A SHORT CHAT ABOUT THE LONG CALL
In this four-part crime drama, Ben Aldridge stars as Detective Inspector Matthew Venn, who has returned to live in a small community in North Devon with his husband, Jonathan (Declan Bennett). Matthew is forced to re-engage with the community and the rejection he faced from his family – who are part of the Barum Brethren church, led by Dennis Stephenson (Martin Shaw) – when he came out as gay. He has to deal with the death of his father, his painful relationship with his mother and solve the mystery of a murdered man found on the beach near his home. We chatted to Martin Shaw.
WHO IS DENNIS?
Dennis is the leader of a religious cult known as the Barum Brethren. It’s a fictitious cult although, in reality, there are various sects of the Brethren that exist in the UK and further afield. They live by the teachings of the Bible in a very absolute kind of way. They run along the principle of removing themselves from modern society and avoiding what they consider to be the worst things of that society – from mobile phones to televisions.
I believe Dennis is a good man although he is utterly fixated with the world view of the Brethren and with the continuation of the sect. I think he started with the best intentions but, as often happens with leaders of religious cults, his ego now dominates and threatens to destroy everything.
DID YOU DO RESEARCH INTO THE BRETHREN?
I did, but it’s quite difficult to research the Brethren because, by its very nature, it’s a closed society. I did watch a documentary about the Plymouth Brethren [which] was helpful though, and the script supplied the rest.
WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE OF THE ROLE?
The day I had to be up to my waist in a very cold sea in North Devon for a scene in which Dennis is baptising somebody into the Barum Brethren. It was blowing a gale, with torrential rain for the most part, with the occasional 10 minutes of sunshine. What represents 30 seconds on screen took maybe four hours of filming, by which time I was literally shaking with cold.
‘I HAD TO BE UP TO MY WAIST IN A VERY COLD SEA IN NORTH DEVON FOR A SCENE’