the smell of his diaper with a Montana senator...<br /><a href="http://www.afscme.org/blog/afscme-members-fighting-to-maintain-pension-and-protect-public-against-tea-party-ballot-measure" rel="nofollow">AFSCME Members Fighting to Maintain Pension and Protect Public Against Tea Party Ballot Measure</a>  AFSCME   ...If a tea party-backed ballot measure to privatize Cincinnati’s municipal employee retirement system passes, retirement security for 7,500 workers, retirees and survivors will be gone...<br /><br /><br />

Today's Teamster News 10.11.13

Hoffa: Secret U.S. - Euro Backroom Trade Talks Are More Of The Same   teamster.org   ...An article in Wednesday’s New York Times details ho...

Read more »

The Escape Artist Introduction And Character Profiles

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLls34O0QgTOEaxytOr888C2cKwtKlfVLksw5xwm2shU3BPBa1P5Na-TL0R8-xC8OC7CCBYVp74fGKJI_D58ByIFmWTQ6b1Cek9ChAZWiKr9Z9aU37FBnrGl4orkYjCob6NueG2q5Eqho/s1600/escapeartpromo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLls34O0QgTOEaxytOr888C2cKwtKlfVLksw5xwm2shU3BPBa1P5Na-TL0R8-xC8OC7CCBYVp74fGKJI_D58ByIFmWTQ6b1Cek9ChAZWiKr9Z9aU37FBnrGl4orkYjCob6NueG2q5Eqho/s640/escapeartpromo.jpg" width="424" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-weight: bold; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-weight: bold; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-weight: bold; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Escape Artist is a new three-part legal thriller for BBC ONE. Created and written by David Wolstencroft (Spooks, Shooting Dogs) The Escape Artist stars David Tennant (Doctor Who, True Love), Toby Kebbell (RocknRolla, Black Mirror), Sophie Okonedo (The Slap, Criminal Justice), and Ashley Jensen (Extras, Ugly Betty).</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-weight: bold; line-height: 17px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><br /><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Escape Artist is an original suspense thriller set in the world of criminal law. David Tennant plays Will Burton, a talented junior barrister who specialises in spiriting people out of tight legal corners, hence his nickname of 'The Escape Artist'.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Will is in high demand as he has never lost a case. But when his talents acquit the prime suspect in a horrific murder trial, that brilliance comes back to bite him with unexpected and chilling results.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“The law often seems like an intellectual exercise,” says Wolstencroft “but scratch under the surface, and it’s all blood and guts. I wanted to write a thriller set in the legal world that’s as much about those primal feelings as it is about the twists and turns of the case. David Tennant is one of the most accomplished and iconic actors of his generation. Seeing him in Will's shoes is incredibly exciting."</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Producer, Hilary Bevan Jones, says: “The outstanding cast we have assembled, which is headed by David Tennant, Toby Kebbell, Sophie Okonedo and Ashley Jensen is a testament to David's breathtaking and original script. Directed by Brian Welsh and produced by Paul Frift, I believe The Escape Artist will be one of the most anticipated TV drama events of 2013.”</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Executive Producer for the BBC, Matthew Read, says: “After the incredible response we got for William Boyd’s Restless, it’s fantastic to be working with Hilary Bevan Jones and Endor again on an original drama that brings together the very best of British talent.”</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Escape Artist is produced by Hilary Bevan Jones (State Of Play, Restless) and Paul Frift (Room At The Top, Restless) and directed by Brian Welsh (Black Mirror, In Our Name, Mayday) the executive producers are David Wolstencroft and Matthew Read for BBC.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Escape Artist will also be released on DVD by Acorn Media immediately following its BBC One broadcast.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00EJFEN50?ie=UTF8&camp=3194&creative=21330&creativeASIN=B00EJFEN50&linkCode=shr&tag=dtennant-21&=dvd&qid=1377751770&sr=1-3&keywords=the+escape+artist" target="_blank">Pre order the DVD online here.