BBC - British Broadcasting Corporation
BBC - British Broadcasting Corporation
08/09/2022 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/09/2022 01:26
Marriage
Contents
Published: 9 August 2022
Updated: 9 August 2022
Marriage follows married couple Ian (Sean Bean) and Emma (Nicola Walker) as they negotiate the ups and downs of their 30-year marriage.
We see them dealing with the insecurities, the ambiguities, the hopes and the fears that are part of all marriages, as the drama explores the risks and the gifts of a long-term intimate relationship. Sometimes funny, sometimes moving, always revealing.
Written and directed by Stefan Golaszewski, the executive producers are Tommy Bulfin for the BBC, Beth Willis and George Faber for The Forge and Richard Laxton and Stefan Golaszewski for The Money Men. The producer is Lyndsay Robinson (Him and Her, Mum).
Cast and Crew credits
Sean Bean - Ian
Nicola Walker - Emma
Chantelle Alle - Jessica
James Bolam - Gerry
Henry Lloyd-Hughes - Jamie
Jack Holden - Adam
Stefan Golaszewski - Writer, Creator, Director and Executive Producer
Beth Willis - Executive Producer for The Forge Entertainment
George Faber - Executive Producer for The Forge Entertainment
Richard Laxton - Executive Producer for The Money Men
Tommy Bulfin - Executive Producer for the BBC
Lyndsay Robinson - Producer
- Pictured above: Emma (Nicola Walker), Ian (Sean Bean)
Interview with Stefan Golaszewski
Stefan Golaszewski is the writer, creator and director and executive producer of Marriage
Hi Stefan. What's the premise of Marriage?
Marriage is a show about a couple and how they get through things together. I guess I'm trying to write about what it is actually like to be a person instead of what it is like on television or in fiction. People find things difficult and they don't really know what they feel. They think they feel one thing but often feel something else. They often don't know what to say to each other, which seems to be like a more truthful depiction of what it is like to be a person.
In the show, that's what I'm trying to do - connect with the audience about what it's like to be them and live their lives in a minute-by-minute way as opposed to a broad plot thrusting way. Digging into the minute and tiny moments to find the dramas and tensions in the way that we as people live our lives - moment by moment. We don't experience life as big thunderstorms, it's more like constant drizzle, and that's what the show explores.
What or who were your influences when creating this show?
I would say more novelists and musicians than film makers or playwrights. People like Zola, George Eliot, Bach, and Stravinsky. Their work has blown me in a different direction.
Who are the main protagonists in Marriage?
Sean Bean plays Ian. He's recently been made redundant, his mum has died and he's in a turning point of his life, where things are changing for him in the notion of who he is. Nicola Walker plays Emma, who has plans of what she wants to do with her career and looks after her dad.
Chantelle Alle plays Jessica, who has found herself in a relationship with Adam which isn't very healthy and is trying to find her way out of that, but in doing so is discovering things about herself. James Bolam plays Gerry - he's stuck at home and is trying to control whatever and how little he can. Henry Lloyd-Hughes plays Jamie. He can do a good pirouette but the ice he is skating on is very thin…
Tell us about casting Nicola and Sean.
Casting Nicola and Sean was great as I was able to rewrite the scripts with them in mind and strip away as much dialogue as I could, knowing I had two amazing actors who could do all that for me, which I prefer. I like having as few words as possible for a scene.
Tell us about the humour in Marriage...
The reason why the stuff I write tends to be funny or an irony really is a reflection of the fact that the world is fundamentally ridiculous and everything in it is pointless - but the only thing that isn't is love, and the connection between people. If I think about it that's probably the thing that connects everything I've written; there's a central focus on seeking togetherness.
How important is detail to you in this show?
I think it is very important for this kind of writing that what we shoot is absolutely what I wrote down to 'erm' or 'err', 'yes' or 'yeah'. Without that specificity, when I get in the edit, I'm not able to tell the same story. When your plot lines are as minimal as these are and based on such tiny shifts of emotion or mood, you have to have the absolute pinpoint tools to tell that story. If a line has got the words muddled in the wrong way or if it's slightly altered, that can really change the story.
