Diana Rigg

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Actors should pay little attention to reviews. Reviewers and critics can be many things. They can approach a play completely with a non-critical eye. They could have vested interests. They can be lumbering academics. Perhaps they are frustrated writers. They could have an agenda of some kind. Most people have agendas, preferences that they know nothing about. Reviewers hold a lot of power in their hands. Sometimes the conceit that goes with holding a career in one's hands ruins objectivity.

While there are some great reviewers and critics, a lot are not. There is probably not a great actor in North America who has not got a bad review. While, there might be legitimate issues that conspire to wreck an actor's performance, reviewers and critics are not likely to understand those issues. As performance can take in music, dance, theatre, styles and literature, a reviewer needs to be an expert on many disciplines. That is not likely.

One actor I directed in Kingston was given a crushing review. He was misdiagnosed as looking the part but lacking the art, all looks and no talent. The guy was playing Hamlet.

After that he was accepted into Canada's most prestigious theatre school, and of course he went on to play leads at the Stratford Festival and for Mirvish Productions. Another young man I had playing Hamlet, was also criticized as lacking depth and being in love with his costume too much. He again ended up at the same prestigious theatre school and again at The Stratford Festival. In small towns, a reviewer might be forced to write reviews as well as his regular news desk job and of course, such reviewers are bound to be suspect.

Diana Rigg of television's The Avengers wrote a hilarious book called No Stone Unturned, where famous actors in film, television and theatre submitted their worst reviews. Every actor should read that. There's something comforting about getting a bad review and finding yourself in the company of greatness.

Of course, as an actor, you will receive your unearned share of good reviews. Rarely will you get an accurate review. The review that matters most is the one that comes from the audience. You can't get rich pleasing reviewers and critics, while displeasing the audience. Theatre, film and television companies rely on audience numbers to keep their business going. No matter what academics might think, performance in a vacuum is not a performance. It is self-indulgence.

Actor and watcher share their cup of communion through the performance. Film and television companies are always looking for the one actor that can move an audience. So, what a critic or reviewer thinks is relatively immaterial. What the audience thinks is highly material. In fact it is likely detrimental to a performer's career to pander to the critic or reviewer.

Take the audience with you and there are no limits to your progression as a working actor.

Charles G. Robertson

Charles is a playwright, producer, and drama coach living in Kingston Ontario, Canada. He is a partner in Bottle Tree Productions, resident company at The Wellington Street Theatre, of which he is the Artistic Director. His award-winning plays are inspired by the actors with whom he works. Charles has an extensive roster of directorial credits ranging from Shakespeare to Dario Fo.

http://www.bottletreeinc.com
http://www.wellingtonst.net

"tipping the Velvet" is First Alternative Lifestyle Film With an Educational Message - Part 2

Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley

Tipping the Velvet - 4 Stars (Excellent)

What makes Tipping the Velvet an excellent film is its talented cast with a great presentation, and it has a life-changing, meaningful message by a lesbian about innocence, desire, passion, betrayal, empathy, change, independence, resourcefulness, vision, love and happiness while retaining a sense of self-worth and self-esteem.

It is incredibly unusual to see an alternative lifestyle film with a happy ending.

I review controversial films because they are ultimately about relationships and relationships are the foundation of our lives.

As I grow older I understand that the most important things in my life have nothing to do with money or material things, and everything to do with my relationships involving my wife, my children, my grandchildren, extended family and friends.

What matters over the long haul is the well-being of people, not whether we agree or disagree with their lifestyle choices.

The BBC has done a tremendous service in bringing this movie to television with the quality of a BBC broadcast that includes great writing, great sound, great cinematography, great direction and a great cast.

Based on Sarah Waters' acclaimed debut novel, Tipping the Velvet was adapted by Andrew Davies, an Emmy award-winning British screenwriter who has also written "Doctor Zhivago", "Bridget Jone's Diary", "Sense and Sensibility", "Vanity Fair" and "Pride and Prejudice". Davies is a very talented heavyweight.