</a></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Character Profiles:</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimIthZtsyQ3r9fH-ATKo4kvY5dl_sSjQ1obqCs6e0NTAAOt-6sLfXwxsLCm6pLgCp5rThcZRRmFQuGteERtiJIp3YK6-FGAakgdsjisClP9iYnmkPuV7hiH6WatdWbk2qH3bZjZuNtRBU/s1600/thees1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimIthZtsyQ3r9fH-ATKo4kvY5dl_sSjQ1obqCs6e0NTAAOt-6sLfXwxsLCm6pLgCp5rThcZRRmFQuGteERtiJIp3YK6-FGAakgdsjisClP9iYnmkPuV7hiH6WatdWbk2qH3bZjZuNtRBU/s640/thees1.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">WILL BURTON (David Tennant) is a talented junior barrister of peerless intellect and winning charm who specialises in getting people out of tight legal corners. Will is in high demand as he has never lost a case. Despite his innumerable victories he has been putting off applying for ‘silk’; he’s never been able to stand the politics involved in becoming a QC. He works by the simple mantra that everyone deserves a defence, allowing his genius to blossom without being impeded by conscience. Will’s brilliance does, however, sometimes fall short in his private life. He has never quite figured out how to use the dishwasher – despite Kate’s countless teachings – and often finds himself working overtime instead of spending quality time with his family. Even so, he loves Kate and Jamie more than anything in the world.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVgU-J1CLcHxcjsjlSH_WjssFw13bxRuNAv3xQn85d93UNWHo1pcMOLh9P-ZQNz6TDHkTXe7OX7EOFiP7ObhAqLtggIgDJ8DJMDJGAdwClTPZsfAWNxXest-UHtawGvkGyoKJvEAuTXUY/s1600/thees2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVgU-J1CLcHxcjsjlSH_WjssFw13bxRuNAv3xQn85d93UNWHo1pcMOLh9P-ZQNz6TDHkTXe7OX7EOFiP7ObhAqLtggIgDJ8DJMDJGAdwClTPZsfAWNxXest-UHtawGvkGyoKJvEAuTXUY/s640/thees2.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">KATE BURTON (Ashley Jensen) is Will’s wife, and mother to their son Jamie. Witty and beautiful, Kate is the rock in Will and Jamie’s world. She helps Will stay grounded when work is tough, and takes care of him when he forgets to take care of himself. Jamie is her pride and joy. They have a truly special bond.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg1Wh7J_wdP4fiXmH92LKj9bi0Z6foOnswNLesEtxKLobAd3LI9YR2mlhobKqc7XCPRWKGJpfIGOWJqUDMDzoib0kNb8Kd43WMJ5SVSbLoStjAbbL0bQvIYFMK-PX75cSjxB8UuKZ9WlE/s1600/thees3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg1Wh7J_wdP4fiXmH92LKj9bi0Z6foOnswNLesEtxKLobAd3LI9YR2mlhobKqc7XCPRWKGJpfIGOWJqUDMDzoib0kNb8Kd43WMJ5SVSbLoStjAbbL0bQvIYFMK-PX75cSjxB8UuKZ9WlE/s640/thees3.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">MAGGIE GARDNER (Sophie Okonedo) is a top prosecution barrister who finds herself constantly up against Will’s brilliance in court. She doesn’t have the natural lawyering instincts that Will does, but she is acknowledged as the next best barrister around, which of course never fails to torment her. Her brain has taken her everywhere she’s ever wanted to go – almost – but she can’t stand the idea of being second-best to anyone. She’s stony-eyed and has the ability to intimidate the life out of most opponents. Some might say she’s overcompensating, that she’s trying too hard to impose herself amongst her colleagues, but she’s driven and she works harder than most.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2ttW_zy9F9MbGfjD_p2Yt8Jo48lIrhzwIdKxP5wjwYgmx_teJqCR7fDQZPzCIo4vhPj_yHeJJEgs_LRMhfTAYJD8CeCBnN8mj9cLgWQKdo528cntzSB2JeyaE3awM5LyqZjGnEH9FozE/s1600/thees4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2ttW_zy9F9MbGfjD_p2Yt8Jo48lIrhzwIdKxP5wjwYgmx_teJqCR7fDQZPzCIo4vhPj_yHeJJEgs_LRMhfTAYJD8CeCBnN8mj9cLgWQKdo528cntzSB2JeyaE3awM5LyqZjGnEH9FozE/s640/thees4.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">LIAM FOYLE (Toby Kebbell) is a man who has that look in his eyes. The look that would make you cross the street if you were unlucky enough to come under his gaze. His psychological invasiveness is matched by his imposing physicality, but there is more to him than a blunt expression of danger. His calm, unhurried disposition hides an undisclosed, sinister air. A type of darkness that chills your soul because you can’t quite work out where it’s coming from<br />.</span></div>

Ashley Jensen BBC One David Tennant Sophie Okonedo The Escape Artist Toby Kebbell TV Drama The Escape Artist Introduction And Character Profiles

The Escape Artist is a new three-part legal thriller for BBC ONE. Created and written by David Wolstencroft (Spooks, Shooting Dogs) The Esca...

