jarw66_deathcometopemberley

7232019 JARW66_DeathComeToPemberley

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulljarw66deathcometopemberley 15

19

Death Comes to Pemberley

983156983144983141 983156983158 983137983140983137983152983156983137983156983145983151983150 983151983142 DEATH COMES TO PEMBERLEY 983152 983140 983146983137983149983141983155rsquo983155983137983157983155983156983141983150 983155983141983153983157983141983148 983144983145983156983155 983138983154983145983156983145983155983144 983155983139983154983141983141983150983155 983137983156 983139983144983154983145983155983156983149983137983155 983137983150983140983145983155 983141983160983152983141983139983156983141983140 983156983151 983138983141 983138983154983151983137983140983139983137983155983156 983145983150 983156983144983141 983157983150983145983156983141983140 983155983156983137983156983141983155 983141983137983154983148983161983150983141983160983156 983161983141983137983154 983137983150983150983141 983144983151983154983150983141983154 983155983152983141983137983147983155 983156983151 983155983151983149983141 983151983142 983156983144983151983155983141 983145983150983158983151983148983158983141983140

983144983141 983159983151983151983140983155 983151983142 983152983141983149983138983141983154983148983141983161 are to bepolluted this winter as a characterfrom Pride amp Prejudice is killed and

another is put on trial for murder Te BBC is dramatising P D Jamesrsquos DeathComes to Pemberley the novel in which thequeen of crime imagines what happens tothe characters six years on Although Jamesdidnrsquot please everyone with her PampP sequelshe seems to have got away with murder with her daring reimagining of this much-loved book pleasing many Jane Austen loversand book critics alike And now therersquos another scary task fora writer rewriting P D Jamesrsquos rewriting

Austen Whorsquos up to the challenge Stepforward Juliette owhidi co-screenwriterof the 983090983088983088983091 hit film Calendar Girls owhidiagrees that it is a big ask ldquoWhen you are ascriptwriter you have the great advantage oflocking yourself away in your room and beingable to kid yourself that it rsquos just you and yourcomputer and your books Itrsquos only when youemerge and things kick in that you think lsquoOh

my goodness this is actually happeningrsquordquoDid she quake when she landed the job After all as Simon Reade who adapted PampP

Matthew Rhys stars as Mr Darcy in Death Comesto Pemberley which is on BBC TV this Christmas



20 2120

for this yearrsquos production at Regentrsquos ParkOpen Air Teatre in London told JARW ldquoYou rewrite Jane Austen at your perilrdquo owhidi says ldquoTis was a bit differentbecause obviously itrsquos not a direct adaptationof Jane Austen and you are enteringuncharted territory to a certain extent becauseit is six years after Darcy and Elizabeth havegot married What P D James has done sobrilliantly is to develop the characters in a way that feels very true to who they are butspinning it slightly into a different genre

ldquoI had a fine line to tread in that marriagebetween James and Jane Austen James is acrime writer and Austen very decided ly isnrsquotI think what James did so brilliantly was to

take the characters and that wonderful ironythat tone the wry humour of the prose andcapture that And I suppose what I went backto Jane Austen for more was that sparkle andthe slightly different tone in Pride amp Prejudice My job really was to get a little bit more ofPride amp Prejudice back in the V seriesrdquo Tis promises some delights for the V viewer in particular a cameo role for PenelopeKeith as Lady Catherine de Bourgh Keithrsquosportrayal of the snobbish sitcom charactersMargo Leadbetter in Te Good Life and Audrey fforbes-Hamilton in o the ManorBorn were massive hits with British Vaudiences in the 983089983097983095983088s and 983089983097983096983088s owhidi explains ldquoLady Catherine was inthe P D James book but as writing a coupleof letters So we really wanted to bring her tolife again because itrsquos a visual medium andpeople perhaps feel a bit short-changed ontelevision by a letter

ldquoTe thinking for the V adaptation was we have this wonderful story that James putout but an audience coming to this is goingto want to also get a sense of the scope of thecharacters the characters that they love themost from Pride amp Prejudice Mrs Bennet wasnrsquot there and we felt that television wouldbe missing a trick if we didnrsquot have her in and we came down very much on the side of yes we would Tere are liberties that Irsquove takenlike that with Jamesrsquos book And I think shersquoshappy with those changes because we felt thatfor television itrsquos a different medium again Tat was one of the challenges where I had tosomehow tread the line between Jane Austenand James anew if you likerdquo How happy was James to have her work

rewritten ldquoShe read the scripts obviouslyat key moments We didnrsquot want to inflictendless drafts on her but she read the scriptsand she gave us feedback because obviouslyshersquod researched things really thoroughly fromher side She gave some very useful notesmainly around authenticity which were reallyhelpful and she came on to the set and visiteda couple of times and c ame to dinner

ldquoI think Irsquom right in saying shersquos veryhappy with the whole thing and she haddelightful visits to the set It is reallyimportant that she feels wersquove done right byher work Itrsquos always difficult for book writersbecause inevitably their work has to change

