amanda abbington
Actress Amanda Abbington tells Jeffrey Davies why she is relishing her current role in God of Carnage
WHEN 11-year-old Ferdinand hits 11-year-old Bruno with a stick in a playground punch-up and knocks out two of his teeth, the combatants’ enlightened parents decide to meet to talk things over civilly. But once the niceties are done with and the drink starts flowing, it is the parents who turn into spoiled brats... A new tenth anniversary production and English premiere of Yasmin Reza’s “ruthlessly comic study of middle-class parenting”, God of Carnage, has just opened at the Theatre Royal Bath starring Amanda Abbington, Elizabeth Mcgovern, Ralf Little and Nigel Lindsay. Winner of the Tony Award for Best Play and the Olivier Award for Best New Comedy, this very funny farce, described as “a hilarious sharp-edged comedy of bad manners”, is one of the most successful plays ever in the history of the West End. Sounds like audiences are in for a treat, I remarked, to a most delightful and chatty Amanda Abbington. “Oh yes they are. It is such a wonderful French farce,” Amanda answered most enthusiastically. “The play takes place during the course of an evening in a living room and it deals with the views of parents about all manner of things. It starts off with a very dignified chat about their own children and it all ends up in chaos,” Amanda laughed. “It is all about how we as parents are actually not too dignified in handling situations with our children. And audiences will be able to see themselves, perhaps, in some of the situations being played out on stage and the ensuing dialogue. Believe me Jeffrey, it really is very, very funny with lots of comedy in it. The audience will have a lot to laugh at. “It is such a well written play too, with lots of emotion and feeling in it. And because of that mix of emotion and humour, it’s a bit of a rollercoaster for everyone. You end up at one point really liking and then hating and then liking again all of the characters in it. It’s also a short play as well which is, of course, good because people don’t wish to be sitting on their seats for hours on end.” I told Amanda that I saw her in last year’s excellent 40th anniversary production of Mike Leigh’s Abigail’s Party at the Theatre Royal and that I thought she was very much at home playing comedy roles, even though, she is best known for playing more serious roles like Mary Morstan in Sherlock, Miss Mardle in Mr Selfridge and DS Moffat in Cuffs. “Well thank you very much Jeffrey. That’s very kind of you to say,” Amanda replied, adding that she thought comedy was really a much harder medium to do than drama and other ‘serious stuff ’ because you have to know what’s funny and know about comedy timing which is essential. “Comedy is always a bit of a challenge and slightly scary because not everybody finds the same things as funny as you do and vice versa. So it’s really down to you to make it as funny as possible,” said Amanda.
“But you are right, I do enjoy comedy very much. But, also, I really enjoy acting in all genres. Equally I don’t want to be necessarily a stage actor more than a screen actor. I want to do both. I enjoy it all very much.” In God of Carnage, Amanda plays a character called Annette. Does the chirpy actress see any likenesses between herself and her latest stage incarnation? “Some elements, yes. Somethings I can get on board with. But not all. Annette’s an animal lover which I am as well,” Amanda replied, citing one particular likeness she recognises. “But, there are lots of things about her that I disagree with. So no, I’m not really like her. But I do like playing her very, very much,” Amanda said, adding that the play’s celebrated playwright Yasmin Reza is rightly acclaimed for her thoughtful and incisive writing. “She’s so very good at observational comedy and she writes it so very well. The dialogue in her writing is just wonderful. She’s very on the ball in terms of what is going on in the world, writing with a heightened sense of reality which is always very interesting. And there is some darkness to her writing too. She’s such a good writer for actors.” Amanda said there wasn’t really any role she wouldn’t take on as an actress. “It always has to come down to the script for me and whether it is relevant, funny, interesting or heartbreaking. You don’t rule anything out as an actress. I always look to see if the writing is good before deciding.” Apart from her starring roles in the aforementioned TV dramas, Amanda’s numerous other TV credits include Doc Martin, Teachers, Harley Street, Booze Cruise, Picking up the Pieces and Being Human. Her TV credits are equally impressive. And Amanda will shortly star in a concert production of A Little Princess at the Royal Festival Hall. Back to Amanda’s roles in Sherlock, Mr Selfridge and Cuffs. Fun to do? Fond memories? “Oh they were. I love doing a good TV drama Jeffrey,” Amanda replied, with obvious affection. “These genres are so nice and so different from each other. Each one brought so many good things and so many fun things. We are very, very lucky to get to do this kind of work. TV drama really is particularly good fun to do, a different kind of excitement, and a great medium to work in. It’s real gift.” Playwright Yasmina’s other acclaimed works includes the multi award-winning 1994 hit, Art, Conversations after a Burial, which won the Moliere Award, and Life x 3. The play’s director Lindsay Posner has worked extensively in the West End, at the Royal Court, the RSC and the National Theatre. His recent productions include Abigail’s Party, Relatively Speaking, The Lie, The Truth and The End of Longing.