Maybe we need more unlikable women on TV
Rules Of The Game explores sexual politics in the modern workplace. GEORGIA HUMPHREYS finds out more from its star Maxine Peake
IF YOU’RE looking for a gripping new thriller to see you through January, BBC1 has it covered.
Written and created by Ruth Fowler, Rules Of The Game is set at sportswear company Fly and focuses on two conflicting characters. There’s ruthless chief operating officer Sam (Maxine Peake), who has climbed to the top of the ladder thanks to her willingness to play along with the boys, and newlyhired HR director Maya (Sex Education star Rakhee Thakrar).
The themes within the four-part drama are important and timely.
We see Maya begin to unpick the toxic culture at Fly – while Sam is adamant nothing needs to change – and questions are asked about the death of Amy, a young female employee who died at a company party in mysterious circumstances.
Here, Bolton-born Maxine, 47 – who rose to fame in shows like Dinnerladies and Shameless, and is currently on our screens playing Hillsborough campaigner Anne Williams in ITV’s Anne – tells us what else we need to know.
Can you tell us a about the plot of Rules Of The Game?
The show is set in a family-run sportswear company, run by the Jenkins family.
There is a strong air of toxic masculinity that runs through the workforce and the work practices.
Maya comes in to investigate and things start to unravel, secrets from the past are exposed.
It encompasses a lot about acceptable behaviour over the decades, what was seen as acceptable then and what is now.
My character is at the centre of this and, for me, it’s about whether she is implicit, or a victim of this whole dynamic. Obviously, it’s not just about this company, it’s about something that is systemic in all forms at workplaces and institutions.
What was the biggest challenge with this role?
I think just all the female journeys within it – that devastating moment when you read a script and go, ‘I know these people, and I know everyone who’s experienced something like this’.
And, actually, a lot of the time it was watching other performers, like Rakhee and Callie [Cooke, who plays Tess Jones], and the stuff they were performing and going through.
What drew you to the project?
I just thought, ‘I really like Sam’. She’s very straight. She’s quite unsentimental. She’s funny, she’s witty, she doesn’t give a lot away.
When I started going deeper into the script, all the female characters were so well-drawn and I felt real-life experience within each character.
Ruth did that brilliantly – everybody’s complex and not just one note – and there’s so much going on.
There’s dark humour that went through that really appealed to me. It was just the strength of the female ensemble that I warmed to.
What do you think viewers will think of Sam?
A lot of the crew said, ‘She’s not very nice, is she?’ And I was like, ‘What?!’ She’s just surviving. But as I get older, I don’t care if people like my characters, as long as you’re telling a story in the best way.
And actually, maybe we need more unlikable women on TV.
Men can go around killing people [on TV], and people still like them, but a woman can be a bit of a cow and people don’t like her.
So, we’ve got a long a lot of work to do with the representation of women and our attitudes towards women.
Do you feel extra responsibility when approaching a project with such significant themes?
The sad thing is that every female – and every male I’m sure – has come into contact with somebody who’s been through one of these situations; it’s so commonplace, obviously, in our industry.
But what is fantastic is they’ve taken it out of the acting industry, because I think the Me Too generation got very focused on one industry when actually it was happening to so many people in all sorts of walks of life. It’s an epidemic, isn’t it?
So yeah, you’ve got to be very careful with it, and very respectful.
But it is a piece of entertainment as well.
It’s always that fine line, because there will be people watching this that have been through similar situations, and you just hope pieces like this give people a bit of hope.
How does Rules Of The Game keep audiences hooked in?
I’m a big fan of character-based drama; you will engage with these people, there’s a lot of toing and froing about whose side you’re on.
It’s very clever in that it’s got such a strong theme and it’s very relevant, but it’s also a whodunnit story.
It’s got so many elements to it, not just, ‘Let’s guess who the killer is’.
You must have enjoyed filming in Manchester...
It’s great being up north because I live in Salford. I’m from Bolton originally, and then I lived in London for about 12 years and then I came home – I call Salford home.
My character’s house was a 10-minute walk from where I live, which has never happened to me. That was a bonus, because a lot of the time you’re away, and after the year we’ve all had, being able to work from home has eased me back into filming after having a bit of a break.
■ Rules Of The Game airs on BBC1 on Tuesday at 9pm with episode two on Wednesday at the same time. All four episodes will be available as a boxset on BBC iPlayer from Tuesday
As I get older, I don’t care if people like my characters, as long as you’re telling a story in the best way
Maxine Peake