Read more »

INTERVIEW: David Tennant Talks About The Escape Artist

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhrOE0LXkM-AsmhNdk1dAh2HbBHP9dreewYBHlbRFsFoI2R11OoSJOYpvJxLWR39tL_y5bFJbjvXspTo00Uwc_Y9DpdajcBR_9spdzsa8l-L8M1JCSmxVNgRc336Ht5h8fc6xB5-WxPIY/s1600/thees1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhrOE0LXkM-AsmhNdk1dAh2HbBHP9dreewYBHlbRFsFoI2R11OoSJOYpvJxLWR39tL_y5bFJbjvXspTo00Uwc_Y9DpdajcBR_9spdzsa8l-L8M1JCSmxVNgRc336Ht5h8fc6xB5-WxPIY/s640/thees1.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Tell us what The Escape Artist actually means for Will?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Will is a defence Barrister, he’s not quite QC, he’s not taken silk yet as they say, but he’s well on his way and he has the extraordinary record of never having defended anyone and lost. He’s a fairly exceptional defence Barrister – he’s very good at what he does, he’s driven, extremely able and seems to have something of a charmed life.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Is Will a likeable character?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It’s easy to be likeable when everything is going your way and it is for Will, life doesn’t trouble him particularly. He’s incredibly gifted and has a wonderful wife and little boy that he dotes on. Life is great for Will and he’s clearly on his way to being one of the country’s most respected QCs. Very early on in our story he is elected number one in a law magazine’s top 40 under 40 something his colleague Maggie finds hard to swallow.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Tell us about Will’s relationship with his wife Kate</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Will and Kate have been together a good while and have an eight-year-old boy. Everything is working out for them. Will is driven and professionally successful but he manages to have a decent work / life balance at the same time.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Their relationship has to be established quite quickly in the series – does it help that you’ve worked with Ashley Jensen before?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I think the fact that I know Ashley of old certainly does help. Every job you do brings different circumstances and people so it’s lovely to have a shorthand with Ashley with whom I did my very first professional job out of drama school.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What made you think this would be a great project to take on?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you’re privileged enough to be reading a number of scripts, the ones that you don’t want anyone else to have are quite easy to recognise and this was one of those. I read it straight through and was completely hooked and convinced, teased and satisfied by it, dramatically and emotionally. When you have a reaction to a script that strongly, you’ve got to recognise it and make the most of it.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Do you think there is an element of theatre in the courtroom?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There’s a huge performance element and when playing those scenes you feel that. Three barristers could all say the same stuff but the way they deliver it is part of how you receive it, and part of who you believe, and in the end it’s all about who you believe is delivering the truth.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You had a legal advisor on the project, how much help was he in researching your role?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Andrew Jefferies QC worked with us on every aspect of the production and has been invaluable as a resource for fact checking. He came up with a couple of solutions to cases which found their way into the script. Also personally just chatting to someone who does this for a living and finding out what goes on in his head, and watching him do his stuff, was very helpful.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Did you have discussions about your characters with Toby Kebbell who plays Foyle prior to filming?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I don’t think you do discuss how you’re going to play it, obviously it comes from the script, these characters have been beautifully created by our writer. I didn’t know Toby before this, in fact he wasn’t around during pre-production because he was in America so we didn’t have any time to talk through scenes and discuss objectively what either of our characters thought about things, which actually I think was the right way to go about it.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What did Brian bring to the drama’s direction?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Brian is Scottish so obviously he’s brilliant, there are a lot of Scottish people on this job actually, which obviously is why it’s going to be fantastic! When his name came up I was working with Jodie Whittaker who had worked with him on Black Mirror so I approached Jodie and she couldn’t have been more positive or given Brian a heartier recommendation. I thought if Jodie thinks he’s alright then he is probably pretty good! And he was.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Did you see the big scenes coming when reading the script?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">No! I didn’t see any of it coming! When Will doesn’t shake Foyle’s hand and walks off, I thought that was a story beat telling us something about Will. I didn’t for a second think that we’d see Foyle again. I thought we’d be onto the next case and we’d see Will being an Escape Artist in some other extraordinary way. I thought it was a courtroom drama, I had no idea.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How do you think David creates moments of high drama in such a relatable setting?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He’s actually writing some wildly dramatic stuff that, in the hands of any other writer would maybe seem ludicrous. But what is great about David’s writing is that the stakes are higher than you can imagine, it’s all quite melodramatic yet he roots it all in a world of complete credibility. I think that’s the great triumph of how David writes, you never doubt it.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Lastly, what would you say to entice a viewer to tune in?</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As the show comes closer to transmission and we inevitably have to talk about it, it’s going to be quite hard because you so want people to come and enjoy the surprises, but you don’t want to give any of them away so it’s quite a tricky one to navigate. It’s one of those shows where you just have to say ‘trust me, just watch it!’ You’ll think it’s one thing, and that will be fun in itself, and then it just gets so much better.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.22; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-left: 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -2px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>