So much of what I do is done on implication and inference, and it's a very specific game. You need all that to be as written, so I am very specific on the script. Actors tend to be very generous as they have read them and understood the nature of what it is, and come on board with that. I'm sure they get annoyed at me for telling them what they have said and when they should have said something else, but they are always very gracious and patient with me.
What inspired you to write Marriage?
What inspired the show was seeing the world full of beautiful things, where people fall in love and then do their best to be together. I think there's something really gorgeous about humans and worth celebrating.
What do you hope audiences take from Marriage?
I hope that the audience will connect with it and feel that it reflects what it's like to be them, and that it reflects the warmth, humour and the shared world view that you have in a relationship. The shared moments and joys, but potential for frustration and the impossibilities of it. When people get married they make a completely impossible pledge to be together happily for the rest of their lives, and no one can do that, yet everyone tries. That's what makes it a beautiful thing. In a marriage you are spending all day every day trying to make this thing work that really shouldn't. It's impossible to live with one person all day every day for the rest of your life, but you try it because you love each other and it's worth it and worth trying for.
Interview with Sean Bean
Ian (Sean Bean)Sean Bean plays Ian
Hi Sean, tell us about Marriage.
Marriage only takes place over 12 days or so. It's an extract of that time in their lives and you drop in to watch their lives. However, what is in those days is rich, revealing and you see what a relationship is... what a marriage is. Their doubts, fears, joy, happiness and heartbreak that go into everyday living.
What struck you about the script?
Stefan's dialogue is very natural and free flowing. It doesn't seem like that sometimes when you are doing it. I guess we all jump to conclusions about how we perceive delivery of the lines, and sometimes you go for the easiest option, but Stefan breaks it up and doesn't allow it to just become one-dimensional thought. There's a lot happening in between various sentences and statements we make which is hard to get your head around, but makes it very varied and rich.
He also throws in a lot of business: props, opening and shutting bins, getting tissue paper out at the same time as you are talking, which is something you have to get used to. However it's very well observed and quite hard work to get your head around, even though it's very naturalistic and free flowing. There's so many different layers he has created within his script.
Tell us about the situation with Jamie, Emma's colleague?
Ian is a man who isn't very sure of himself and not very confident. He used to be when he had a job and was in a relatively a high up position. He was a moderator at his firm, but that's gone and he's recently lost his mother. Emma is working and going places. Then there's a younger man on the scene [Jamie] so when you add them all together, he's quite suspicious. Ian is a very vulnerable and unsettled man and lots of little things begin to stir up into a big pot of worry!
Tell us about working with Stefan.
Stefan is very communicative. He has lived with this project for so long that he knows what he wants from us, it's a matter of getting on his wavelength. I've never really thought this much about what I say or do, but in this I feel very grateful to be able to have that opportunity. It's not method acting, but you really do think about how you are doing a scene. You have to be so truthful in the portrayal to bring out all the feelings and emotions that Stefan has put in.
What's it been like working with Nicola?
It's been a real pleasure for me working with Nicola, and I know everyone says that, but it really has.
Why should people watch Marriage?
People will be able to see many things that they can relate to in their own lives and their own relationships. There aren't any big stunts or reveals, it's just a very simple story, simply told, about people and the complications of daily life.
Interview with Nicola Walker
Emma (Nicola Walker)Nicola Walker plays Emma
Hi Nicola. Can you tell us about the process of Marriage?
It takes a lot of work to make it look as natural as it does, and Stefan makes sure we repeat it all. The dialogue is connected to simple everyday actions. There are times we have laughed a lot off camera when I've made about 30 sandwiches for one scene and boiled the kettle 28 times but they are simple actions you do every day... it's all in the detail, it's very revealing. Those mundane everyday details!
What has it been like working with Stefan?
The best thing for me has been having a writer and director. You make choices in certain scenes which you think are the right thing, but when you have Stefan there he will offer you something else. There have been times after a take when Stefan has given me a note, saying how that way or that take was much better - that has been really joyful.
Tell us about the rehearsal process.