Matthew Rhys and Anna Maxwell-MartinDarcy and Elizabeth in the grand surroundingsof Pemberley where there has been a murder

it has to be made to work in a differentmedium so when you get a happy authorthatrsquos a good thingrdquo How did owhidi land the job ldquoI had worked with David Tompson from OriginPictures [the independent productioncompany behind Death Comes to Pemberley ]previously when he was head of BBC filmsand so he knew my work and we had a good working relationship in the past

ldquoI could see there was something new that

needed to be done for the V adaptation that was a lovely challenge for a writer Adaptinga Jane Austen book straight is a differentthing perhaps possibly more daunting in a way I could see that there was a middle pathI had to tread to get the V adaptation in anew form yet again and that was something Ireally relished the idea ofrdquo One of the key challenges was makingsure that the relationship between Darcyand Elizabeth delivers In PampP they spendmuch of the book sparring with each otheras the sexual tension fizzes owhidi wantedto bring some of that famous tension backldquoPeople are coming back wanting to see



2322

In her youth Mrs Bennet liked a red coat verywell and there are plenty of them in this film(This and subsequent pictures Steven Parker)

Darcy and Elizabeth you need to have somesparks going on between them stuff at stakesuspense around their relationship thatrsquos allbeen in the mixrdquo How successfully the Darcy-Elizabethdynamic is will also be down to actors AnnaMaxwell-Martin (Cassandra in the 983090983088983088983095 filmBecoming Jane and Esther Summerson in theBBCrsquos 983090983088983088983093 adaptation of Bleak House ) andMatthew Rhys (Te Americans Te Mystery of Edwin Drood ) It certainly sounds as if theyhave that vital spark owhidi says ldquoTeyhad a real laugh together it was great seeingthem real chemistry Tey are both wonderfulactually Irsquove just finished seeing the first cutof the first episode and itrsquos looking greatrdquo

Later Rhys admits that he and Maxwell-Martin had a ball and that working with her was ldquodangerous because you laugh too much

I watched a few bits where Irsquom clearly justtrying not to laugh Itrsquos one of those pairingsof actors where you go lsquoOh no wersquore bad foreach other wersquoll corpse each otherrsquo which we did We are similar we both appreciatethe same things certainly the same humour which is what got us in troublerdquo Maxwell-Martin previously said in aninterview for Te Sunday imes magazinethat she and Rhys were both nervous of theirroles ldquoo be honest wersquore both panicking wersquove been miscastrdquo she said Is this reallyhow Rhys fel t ldquootally and not just at firstuntil the very endrdquo he replies ldquoI think weboth said the s ame it was a shock to usrdquo headmits with disarming frankness

Of course Rhys has also to contend withthe very big spectre of Colin Firth and that wet-shirt scene recently voted the most

memorable V moment So how did it feelfor this actor who is fiercely proud of being Welsh to be donning the billowing whiteshirt of the English Darcy Did Rhys everthink hersquod be playing an Austen character ldquoNever never in a million years Andnever Mr Darcy Irsquom in Te Americans [the V spy series] and I do an American accentBut doing a posh English accent to me itrsquosharder because the leap is bigger You growup watching American television and when yoursquore out with other kids in the gardeninevitably you replicate it you imitate an American accent but yoursquore never out in thegarden pretending to be a posh EnglishmanIf anything especially in Wales it was always

an accent that prompted derision almost So when I hear myself doing it it feels incrediblydisingenuous or sort of insincere I feel

like Irsquom pretending to be Lord Snooty orsomething So I find it a very d ifficult accentto do I have to admitrdquo o a declaration of ldquoWersquove got a WelshMr Darcyrdquo Rhys lets fire a round of laughteran explosion of energy ldquoTat makes me laughin more ways than one Tere were quite afew times when Dan [Percival] the directorcame up and said lsquoLet rsquos go again [Matthew whispers imitating the director] lsquoItrsquos just abit Welshrsquo hellip ldquoOne of the reasons I did it was becauseit wasnrsquot Pride amp Prejudice I donrsquot thinkI would have done Mr Darcy in Pride ampPrejudice But itrsquos a d ifferent Darcy Hersquos six years on hersquos a father hersquos a happy man In a

