Two’s a company for acting couples

Coronavirus restrictions mean thespians from the same houshold are in demand for productions

David Tennant and wife Georgia will star along with Michael Sheen and Anna Lundberg, his partner, in a new BBC comedy Staged, as performing couples find themselves at an advantage in productions forced to comply with social distancing rules

‘We are looking for genuine couples. Everyone is thinking outside the box to get the industry running again’

‘It’s really interesting working on projets that might be filmed remotely, either via Zoom or with the actor’s family’

ON-SCREEN liaisons have been deemed too dangerous in the age of social distancing, so acting couples could be in line for a busy summer.

Keeping cast lists limited to those in the same household could allow performing couples to continue working while coronavirus restrictions are in place, agents have said.

David Tennant and his wife Georgia will star along with Michael Sheen and Anna Lundberg, his partner, in a new BBC comedy titled Staged, which follows the video rehearsals of furloughed West End actors. These arrangements will allow a realistic closeness on screen that would otherwise be impossibl without presenting a danger to cast or crew.

Casting agents believe this approach offers a perfect solution to social distancing rules, and celebrity couples could be fielding calls for collaborative work due to the Covid-19 crisis.

Married Strictly Come Dancing stars Aljaž Skorjanec and Janette Manrara have already benefited, performing together at a VE Day celebration outside Buckingham Palace when fellow dancers had to be separated.

Another new BBC offering, Comedians: Home Alone, will see stand-up Marcus Brigstocke and his fiancée Rachel Parris performing together while they live in lockdown.

“We are casting performers who are within the same household for various projects,” Kate Evans, chairman of the Casting Directors Association, told The Daily Telegraph.

“For instance, there’s a script that requires a couple, so we are looking for actors who are a genuine couple who live together. Everyone is thinking outside the box to get the industry up and running again,” she added.

Staged features Tennant and Sheen as furloughed actors who are devastated when their forthcoming West End show is cancelled, and the six-part series follows the performers as they attempt rehearsals over video in lockdown.

Charlotte Moore, director of BBC Content, said the series “provides moments of humour and light relief ” and “shows what great sports Michael and David are”. Their co-starring partners provide perfect, risk-free additions to the cast. BBC soap opera Eastenders has attempted to film physical intimacy by using deceptive camera angles. But the new approach to coronavirus conscious casting may see stars mixing personal and professional lives to keep audiences entertained as on-screen couples.

Tom Hardy and Charlotte Riley, who met on the set of Wuthering Heights, could once again find themselves in demand as an on-screen pairing. Acting couples Imelda Staunton and James Carter, Matthew Macfadyen and Keeley Hawes, Damian Lewis and Helen Mccrory, and Meera Syal and Sanjeev Bhaskar are all among those who could navigate social distancing rules and be cast together.

Agents have been in contact with representatives of the advertising industry and actors union Equity to discuss the future of casting in the world of coronavirus, with ready-made couples a niche solution to fit scripts calling for relationships.

Family ties can also come in handy, casting agents have said, for homemade productions during the Covid-19 lockdown which rely on talent being under one roof.

CDA board member Andrea Clark believes the “landscape is changing”, and this kind of production and casting choice could become more commonplace while restrictions apply.

She said: “It’s really interesting, and challenging, working on projects that might be filmed remotely within an actor’s own home, either via Zoom or with the actor’s family being the crew.

“We suddenly have so many more factors to take into consideration. But it’s fun and is really in the ‘we are all in it together’ spirit.”