FEATURE LIST
the present climate. with anti-gay break came with the film (‘hariots of " ' sentiments increasing again and the Fire. shot partly in Edinburgh. 5 potential threat of(‘lause Zxofthe Fame. however. brought its own ‘ " Local Government Bill one feels _ problems. which is why he decided to there mav soon be many more Bricks l opt out: ‘Well the great temptation if 5' and more artistic compromise. i you make a film like (‘liariots ufFire 3 ’3 (‘harleson sees it as antagonising l is that it opens avenues into j” 3 what is still an ongoingproblem. mini-seriesand things like that. [did ‘I should imagine there are still a lot ofstuffthat I shouldn‘t have i thousands of men out there who are done. If you want to be a proper ‘ T3 in exactly the position that Brick is actor those jobs are the pits. because 3 U in. Who have never. and never will. they churn them out so quickly the express affection towards another production values are always i man. but who feel it and feel guilty. ridiculously inept and they lt's terribly tragic. You know we‘ve encourage the worst kind of acting. i had all this women‘s lib over the last - *-—- — ' few years but men are just still so nfigg the Scots“ A screwed up—as I suppose any _--, .____ -__._ , , woman can testify. It‘s true that they 50 1 Just gm rather Sick Of the who“ ' 1‘ are—in the Western world certainly. thingand I thought [0 myscjp right ' You go to Third World countries and I‘m going to stop and I'm not going i the East. and men express affection to do anything until it's something I towards one another without being really wam to do} homosexual at all. Men in Western He ended up doing nothing. in society arc Often incapable 0f acting terms. for a year and a half- 5"“)me Micah)” I" PCOPIc "WY until director Howard Davies
offered him the part of Brick. It was a frightening period ofself- discipline: ‘The danger is that you are offered something and you think. well. maybe I had better do this. And then you think. no. I turned down something better than this last week. So it's a hiding to nothing in a way. But I had to do it for my own self-esteem.‘
Now back in gear. he would like to take on more. ‘l‘d love to direct — but I‘m such a lazy bugger I don‘t suppose lever will! And I‘d love to do all the Shakespearcs that are in my age-range at the moment. I feel
really ready for them. I’d love to roll
around all that wonderful poetry. m That's the great advantage of "
mm “mm . " ' stage-work. Reallythere'sno point.
For qudw“. .Ibnncgscc tomy way ofthinking. of doing
,- . ‘ “ ’ - ” naturalistic stuffon sta ’e. That's Williams had to rewrite the last act of ‘ ‘.. . . 5
. . what film acting sall about — (. at: partlvto make it more upbeat. . . t. . . .
' . . behaviourism. if you like. ll 1 m partlytosuggestthat Brick settles . d _ ' ‘ y y . , down more conventionallv to gmng u? 0 “Ag? “.(irk 1.1”“ to do mimicd MC The N'nion'li.‘ somethingpoetic. lhat swhere production 'howcvcr stick; with stage can compete with film. because ‘ “ ‘ it's not naturalistic. it‘sa little world
Williams‘ original ending. For . . . . (‘harleson this is very important: '“m mvcm with [he audwncc' ‘The vision at the end. to my way of ‘ . ‘. . thinking. is ofsomebody who just I JUSI gOI “Ck gives up. There‘s nothing he can do. __ ._. -... -___ He might as well just capitulate to Influenced by Chekhov. the lie. It‘s awfully. awfully sad. Tennessee Williams wrote Every night when we do it. it wipes marvellously poetic and symbolic : me out. and I think the audience are drama. building mood partly , razzled by it as well.‘ through his fine and mesmeric use of ‘ This will be (‘harleson's first tour language. In ('at on a Hot Tin Roof— with the National Theatre to his whose title and very structure is built . home town. Born in Leith. he lived on a metaphor. recurring images and just off Easter Road in Edinburgh references help to create the febrile for many years. and left Scotland to atmosphere. For Charleson. the go to drama school— ‘I miss the characters. with their combination of . . Scots. I must say.‘ He feels though the real and the symbolic. and Williams‘ fine. sensual use of
that Edinburgh itself has improved a great deal since his early years in the language 2er Part Of Ihc Joy of the
Charleson as Brick.
Hanif Kureishi‘s latest film Sammy and Rosie (iet [.ait/
city. ‘Nowadays there‘s quite a lot play. ‘It‘s filled with such wonderful , . . . y i goingon. When I wasthere ii was language. extraordinarilypoetic has provoked mixed reaction. Kureishi talks to Allan really dull and there were always language With a 10‘ (’frcf’c‘lll‘m3 Hunter about thC pOllIlCS informing his work. 1 people complaining about the length ‘Onc man has 0110 1302!! good IFUC ofyour hair,‘ thing in his life. one great good thing (‘harlcson‘s most high profile which is true.’ You know‘.’ It may in fad 5"” prove “"mm'mcm9' for lfthe interminable Thatcher reign mOIiVillcd. Films like The Lastof — some pgoplc' BM WW n' h S {me has done nothing else for the British ling/(UNI. R17“. SW'U’I‘I BU” TU“ imd w' N c K E theatre m that scmc' mm industry (mid it has done My Beauti/it/ l.atuitlrette have _ Cam" a Hm Tm Roof-“attju, "(H/1mg use) the“ it can claim [he become. by default. statements lt'om King's Theatre. Edinburgh and the responsibility for inspiring an the oPl’mnmni “Plain? Theatre Royal. (ilasgrm'. See Theatre increasingly sturdy sinew ofcinema illuminating and L'XPIUfing Ihc PA E Listings. that is raw. angry and politically UHSCCWIF UlldCT-‘ldc “lth liilk‘ildc
8 The List 1‘) Feb — 3 Mar 1988