We got to rehearse for a week before we started shooting, which is unusual for TV as you don't get to do that anymore. It was invaluable and we were in a tent with Stefan to be Covid safe! We got to go through every single page of each episode so we were already ahead before we started. We got to ask all the stupid questions with Stefan instead of doing that on the day in front of all the crew.
What's it been like working with Sean?
It's been very easy being married to Sean Bean for 27 years on this!
Tell us about the situation with Jamie, Emma's colleague?
I think it's hard to describe the situation with Jamie. Ian is suspicious of Emma's young boss at work but it's compounded by him recently leaving his job and there's lots of things going on, including losing his parents. What Emma feels about Jamie is very complicated and it's a big storyline in the show, but Ian is paranoid and suspicious about him.
Tell us about Emma's father, Gerry.
We had James Bolam playing Emma's father and we spent a week with him, which was an absolute pleasure. I felt a bit tearful on his last day. It was all quite intense and he's an incredible actor. It put us to shame on a basic level, in terms of line learning, as he was all over the script. I loved every second of it and Ian's relationship with him is brilliantly spiky, like a lot of those in-law relationships! With Emma's father you initially think he's very different to her, but as the show goes on I certainly think you see the similarities and inherited learnt behaviours between the father and the daughter.
Do you have any memorable moments from set?
My most memorable scene was applying cream to Sean Bean's thigh area. It was a beautiful moment and one that I never expected, as Ian had a nasty rash! It was a tremendous day in my professional career. Luckily it was in a tasteful position for camera!
Why should people watch Marriage?
There are revelations and Ian is pushed to certain behaviours by the end. There are quite volcanic moments for both of them. I want people to love it as much as we do really.
Interview with Henry Lloyd-Hughes
Jamie (Henry Lloyd-Hughes)Henry Lloyd-Hughes plays Jamie
Hi Henry, tell us about your character, Jamie.
Jamie is, on one level, a high-achieving alpha go-getter, but on every other level he's a hollow man. He's a sad clown who fills his life full of distractions, sugar and calories - as I've been discovering in the making of this TV show as I have been eating in almost every scene!
He's in charge of a firm of solicitors which he inherited from his father, who is a looming figure in this story, although we never see him. Emma works there with him, and it is that working environment that you see - mainly through the eyes of people who work there and the confines of that universe. Jamie thinks he's a big deal and that people look up to him, and he manipulates the status quo. As we go through our story we come to realise that there are a great number of shortcuts, and this is all a pretence...
How is Jamie different from Ian?
You have in the story, this mirroring of the two versions of a man. With Ian, you have a believable relationship, beautiful but with complexities. Jamie is the antidote to that on a superficial level. He is quick-witted, fancies himself, and feels he has this dynamic energy that's a million miles away from eating baked beans on toast on the sofa. Is his life any richer for that? We'll find out!
What has it been like working with Stefan?
I've found it an amazing creative experience working with Stefan, as I've been a huge fan of his for so long. The forensic knowledge he has of his characters and their world means that the notes he gives you are unlike anything else you will receive as an actor. It's such a delight. I'm dealing in some dark arts with some unpleasant source material for Jamie but I have relished every second. Sometimes he will come up to me on the side of the set wondering if I've thought about doing something another way, and I know he's right.
What was the process of working with Stefan?
We were luckily enough to rehearse, so we had a bit of a headstart which was nice. When I auditioned for the role, he kindly wrote to me and told me what he liked about what I was doing, which is quite unusual, because normally when you send auditions it's just sending something off into the void. This tragic bravado I was cooking up was the skeleton we were holding on to and we started from a good place of knowing what we thought we wanted to achieve - but we were constantly tweaking to find something that could be charming and appealing, and then find something else that is totally and brutally gutless.
Tell us about the conference.
The conference is where the show has been leading to, but in many ways it's just a conference. It's the most unglamorous thing in the world and Jamie spends a lot of time pretending he is too cool for it and has no interest, but also that it is sexy and that he is a big deal there.