BBC One David Tennant interview The Escape Artist TV Drama INTERVIEW: David Tennant Talks About The Escape Artist

Tell us what The Escape Artist actually means for Will? Will is a defence Barrister, he’s not quite QC, he’s not taken silk yet as they say,...

Read more »

Richard II - First Preview: Twitter Reaction

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXuXRvLbTcuC_4q_0EIbTpCCW5Rolr1XMGIuRHrqwzs0nFRCmPCvSH0p6dRXtZjkFrShzsYh5xb9tHUNUqcYcWOfJ0Efdg3uuROsMz-zWCdQV2PLOLVMCjZX2IGyjB-a2QRl9ToGKIs74/s1600/dick2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXuXRvLbTcuC_4q_0EIbTpCCW5Rolr1XMGIuRHrqwzs0nFRCmPCvSH0p6dRXtZjkFrShzsYh5xb9tHUNUqcYcWOfJ0Efdg3uuROsMz-zWCdQV2PLOLVMCjZX2IGyjB-a2QRl9ToGKIs74/s640/dick2.png" width="640" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It was the first night of previews for David Tennant's Richard II at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon last night. Reviews won't come in until Press Night on 17th October - which is the play's official opening night - so until then we're taking a quick look at the Twitter reaction to the first preview.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">From the audience:</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a class="twitter-atreply pretty-link" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/brizmofent" style="line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">@brizmofent</a><span style="line-height: 18px; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Greg Doran's Richard II </span><a class="twitter-atreply pretty-link" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/TheRSC" style="line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">@TheRSC</a><span style="line-height: 18px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is, as expected, exceptional. Lucid and thrilling with Tennant an absolute joy.</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a class="twitter-atreply pretty-link" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/mullaneclaire" style="line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">@mullaneclaire</a><span style="line-height: 18px; white-space: pre-wrap;">: The first performance of Richard II was exhilarating. David Tennant was electrifying. Greg Doran works his magic again.</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><a class="twitter-atreply pretty-link" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/antontroy" style="line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">@antontroy</a><span style="line-height: 18px; white-space: pre-wrap;">: The set is amazing </span><a class="twitter-hashtag pretty-link js-nav" data-query-source="hashtag_click" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23RII&src=hash" style="line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">#RII</a><span style="line-height: 18px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and the stage is lower. Why couldn't it have been that height for the summer season. </span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a class="twitter-atreply pretty-link" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/PatrickJoseph86" style="line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">@PatrickJoseph86</a><span style="line-height: 18px; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Richard II was amazing! David Tennant was phenomenal! </span><a class="twitter-timeline-link" data-pre-embedded="true" dir="ltr" href="http://t.co/XYvomUL7K4" style="line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">pic.twitter.com/XYvomUL7K4</a></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a class="twitter-atreply pretty-link" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/vickster51" style="line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">@vickster51</a><span style="line-height: 18px; white-space: pre-wrap;">: RII good so far. Great set. Nigel Lindsay superb as is OFD. David Tennant conveying Richard's weak character well.</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a class="twitter-atreply pretty-link" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/hamsterfur" style="line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">@hamsterfur</a><span style="line-height: 18px; white-space: pre-wrap;">: I've seen a few productions of RII but this is by far the clearest and most compelling so far.</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><a class="twitter-atreply pretty-link" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/xxDTcrazyxx" style="line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">@xxDTcrazyxx</a><span style="line-height: 18px; white-space: pre-wrap;">: </span><a class="twitter-hashtag pretty-link js-nav" data-query-source="hashtag_click" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23richardII&src=hash" style="line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">#richardII</a><span style="line-height: 18px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> epic fantastic and believable. David portrayed the character of Richard with passion logic and pure talent xx</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Some of the cast also took to twitter:</span></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><div class="stream-item-header" style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="username js-action-profile-name" style="direction: ltr; text-decoration: none; unicode-bidi: embed;"><a class="account-group js-account-group js-action-profile js-user-profile-link js-nav" data-user-id="138575975" href="https://twitter.com/YoussefKerkour" style="text-decoration: none;">@YoussefKerkour</a> </span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">1st preview done! What a reception. David Tennant was absolutely stunning tonight as was the rest of the gang. Humbled. </span><a class="twitter-hashtag pretty-link