| Ringrazio Ele di aver inserito questa intervista tra le News e la inserisco anche qui dato che riguarda questo lavoro televisivo.
Alan Rickman English actor and director Alan Rickman stars in The Song Of Lunch. Here, he explains what drew him to the drama:
"The writing, as ever. I'm guided by the quality of the writing – when it's that good you just put your hat and coat on.
"I wasn't aware of The Song Of Lunch but I knew A Scattering and, in fact, I was at drama school with Christopher Reid's wife, Lucinda – who is its subject. I was always very acutely aware of that extraordinary piece of work."
What were your first impressions when you heard about the idea of dramatising the poem?
"I thought Greg (Wise) was absolutely right. This is a really interesting use of two mediums, poetry and television becoming a third – drama."
Are you a lover of poetry?
"Absolutely, yes – my English O Level teachers would kill me if I said I wasn't!"
How did you prepare for your role?
"I just read it and read it and read it. Like all good writing, you have to put yourself at its service. It has to invade you and inhabit you but it will always have its own rhythms - particularly so with this. So you read and read it, you get to know it and then all preparation goes out the window when you realise you only have a short period to shoot it. So it becomes preparation on the one hand and complete improvisation on the other.
How did it feel to be reunited with your friend Emma Thompson?
"It is a gift, a privilege – you're working with a great friend. We've acted together and I've directed her, as well. But its not like putting on a slipper, there's a challenge involved because she's an artist and she's a brain and she's a will and she's a power and a force and that's all very challenging, but that's what I like."
You're no stranger to the BBC, but how did it feel to be back?
"It's not really about me, it's about the piece. I'm happy to be part of a piece of drama which is going out on BBC Two and I'm happy to be holding this flag up for something called a script with a director, actors and a process, rather than pointing a camera at something loosely called reality.
"Hopefully, this piece is reality but with heart and compassion and words that are in danger of becoming extinct. Drama lassoes them all up if it's developed and made a priority. It helps to protect the English language in all its richness but this is wonderfully crafted but very modern English at the same time, so it's not stuffy in any way."
How did you find the whole experience?
"I really enjoyed it and I hope for more of this kind of material on the box in the corner of the living room."
Emma Thompson
Award-winning actress Emma Thompson explains how she was drawn to The Song Of Lunch drama:
"I thought it was an original idea to put a poem onto the screen, the internal drama of the poetry was witty, interesting and infinitely playable for actors.
"There were so many things that were attractive about it – it was beautifully written, being the first and most important one.
"I had read Christopher's poem, A Scattering, about the loss of his wife, which I thought was brilliant but I hadn't read The Song Of Lunch until Greg (Wise) showed it to me. He's very good on poetry and reads a lot of it. I thought it was extraordinarily dramatic."
Are you a natural fan of poetry?
"I grew up being more influenced by prose than poetry, so I need to be taken to it like a horse to water and then when I get to it I'm very pleased I've got there."
Can you share your thoughts on the character you play?
"I think that, at first, you think of him as so sad that you'd rather forget about the fact that there is a great deal that is very sad about her, too, and one would guess not terribly fulfilled.
"She's hidden and she keeps any information about herself under wraps. The fact is she's turned up, which is good, but she's not generous with herself. I feel she's a rather mysterious creature and not willing to share her inner life, whereas he's more honest.
"On the surface she's more together and apparently more grown up, but he is more complex than that – he is a complicated alcoholic. Alan is wonderfully funny in it because he is so trenchant, witty and difficult – almost mephistophelian."
How would you describe the drama?
"It is a very funny, sad meeting between two ex-lovers which dramatises regret in a darkly humorous way."
How did it feel to be reunited with Alan Rickman?
"He is a great and a very old friend and I don't think that we could have done it if it hadn't been with each other. It needed to be done by people who were in possession of an extreme form of shorthand, because we shot it so quickly.
"At the beginning, after having not seen each other for 15 years, they appear rather formal. As their communication deteriorates, their old rhythms re-emerge. You start to understand why they loved each other and why it went wrong. It reminds us of the pain in all our broken relationships.
"I worked for the BBC a lot when I was younger and it's lovely to have something with Auntie again. I'm encouraged that they got behind this. The BBC is the right home for original new programming and I hope The Song Of Lunch proves inspiring."
How do you hope The Song Of Lunch will be received by viewers?
"With unconfined joy, of course. Perhaps it will persuade people that most poetry contains a story. Perhaps it will embolden people to read more poetry.
"I know I needed encouragement, possibly because I was a little intimidated by it, and I think that's true of a lot of people – I hope seeing this gives them confidence and proves that poetry can be both dramatic and accessible."
How did you feel about the ending?
"In my opinion it's the best kind of ending – it's sad, bittersweet and unresolved. It gives you so much to think about without telling you what to think."
Would you do something like this again?
"Without question."
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