Tipping the Velvet tells the story of Nan Ashley (Rachael Starling, the real life daughter of Diana Rigg) who shucks oysters and serves customers at her father's seaside restaurant in Victorian England during the 1890's.

Nan's mundane life turns upside down when she sees an extraordinary performance by an attractive traveling male impersonator named Kitty Butler (Keeley Haws). Nan's innocent interest is fueled when she is asked by Kitty to become her dresser while she is performing in Whitstable.

When Kitty is recruited by Walter Bliss (John Bowe), and heads to London to become a big time entertainer, she invites Nan to accompany her as her dresser. Nan falls in love with Kitty, joins her act as a performer and ultimately the two become secret lovers.

For Nan the relationship is euphoric and her happiness real until she returns from a vacation trip home and discovers that Kitty and her manager Walter have become lovers and are to marry.

Nan's initial innocence and desire are now confronted by betrayal and rejection. Despite being devastated, Nan awakes from her stupor and asserts her independence by walking the streets of London disguised as a young man for hire, performing oral sex so she can survive. When she is assaulted, Nan is rescued by a rich widow who gives her every comfort in exchange for lesbian sex. Nan becomes a prisoner and slave to her passions for pleasing and being pleased.

Eventually there is a tiff and the widow, Diana Leathaby (Anna Chancellor), throws Nan out, where she is left penniless and alone to fend for herself with nothing but the clothes on her back. Despite her misfortune, Nan vows to survive. Nan now learns the plight of those in need and turns for help to the only person she can remember, Florence Banner (Jodhi May), who she had met earlier in better days.

Florence and the brother Ralph Banner (Hugh Bonneville) reluctantly take in the battered and exhausted Nan for a night, but Nan is determined to change her ways. She becomes resourceful in convincing Florence and Ralph that she can clean, cook, and watch the baby that the Banners are raising.

Nan's vision is to make herself so indispensable that she will remain welcome in the Banner home despite her 7-year journey from innocence to unbridled passion to debauchery, recovery and finally well-being and acceptance. Ultimately Nan and Florence fall in love. Then Kitty returns to Nan's life once again when Kitty, wishing to resume her torrid relationship with Nan, learns that Nan is back performing on stage.

Nan is then forced to decide between the attractive, passionate Kitty and the more loyal, loving Florence. For once, Nan makes a wise choice in staying with Florence, finding the love and happiness she wanted but had never possessed. The ending is what makes Tipping the Velvet an excellent movie. When all is said and done, Nan and Florence survive in their relationship as well-adjusted adults who find each other and continue living with their self-esteem and self-worth intact.

Other than a few awards from lesbian theater groups, Tipping the Velvet was ignored by the critics, and especially Hollywood. This is why I write reviews, to separate the wheat from the chaff and recognize substance in filmmaking wherever it exists.

The more knowledge and understanding we have of people, races, cultures, mores and lifestyles, the sooner we come to understand that we are all connected. We tend to value acceptance and tolerance only when it is taken from us. "Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought." John F. Kennedy said it, and I believe it.

And what does "tipping the velvet" mean? See the movie, not to find out what tipping the velvet means but because it is an excellent film on alternative lifestyles. Support films that increase understanding and acceptance.

(Editor's Note: This is Part 2 of a 2-Part Review.)

About the Author

Ed Bagley's Blog Publishes Original Articles with Analysis and Commentary on 5 Subjects: Sports, Movie Reviews, Lessons in Life, Jobs and Careers, and Internet Marketing. Read my 3-part series on "Secrets Men Don't Want Women to Know" and reviews on the Broadway musicals "Camelot", "Chicago" and "The Phantom of the Opera". These are all excellent films. Find my Blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
http://www.edbagleyblog.com/MovieReviews.html

The Avengers?

Hey all

That was one of my favorite shows growing up and I liked Emma Peel's character over the woman that followered her. They filmed 161 episodes with only 25 in color making it 136 in black and white. Diana was only apart of the show from 1965-1968.

Hope the helps.....

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