{"id":20229,"date":"2022-08-13T09:00:24","date_gmt":"2022-08-13T07:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1693804"},"modified":"2022-08-13T09:26:50","modified_gmt":"2022-08-13T07:26:50","slug":"marriage-creator-incredibly-lucky-to-get-nicola-walker-and-sean-bean","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/marriage-creator-incredibly-lucky-to-get-nicola-walker-and-sean-bean\/","title":{"rendered":"Marriage creator \u201cincredibly lucky\u201d to get Nicola Walker and Sean Bean"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Mark Lawson\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Saturday, 13 August 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

This interview was originally published in Radio Times magazine<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n

It might seem rude to say of a writer\/director that his work looks neither written nor directed. But in the BBC Two comedy drama Mum, Stefan Golaszewski achieved an extraordinary low-key realism \u2013 more like being than acting \u2013 as Lesley Manville\u2019s 59-year-old widow Kathy was tentatively courted by old friend Michael, played by Peter Mullan.<\/p>\n

In Golaszewski\u2019s latest project, Marriage<\/a>, both husband and wife, Ian (Sean Bean) and Emma (Nicola Walker), are still alive, but their relationship may not be. And as in Mum, everyday actions \u2013 shopping, watching TV, cleaning teeth before bed, etc \u2013 reveal complex doubts and desires through short sentences and long silences.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy aim is to get the actor to behave as people would in real life rather than in a way that would be most useful to the audience to make clear what is going on,\u201d Golaszewski explains. \u201cIn so many shows the actor is encouraged to do the storytelling, to put a sort of highlighter pen over the character\u2019s intentions or emotions. My note to actors is just do what the person is doing in that moment.\u201d<\/p>

Landing Walker and Bean, fresh from their triumphs in Unforgotten<\/a> and Jimmy McGovern\u2019s prison drama Time<\/a> respectively, is, he says, a showrunner\u2019s dream come true.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was incredibly lucky to get those two actors. People like Sean and Nicola \u2013 also Lesley and Peter in Mum \u2013 you don\u2019t audition them, you just offer the part. So you don\u2019t quite know what they will bring into the room and, in all cases, it was better than I could possibly have imagined.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Stefan Golaszewski and Nicola Walker filming Marriage<\/span><\/figcaption> BBC \/ The Forge \/ Rory Mulvey<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

The theme of Marriage is the micro-aggressions and micro-affections that mark a long marriage. Ian and Emma have been together for 30 years, but the show\u2019s title alludes to other marriages, too: one mourned by Emma\u2019s widowed father (James Bolam in a moving cameo), another that might be made by the couple\u2019s daughter to a man they detest.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s supposed to be a network of reflections about relationships. Marriage, I guess, is the institutionalisation of togetherness. I\u2019ve been married 10 years and what fascinates me about marriage as an idea is that it is basically impossible. What I love about going to a wedding is seeing two people taking a leap into the unknown and trying to spend the rest of their lives together. That\u2019s an incredibly complicated thing to achieve. It\u2019s the sheer difficulty that makes the idea beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Golaszewski\u2019s first success, the BBC Three sitcom Him & Her, about a 20-something couple, played by Russell Tovey and Sarah Solemani, falling in love, was directed by Richard Laxton. But for Mum and Marriage, the writer came from behind the desk to go behind the camera. \u201cI wanted to direct because, although it might seem an odd point to make, TV is a visual medium and writers tend to think verbally. So I wanted to direct in order to get both sides.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Sean Bean and Nicola Walker in Marriage<\/span><\/figcaption> BBC \/ The Forge \/ Rory Mulvey<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

There are scenes in Marriage in which the couple fill and empty a dishwasher that are typical of the way Golaszewski puts domesticity on screen. Is every move of dish and spoon specified in his scripts or does he simply ask Bean and Walker to attend to the dishwasher?<\/p>\n

\u201cSomewhere between the two. Some bits have their own stage direction \u2013 \u2018Takes cup off table\u2019, etc \u2013 but then when we get to the location and I see exactly what the kitchen looks like, I\u2019ll work out what\u2019s in every cupboard. It\u2019s a bit tricky, really, working out where you would logically keep the stuff and where I need them to be in the room for the camera. So the script will say, \u2018Puts a bowl in, closes dishwasher, she brings in another bowl, opens dishwasher, closes it.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a kind of rhythm to it. Because the show is so still and observed \u2013 and the camera doesn\u2019t move unless it has to \u2013 I\u2019m always looking to get some dynamism in so it doesn\u2019t completely become a still life.\u201d<\/p>\n

After Mum and Marriage, might there be a third hyper-realistic M-word comedy or drama? Mortality? Murder? \u201cI\u2019ve got no idea. I keep squeezing the lemon, but the lemon\u2019s dry. I\u2019m going away for the summer and hope something will come after that. I can only write what my mind tells me to write. Which means I\u2019ve had to turn down quite good offers of work because I can\u2019t write it unless it comes from inside.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n

Marriage will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Sunday 14th August at 9pm. Check out more of our\u00a0Drama<\/a>\u00a0coverage or visit our\u00a0TV Guide<\/a>\u00a0to see what\u2019s on tonight.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The latest issue of Radio Times magazine is on sale now \u2013\u00a0subscribe now<\/a>\u00a0and get the next 12 issues for only \u00a31. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the\u00a0Radio Times podcast<\/a>\u00a0with Jane Garvey.<\/strong><\/p><\/body><\/html>\n

","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Mark Lawson Published: Saturday, 13 August 2022 at 12:00 am This interview was originally published in Radio Times magazine. It might seem rude to say of a writer\/director that his work looks neither written nor directed. But in the BBC Two comedy drama Mum, Stefan Golaszewski achieved an extraordinary low-key realism \u2013 more like […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":20230,"template":"","categories":[1,5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/08\/marriage-creator-incredibly-lucky-to-get-nicola-walker-and-sean-bean-scaled.jpg",2560,1706,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/08\/marriage-creator-incredibly-lucky-to-get-nicola-walker-and-sean-bean-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/08\/marriage-creator-incredibly-lucky-to-get-nicola-walker-and-sean-bean-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/08\/marriage-creator-incredibly-lucky-to-get-nicola-walker-and-sean-bean-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/08\/marriage-creator-incredibly-lucky-to-get-nicola-walker-and-sean-bean-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/08\/marriage-creator-incredibly-lucky-to-get-nicola-walker-and-sean-bean-1536x1024.jpg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/08\/marriage-creator-incredibly-lucky-to-get-nicola-walker-and-sean-bean-2048x1365.jpg",2048,1365,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Mark Lawson Published: Saturday, 13 August 2022 at 12:00 am This interview was originally published in Radio Times magazine. It might seem rude to say of a writer\/director that his work looks neither written nor directed. But in the BBC Two comedy drama Mum, Stefan Golaszewski achieved an extraordinary low-key realism \u2013 more like…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/20229"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}