js-nav" data-query-source="hashtag_click" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23RichardII&src=hash" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">#RichardII</a><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><a class="twitter-atreply pretty-link" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/TheRSC" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">@TheRSC</a></span></div><div class="stream-item-header" style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="stream-item-header" style="line-height: 18px;"><div class="stream-item-header"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a class="account-group js-account-group js-action-profile js-user-profile-link js-nav" data-user-id="211500324" href="https://twitter.com/NigelLindsay1" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"> ‏</span><span class="username js-action-profile-name" style="direction: ltr; text-decoration: none; unicode-bidi: embed;">@NigelLindsay1</span></a> <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Great first preview on Richard II. D Tennant flying. Thanks for all your lovely tweets. Hard to move this am. Do I have to do it again?</span></span></div><div class="stream-item-header"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="stream-item-header"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;">And fans were thrilled that David kindly appeared at the stage door to sign for them last night:</span></span></div><div class="stream-item-header"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="stream-item-header"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a class="twitter-atreply pretty-link" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/kitwhelan" style="color: #009999; text-decoration: none; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #66c1c1;">@</span>kitwhelan</a><span style="color: #333333; white-space: pre-wrap;">: "Such a gentleman to come say hi to the fans :)" </span><span style="color: #009999;"><span class="tco-ellipsis" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span><a class="twitter-timeline-link" data-expanded-url="http://instagram.com/p/fTbGIBne26/" dir="ltr" href="http://t.co/LbhDDwsCwv" rel="nofollow" style="color: #009999; text-decoration: none; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank" title="http://instagram.com/p/fTbGIBne26/"><span class="invisible" style="color: #009999; line-height: 0; text-decoration: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://</span><span class="js-display-url" style="color: #009999; text-decoration: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">instagram.com/p/fTbGIBne26/</span><span style="color: #009999;"><span class="invisible" style="line-height: 0; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span><span class="tco-ellipsis" style="color: #009999; text-decoration: none; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="invisible" style="line-height: 0;"> </span></span></a></span></div><div class="stream-item-header"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="stream-item-header"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a class="twitter-atreply pretty-link" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/vickster51" style="color: #009999; text-decoration: none; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #66c1c1;">@</span>vickster51</a><span style="color: #333333; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - David Tennant's hair, now plaited </span><a class="twitter-hashtag pretty-link js-nav" data-query-source="hashtag_click" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23RSCRichardII&src=hash" style="color: #009999; text-decoration: none; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #66c1c1;">#</span>RSCRichardII</a><span style="color: #333333; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><a class="twitter-timeline-link" data-pre-embedded="true" dir="ltr" href="http://t.co/JvHK0mPEWA" style="color: #009999; text-decoration: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">pic.twitter.com/JvHK0mPEWA</a></span></div><div class="stream-item-header"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="stream-item-header"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a class="twitter-atreply pretty-link" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/vickster51" style="color: #009999; text-decoration: none; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #66c1c1;">@</span>vickster51</a><span style="color: #333333; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - David Tennant at the RSC </span><a class="twitter-timeline-link" data-pre-embedded="true" dir="ltr" href="http://t.co/zqAz8k6xt8" style="color: #009999; text-decoration: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">pic.twitter.com/zqAz8k6xt8</a></span></div><div class="stream-item-header"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="stream-item-header"><a href="http://www.david-tennant.com/2009/id194.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Find out more about Richard II on our website here.</span></a></div><div class="stream-item-header"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="stream-item-header"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Richard II runs at The Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon until 16th November it will then transfer to the Barbican in London on 9th December.</span></div><div class="stream-item-header"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="stream-item-header"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div></div><div class="stream-item-header" style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="stream-item-header" style="color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>

David Tennant Fans Richard II Royal Shakespeare Company Theatre Richard II - First Preview: Twitter Reaction

It was the first night of previews for David Tennant's Richard II at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon last night. Re...

Read more »