way it was PampP because PampP is the blueprintto everything you want to know about thecharacter So that was the way in for me ldquoI love Darcy I think hersquos very sensitive Ithink his arrogance and rudeness comes fromincredible sensitivity and insecurity I alwaystry to find empathy with a character and Ihad an enormous amount for himrdquo And for anyone who has empathy withMrs Bennet who in her youth liked a redcoat very well the good news is that wersquoll beseeing quite a lot of Wickham Hersquos playedby Matthew Goode (Charles Ryder in the983090983088983088983096 film of Brideshead Revisited ) Wickhambecomes a very big character and ldquogloriouslysordquo says Rhys generously stressing howGoode ldquoplays him as a combination of Mick Jagger and Peter Orsquooolerdquo He adds ldquoIt was an incredibly funproduction maybe too much fun we l augheda lot With the likes of revor Eve [playing

Sir Selwyn Hardcastle a new character]and Matthew Goode we probably laughedtoo much Irsquove got to be honest I think we embraced it as much as we could whilethinking lsquoI canrsquot believe wersquore playing thispartrsquo there was a great sense of fun that we were and that we were in a heatwave and insome amazing locations It doesnrsquot get anybetter helliprdquo But letrsquos get back to that distracting white shirt how much does it hover over therole Rhys says ldquoTe boys and I were talkingabout white-shirt syndrome as to whether



24 25

Geese gallows and guards the set in York

where much of the filming for Death Comesto Pemberley took place during the summer

Colin Firth has been entirely responsible forit or whether itrsquos just become iconic in itsromantic connotation All the girlshellip if it wastoo hot at lunch wersquod take our frock coats offand wersquod be in Mills amp Boon billowy whiteshirts and the girls would always refer to it We referred often to the white-shirt effectrdquo Rhys of course is no stranger to donning white shirts in costume drama but Dickensis perhaps a more natural medium for himthan Austen In 983090983088983089983090 he was impressivein the BBCrsquos Te Mystery of Edwin Droodas the Byronic and brooding baddie John Jasper And it is with this darkness thatRhys is clearly more at home than as Darcythe romantic lead ldquoJohn Jasper is one of

Dickensrsquos most complex characters therersquosa lot going on thererdquo he says ldquoHe was

multifaceted and multilayered not a clear-cutDickensian character You could understand where he came from abandonment and hisfixation It was a brilliant part

ldquoDickens like Austen like Shakespearehas that incredible insight into humanityand writes very well for understanding thehuman spirit and all the rest and thatrsquos whythe characters are universal and why they rsquove weathered so well Itrsquos not to dismiss Austenthat she doesnrsquot know how to write darknessshe certainly does but with Dickens itrsquos very apparent and very complex and verychallenging I love thatrdquo Were there any surprises for him inplaying Darcy ldquoI saw him clearly when I

read it and then in the playing of it I foundit difficult to get there so that was like a

surprise to me how much I struggled withit Tat was the unpleasant surprise Hersquos a very different Darcy at the beginning yousee him as very happy and then he sort ofreverts to old Darcy in a way It read veryclear and then the execution of it therersquos alot more going on rdquo

After the death at the start of Jamesrsquosbook a more indecisive Darcy appears Teawfulness of the event seems to plungeDarcy into self-doubt a very far cry fromDarcy-the-fixer we see in the denouementof PampP Tat Darcy doesnrsquot hesitate to act when Lydia elopes with Wickham Rhys says of his Darcy ldquoHersquos kind offrozen in terror What you sort of worry

about is that a modern audience wonrsquotunderstand how catastrophic the event



26

would have been Chatsworth [where someof it was filmed] still has about 983090983093983088 people

working for the estate so an entire armydepends on you For the estate to be in thatmuch jeopardy would have been catastrophicand I think the magnitude of it hits him likean express train at the beginning which is

why he freezes and internalises again which

is why it disintegrates with Elizabeth and shehas to pull him out and shersquos just like lsquoHoware we going to fix thisrsquo rdquo What is Rhys expecting now that filming

is complete ldquoA press hiding probably alashing in the British press lsquoNot a Firthrsquordquo hedeclaims with spirit imagining the reviewheadlines owhidirsquos predictions are for a happierending Calendar Girls the comedy about

how the Womenrsquos Institute raise money forcharity by posing nude was full of livelydialogue and characters ldquoYou can make themost wonderful film or show in the worldbut you have to feel the charactersrdquo she saysof her approach ldquoI am drawn to stories that have light andshade in them humour and wit and lightnessbut also the darkness to anchor that Tey aretwo sides of the same coin really in everyday

