On Tue, 27 Feb 2001, Alison Page wrote:
I don't want to seem to be simply slagging off Paul D, who I think was pivotal in creating the Avon character we know and love, but I think on this occasion he was perhaps poorly directed (who was the director? I'm sure you all know). Also perhaps it was hastily recorded, and things just had to be thrown together in a rush.
I don't think it was just poor direction: I think this kind of rather actory physicality and declamatory speech tends to be what Darrow slips into naturally. Ideally a director would prod him out of that comfortable little box, but you can understand it not always being the top priority.
It's also not quite right to simply blame it on the scene being thrown together. After all, Una and Calle's performance was even more thrown together. This rushed production is an important factor, though, because it seems to me that, when in a hurry to get the scene in the can, the production team fall back on all the standard ways they always do things. Darrow's performance would make sense in a large theatre, where being heard at the back is the top priority. Heilbron's was just rubbish, but what can you do? As for all the over-coreographed movement, well, I think that's what they did because that's what the culture said you do, and they had neither the time nor the inclination to do otherwise.
Elsewhere in the acting overview workshop Iain
showed other scenes with PD in, and they were all much more successful.
Indeed. I showed the scene from 'Pressure Point' where Blake question's Avon's motives for joining in the assault on Central Control. It's very well acted. Alison and Rob performed this scene for us, and although they gave very interesting and illuminating alternate takes on the characters, on this occasion the pros really did come through with the goods.
That particular scene was all about working the subtext. I think that's Darrow's main strength, and is largely responsible for Avon being such a fascinating character. On this occasion the quiet intimacy of the actors, their excellent complicity and their close attention to subtext give a scene which is much more deep and intense than what's on the page.
Iain