An Evening with Prunella Scales
- Posted on April 5, 2007 10:53 AM
- 0 comments
By Katie Spain
The first thing I notice about Prunella Scales is her height. The woman is tiny... and she battles the lack of height with big shoes - just like me. Her stage presence however, is huge - even though she's not officially acting tonight.
The leading lady is here at the Tristan Bates Theatre to share her acting tips with us. At this week's Actor's Centre evening, Shakespeare's sonnets are the topic for today and five brave young actors sit in a semi circle on stage, waiting to deliver... and for her to dissect. And dissect she does! There's no holding back in Prunella world, and for the next hour, we're instructed on how to accentuate, pronounce and look deep into the delicate sexual, emotional and linguistic web that is Shakespeare.
Now it's question time... the moment we've been waiting for. From word go, it is made clear that Prunella doesn't want to chat about her days with John Cleese in Fawlty Towers. She treads for long enough on the subject to inform us that he was wonderful to work with and "Yes, were still good friends".
It's obviously a slice of the Prunella Scales pie of life that many people ask about. As we all know, her theatrical and on screen career spans much further than a backward hotel in England.
Prunella's early film roles included Pride and Prejudice and Hobson's Choice,but her first career break came with the early 1960s sitcom, Marriage Lines. She has done a lot of work for BBC Radio 4 sitcoms, and for television. She played The Queen in Alan Bennett's A Question of Attribution and other films include The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne, Stiff Upper Lips, and Howards End. You may have also seen her in the recent Tesco adverts where she plays the role of a fussy mother.
Prunella looks older than I'd imagined... but I admit I was one of the guilty ones with images of Sybil Fawlty on the brain. Her age however, is of the beautiful variety and there's no doubt that this is a beautiful, poised woman of extremely high standards. She oozes experience and although she seems a little shaky in the eyesight department (as am I!), every word she utters tonight is considered. I guess that's a good thing when Shakespeare is concerned. "The agony of doing Shakespeare is that you can't ask him what he meant."
The audience asks her about life with husband, actor Timothy West, her views on the Labour Party and life in the public eye. It's quite surreal sitting in the vicinity of such a renowned British actress. Last week Julie Walters sat in the 'hot seat' and I'll soon watch on in awe as Jeremy Irons spreads his acting knowledge. I'm sitting so close to Prunella right now, I could touch her. It's amazing just how small some people look in the flesh, and how fragile and, well... human. It's so easy to idolise stars to the point of surrealism and it's a refreshing slap in the face to be reminded of their mortality. The best thing about these masterclasses is not only the first class advice, but also the realisation that the people to whom we look up to, also had to fight hard for their success. Life's big achievements are there for the taking and there's no silver platter in the world of acting.
We can't all be Shakespeare but we can weave our own creative magic. I'm sure Prunella would agree. She certainly loves her art. "The joy of being an actor is to deliver good writing to people." She sure does it well, and the students around me will do it better from now on too.
For more information about the masterclasses, please read on:
Time and Dates: 6pm, selected Mondays from 12th March
Tickets: £12/ £10 conc
Box Office: 020 7240 6283 (from 2pm til 6pm Mon - Fri)
Or email boxoffice@actorscentre.co.uk
Address: Tristan Bates Theatre, 1a Tower St, London, WC2H 9NP
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