life so part of the reason I was very attractedto this is that it had the lightness of Pride ampPrejudice and the wonderful characters buttherersquos that darker edge Te idea of darknessencroaching on Pemberley And it does havethis wonderful satisfaction to it that it rsquos allresolved at the end I donrsquot want to give toomuch away helliprdquo And so all is set fair for a magnificentromp leading to the eventual purging of the

woods of Pemberley after the pollution of a

violent death and a murder trialThe three-part adaptation of Death Comesto Pemberley is on BBC One over Christmasand on PBS in the United States in early 2014

Above and below Characters from the filmingof the BBCrsquos Death Comes to Pemberley



20 2120

for this yearrsquos production at Regentrsquos ParkOpen Air Teatre in London told JARW ldquoYou rewrite Jane Austen at your perilrdquo owhidi says ldquoTis was a bit differentbecause obviously itrsquos not a direct adaptationof Jane Austen and you are enteringuncharted territory to a certain extent becauseit is six years after Darcy and Elizabeth havegot married What P D James has done sobrilliantly is to develop the characters in a way that feels very true to who they are butspinning it slightly into a different genre

ldquoI had a fine line to tread in that marriagebetween James and Jane Austen James is acrime writer and Austen very decided ly isnrsquotI think what James did so brilliantly was to

take the characters and that wonderful ironythat tone the wry humour of the prose andcapture that And I suppose what I went backto Jane Austen for more was that sparkle andthe slightly different tone in Pride amp Prejudice My job really was to get a little bit more ofPride amp Prejudice back in the V seriesrdquo Tis promises some delights for the V viewer in particular a cameo role for PenelopeKeith as Lady Catherine de Bourgh Keithrsquosportrayal of the snobbish sitcom charactersMargo Leadbetter in Te Good Life and Audrey fforbes-Hamilton in o the ManorBorn were massive hits with British Vaudiences in the 983089983097983095983088s and 983089983097983096983088s owhidi explains ldquoLady Catherine was inthe P D James book but as writing a coupleof letters So we really wanted to bring her tolife again because itrsquos a visual medium andpeople perhaps feel a bit short-changed ontelevision by a letter

ldquoTe thinking for the V adaptation was we have this wonderful story that James putout but an audience coming to this is goingto want to also get a sense of the scope of thecharacters the characters that they love themost from Pride amp Prejudice Mrs Bennet wasnrsquot there and we felt that television wouldbe missing a trick if we didnrsquot have her in and we came down very much on the side of yes we would Tere are liberties that Irsquove takenlike that with Jamesrsquos book And I think shersquoshappy with those changes because we felt thatfor television itrsquos a different medium again Tat was one of the challenges where I had tosomehow tread the line between Jane Austenand James anew if you likerdquo How happy was James to have her work

rewritten ldquoShe read the scripts obviouslyat key moments We didnrsquot want to inflictendless drafts on her but she read the scriptsand she gave us feedback because obviouslyshersquod researched things really thoroughly fromher side She gave some very useful notesmainly around authenticity which were reallyhelpful and she came on to the set and visiteda couple of times and c ame to dinner

ldquoI think Irsquom right in saying shersquos veryhappy with the whole thing and she haddelightful visits to the set It is reallyimportant that she feels wersquove done right byher work Itrsquos always difficult for book writersbecause inevitably their work has to change

Matthew Rhys and Anna Maxwell-MartinDarcy and Elizabeth in the grand surroundingsof Pemberley where there has been a murder

it has to be made to work in a differentmedium so when you get a happy authorthatrsquos a good thingrdquo How did owhidi land the job ldquoI had worked with David Tompson from OriginPictures [the independent productioncompany behind Death Comes to Pemberley ]previously when he was head of BBC filmsand so he knew my work and we had a good working relationship in the past

ldquoI could see there was something new that

needed to be done for the V adaptation that was a lovely challenge for a writer Adaptinga Jane Austen book straight is a differentthing perhaps possibly more daunting in a way I could see that there was a middle pathI had to tread to get the V adaptation in anew form yet again and that was something Ireally relished the idea ofrdquo One of the key challenges was makingsure that the relationship between Darcyand Elizabeth delivers In PampP they spendmuch of the book sparring with each otheras the sexual tension fizzes owhidi wantedto bring some of that famous tension backldquoPeople are coming back wanting to see



2322













24 25













26













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24 25













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24 25













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jarw66_deathcometopemberley

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