For Emma, it's tied in with her ambitions and another level of her career hopes, and that Jamie has chosen her and only her. In name and spirit it's a promotion to be taken to the conference as his right-hand person. Of course, from Ian's point of view, this is a real crack in their long held and very real marriage. It is amazing to have a conference as the central set of a piece of drama, rather than a plane crash, car crash or big explosion. But only Stefan can do that and that's why it's brilliant. The conference is the showdown!
Tell us about Marriage in a few sentences?
Marriage is an incredibly funny tragedy and an incredibly believable relationship with some of the most truthful writing I've ever read. Everyone, never more than in the 21st century, has access to the idea that they might be missing something; another world on the other side of the door that might be sexier or more exciting than the world you are currently living in. But with this story it's based in a suburban setting that could be anywhere really, in any part of the world, and you see that longing paranoia and we explore it, basically.
Interview with Chantelle Alle
Jessica (Chantelle Alle)Chantelle Alle plays Jessica
Hi Chantelle, tell us about the story of Marriage.
Marriage is a story that explores every aspect of a relationship, the ups and the downs. It also follows a new relationship that is quite toxic. It deals with the raw emotions within relationships that you don't really see on TV. Even the small things of when you and your partner are alone in bed and the conversations that come from that. It's an honest story about relationships.
What is the story of Marriage?
Marriage follows a married couple who are dealing with the loss of a child, but also raising an adoptive child. It deals with the trauma and the ups and downs of a relationship that has lasted that long. It also follows their daughter Jessica's journey of finding herself as a young woman, as an artist and navigating her own relationship, growing in her confidence and standing up for herself. We meet her when she's harbouring all these feelings of doubt and frustration and we watch her grow and take ownership of her own life. It's just a beautiful story of human interactions, connections and growth.
Tell us about your character, Jessica.
Jessica is the daughter of Ian and Emma. She's 22, bright, funny and really intelligent. She struggles with self confidence and tends to validate herself based on other people's opinions and reassurances. We grow with her and see her develop into a more confident person who believes in herself and her craft. She's a singer-songwriter and it's the one thing she has ownership of. She was adopted as a baby and Ian and Emma are all she knows. The adoption isn't really discussed as it's linked to a loss that her parents don't talk about. She knows she's loved but I think there's a slight disconnect with them as they don't discuss it. We follow her as we get the answers she thinks she needs.
Jess is a singer/songwriter. Can you sing?
I can sing a little bit but I'm not professionally trained. I have no technique but I can carry a note! I can't play the guitar but I learned for this role. Stefan sent a guitar to my house a month before filming and he wrote the songs that Jess sings.
Tell us about Jess and Adam's relationship.
Jack Holden, who plays Adam, plays him beautifully. I think it's easy to see a character like Adam and automatically think he's the worst person in the world, but actually there are layers to him. I think he was criticised in his upbringing and he projects that onto Jess. But what I really love about Jess, and I discussed this with Stefan, is that as horrible as he is to her she's never the victim. She's a lot more powerful and in control. Adam is an amazingly clever record producer who can help her to grow and expand and that's what keeps her with him, but in the back of her mind she knows he isn't good for her. When she brings him to meet her parents she's looking for that honesty from them, that questioning of why she's with him.
What do Ian and Emma think of Adam?
Ian and Emma can already see through Adam and can tell he isn't a great person. Ian keeps things to himself and acts like everything is okay. Adam feels threatened by Ian, and it's in the little things he says. He can be clever and sly with how he says things.
What struck you about the script when you first read it?
I was really struck by the details. Stefan writes like a play. It's very specific and I really liked that. I liked the small beats.
What has it been like working with Stefan?
Working on set with Stefan is so comforting, as he is so specific with his feedback and very generous with his time. He makes it easier for you to understand a direction or a new note which is so important as most times, he will show me a whole new way to do it. The way he expresses himself is so simple and easy.
Why do you think Marriage will appeal to people?
Marriage has universal appeal because everyone can relate to overcoming an obstacle in life. We are rooting for these characters to find their way back to happiness. Dealing with loss, how you need the people around you to help you to grieve, or to help you stand up for yourself, to find your own voice, to grow in confidence and self-belief - I think a lot of people can relate to that.