Writing Austen - Part Three
Series Producer and Writer Peter Eryl Lloyd gives an account of the writing challenges behind Doctors’ special two parter: ‘Austenland’
June '13
It’s a two parter. It’s a risk, but what the hell. Possibly an ego trip, but since everyone was getting excited, I thought it worth the effort. Back to the scripts and the pursuit of Darcy was becoming problematic – he seemed too saintly and though Lizzie had plenty of obstacles to overcome, she was essentially reactive rather than active. As well as the Mr Collins proposal scene, I’d always wanted to include an evening scene and with more space, this seemed an ideal opportunity. I’d already thought long and hard about the use of music in the episode and put many suggestions in the script. But to have one of the young ladies perform? And what if it’s Caroline Bingley, desperate to ensnare Darcy? I’d heard on the grapevine that Elisabeth Dermot Walsh has a beautiful singing voice, but because Zara is not really a singer, we’ve never had the opportunity to exploit this. Perfect. Elisabeth was interested and even sang a couple of possible songs for me in my office. The new scenes began to take shape – I could make the pursuit of Darcy more of a competition, and portray Darcy as rather pedantic and annoy Lizzie – something lacking in earlier drafts. Plus more comedy for Owen, Jan and Dido – always a bonus!
Carol, my producer was boundlessly positive and suggested a read through – we never have time for them normally, but maybe one evening after wrap with a relaxed atmosphere, it would give an opportunity to see if the dialogue worked, expose any problems with the language and get some kind of accurate timing. It would be a real luxury.
Casting found us the ideal Lizzie Bennet – Elisabeth Hopper is probably going to be a star in the future, so we were lucky to get her. Some swift negotiations and she was booked, then brought up to Birmingham for the read through. The occasion turned out to be invaluable, though nerve wracking – with Lorna on holiday, I had to read in Mrs Tembe and Lady Catherine ( and no, I didn’t even attempt to do the accent!) But it brought a focus for everyone and we were able to get accurate timings for these rather odd scripts. And there were laughs, much to my relief. Cuts were needed to Part 1 (sadly, it’s always comedy that is sacrificed) and though Part 2 timed short, we knew it would expand in the playing. Director Dominic Keavey was relaxed and confident.
Script published, it was time for me to take a back seat and let everyone get on with it. Of course it didn’t stop me popping into make up to have a look at the wigs (Oh, Lady Catherine!) and searching for a sample of Austen’s handwriting for props. But no, really, I just had to let this go now. Just needed to sort that photographer ….
