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IT’S FIREWORKS FOR WORZEL!
MACKENZIECROOK TELLSHOWHEREUNITED WITHHISDETECTORISTS CO-STARTOBYJONESFOR ASPECIALSEASONAL ADVENTURE...
As best friends Andy and Lance in the award-winning comedy series Detectorists, Mackenzie Crook and Toby Jones had the kind of natural chemistry you can’t fake. So when Mackenzie needed a co-star for a special Bonfire Night-themed episode of his latest project Worzel Gummidge, there was an obvious choice... although it wasn’t actually Mackenzie’s idea.
‘Toby’s a very good friend,’ he says. ‘We make each other laugh, although I don’t think many of our interests cross over. I’m obsessed with hobbies and metaldetecting and collecting, while Toby doesn’t do any of that. He’s far more intellectual and wellread than me, but we have a laugh together and find the same things funny. He’s very good company.
‘Funnily enough, I didn’t actually have him in mind when I was writing this episode but the producer Kristian Smith said, “What about Toby?” and I immediately thought, “Of course!” I wish I’d thought of it. It’s a highlight of the new series, really.’
Mackenzie brought Worzel, the scarecrow who comes to life, back to the screen at Christmas 2019, 40 years after Jon Pertwee’s original TV incarnation, and the three episodes aired so far have been hugely popular. Now he’s back for a new three-part series including the Bonfire Night special, in which Toby plays not one but six different characters.
The episode revolves around the village committee’s hamfisted organisation of Bonfire Night, and Toby plays every member of the committee – a butcher, a baker, an alderman, a publican, the postmaster and the mayor. Did he take much persuading? Mackenzie says not at all. ‘Toby was keen to play the baker’s wife as well!’ he laughs. ‘I said, “I like that, but the joke is that all the men on the committee are middle-aged blokes representing the old guard, not everyone in the entire village.” But yes, he was up for playing even more characters than we gave him.’
In fact, Toby says the challenge of playing so many roles was a big part of why he agreed. But while he knew he’d have to come up with a distinct voice for each character, he hadn’t realised how time-consuming the costume changes would be. One scene featuring all six characters took an entire day to film. ‘I had no idea how long the changing of facial hair would take,’ he admits. ‘But I’d still have done it if I had. The constant running back and forth to costume was quite a thing. When all the characters were in the same scene we had to have doubles for them all as well. So everyone would have to wait while I changed, then I’d swap with one of the doubles, and then I’d have to do it all again. And the whole thing had to be shot many times from different angles, so there were continuity issues as well. But everyone went the extra mile for Mackenzie.’
After Toby’s characters build the bonfire they’re confused when the guy (called Guy Forks, and played by Paul Kaye) goes missing, and a scarecrow – Worzel, of course – is found lying nearby. Unbeknown to the committee, Worzel and his old adversary Guy are both able to come to life when there are no humans present, and they’ve challenged each other to swap places after a heated conversation about which is the harder job – sitting on a fire and being burnt, or standing in a field and scaring crows. But Worzel has bitten off more than he can chew, and turns to his friends John, Susan and Aunt Sally for help... before an explosive finale.
‘In a way, the committee’s pomposity blinds them to the magic, so they’re not aware Worzel or Guy can talk and move,’ explains Toby. ‘They’re so busy busybodying around the place, and so mystified by events with Guy Forks, they can’t understand what’s hap
pening. On one level it’s a comment on what isn’t idyllic about village life, about all the people imposing restrictions on the village.’
In both Detectorists and Worzel Gummidge, Mackenzie writes about the countryside, its folklore, our connections with nature and what makes us British, and this episode is an example of that. He says he’d always wanted to write an episode about Bonfire Night because it holds special memories for him, even though it wasn’t covered in the Worzel Gummidge books by Barbara Euphan Todd. ‘I suppose it’s because it comes just after the clocks go back and suddenly you’re coming home from school and it’s dark, and Halloween and Bonfire Night are the events that get you through that time,’ he says.
‘And there’s a magical, mythical element to it as well, which I suspect is based much further back than Guy Fawkes in the 17th century, probably in pagan times, so that fits into the ethos of this magical version of England that interests me.’ Although aimed at children, Mackenzie’s reboot of Worzel Gummidge has proved popular with adults too. That’s partly because the humour works on two levels, but also because the themes of the English countryside and a more innocent time resonate with viewers hankering after a simpler life. And Toby thinks that’s why Detectorists was such a hit too. ‘I often feel, when people talk to me about Detectorists, that they like the world as much as the story,’ he says. ‘They like this world in which people can have the time to meet up and go for a drink. ‘And similarly in Gummidge, everyone’s walking everywhere, everyone has time. The farmer daydreams. There’s time and space for everyone. So it’s a slightly idealised countryside, but one that people find therapeutic. All the little shots of the wildlife don’t seem like an add-on, they seem more relevant than that. That’s part of Mackenzie’s aesthetic, which I love.’ n