COMER CHAMELEON
Talking Heads takes Killing Eve’s Jodie Comer back to the1980s
JODIE COMER DAZZLED in the latest designer outfits as Killing Eve’s image-conscious Villanelle, but for her latest role in Alan Bennett’s returning
Talking Heads monologues, which continue this week, the required look was a bit more retro.
As aspiring actor Lesley, who was first played by Dame Julie Walters in 1988, Comer sports a typically 1980s ensemble featuring shoulder pads, high-waisted jeans and pearl earrings.
‘We had mood boards and a fabulous 1980s playlist for inspiration,’ reveals Comer, whose outfit reflects the decade’s power-dressing trend. ‘We had a group Facetime with the hair-andmake-up designer, and did a make-up test. It was so much fun going through the routine of what Lesley would do when she’s off to her big audition.’
The single-hander starts with Lesley confessing to killing someone with a harpoon gun – the sort of ingenious method assassin Villanelle might have used to dispatch a victim in Killing Eve.
GREAT EXPECTATIONS
In Lesley’s case, however, all is not as it seems, since the murder takes place in a film she’s been cast in. As she regales the viewer with her experiences of auditioning for and then shooting the movie, the monologue hilariously skewers Lesley’s pretensions and mines the difference between her version of events and what actually happened.
‘Lesley is an actress, and an incredibly passionate and determined one,’ explains Comer. ‘She believes that she has found her biggest opportunity yet, and is telling the audience how the job came about. The question that hangs over it all is, what type of “film” has she taken part in?’ Comer, whose award-winning
performance in
Killing Eve made her a household name, says she was thrilled to be asked to take part in the new adaptation of Bennett’s suburban confessionals.
‘I jumped at the chance to bring Lesley to life,’ she explains. ‘It was a wonderful idea from the BBC to bring audiences new content at this time, and I was itching to get off my sofa and do something creative.
‘The biggest adjustment to filming during lockdown was the stillness. Usually on set, there is a lot of chaos and noise, but as there were less people on set due to social distancing, it was very peaceful. Normally you have to zone yourself out of the noise to focus, but it being so quiet threw me off balance to begin with.’
Also showing on BBC1 this week are singlehanders featuring Gangs of London actor
Lucian Msamati,
Mum’s Lesley Manville, Line
of Duty’s Rochenda
Sandall, Fleabag’s Dame Kristin Scott Thomas, and Sherlock’s Martin Freeman.
Each of them, says Comer, 27, is a wonderfully crafted piece that really connects with the viewer.
‘They are beautifully intimate, as if the character is having a private conversation with the viewer,’ she explains. ‘The emotions and situations these characters are experiencing are so complex, and nothing is what it seems, which is exciting.’