Catherine the Great, Bette Davis... AND ME
There are any number of opportunities in television and lm for young actresses. For a select few, your Dame Maggie Smiths and your Dame Judi Denches, there’s a tidy living to be made in the national treasure market. But for anyone stranded between the ‘Perky Popsie’ and ‘Dowager Duchess’ categories, pickings can be slim indeed.
Which is why you might consider Frances Barber an extraordinary success. Fresh from a triumphant run leading an all-female cast in an extraordinary new take on Julius Caesar at the Donmar Warehouse, and with a continuing role in hit legal drama Silk, she’s about to essay three challenging characters in a frankly bonkers comedy series from The League Of Gentlemen mainstay Jeremy Dyson.
Despite all that, Frances still doesn’t feel as if she has arrived. I caught up with her shortly after she completed filming on Psychobitches, which imagines famous women from history on the psychiatrist’s couch. I asked her when she first saw herself in a newspaper and realised that she was a famous actor.
‘I’ve never thought that,’ she laughs. ‘I’m not being silly. I still feel as if I’m fluking it, and I’ll be found out. Every job I get, I think, “I can’t do this”. When I was playing medium Doris Stokes, I thought, “What was I thinking saying yes to this?" But perhaps that’s the healthier attitude.’
Frances has often said that if she hadn’t become an actor she might have pursued a career as a political commentator. ‘I’ve always been interested in politics, it’s always been my passion. But I’m not committed enough. I’m not intelligent enough. I envy the kind of instant knowledge that Sarah Montague has. When I hear her interviewing a government minister on the Today programme, I just think it must be so thrilling.
As Bette Davis
‘I am quite serious about politics. I get annoyed with young people who are apathetic about it. Even just on the level of being a member of Equity. I get very cross with them because they don’t have to get as involved any more. So I do rather bang on about it.’
With that in mind, it’s surprising that many of her standout performances have been quite fantastical and otherworldly. I suggested that she might relish a meaty role in a political thriller…
‘I would love that. Borgen was tailor-made to make me stay in every Saturday night. I adored it. The politics, the intrigue, the drama, a fantastic role for a woman… perhaps it’s because the subtitles force us to pay closer attention to what people are saying.
‘I saw a French film recently and it was somewhat preposterous. But because it’s in another language you do concentrate more and perhaps you get more out of it because of that. Broadchurch was like an attempt to do something on the Scandinavian model, where it’s in no rush, and you do get to know the characters a little bit better, with time to delve into their backstories.'
Throwing the question wider, I asked which performances she had seen that aroused a stab of 'it could have been me' envy.
'Ooh, almost everything I watch. Certainly everything Olivia Colman does. But because she’s so good, and in fact most of the people I find myself envying are so good, it’s just a tinge of envy really. I’m happy that they’re doing it.’
Frances gets three very substantial roles to play with in Psychobitches: Bette Davis, Catherine the Great, and medium Doris Stokes. I asked how she had landed those three particular parts.
As Catherine the Great in Psychobitches
'The first one we talked about was Catherine the Great and I said, "Oh I'd love to be involved in it," because I'd seen the pilot and I think Rebecca Front is fantastic. Then they asked if I could do Doris Stokes and I said, "Well, I'll have a go." Then a little later they said, “Would you do Bette Davis with Mark Gatiss?” So it was like a sweet shop, where I thought I had a tiny packet of sweets and it turned out I’d been given an enormous box of chocolates. I was thrilled.’
Psychobitches is a comedy, but Frances finds the dark core just as she manages to tease a hint of comedy out of even the most serious roles. I asked if that was accident or design. ‘I think if it’s anything it’s my personality – and I think it’s because I am essentially half … well, more like 30 per cent melancholic and about 70 per cent fool.’
Julia Davis, who has been behind some of the darkest, funniest comedy on British TV in recent years, appears as Sylvia Plath. Sharon Horgan is original ‘bad girl’ Eve. Sam Spiro gives us her Audrey Hepburn. Kathy Burke will be playing deliciously against type as Mona Lisa and Katy Brand turns up as the creator of Frankenstein, Mary Shelley.
The series will also include appearances from Jack Whitehall and Harry Enfield. It also represents something of a reunion for The League Of Gentlemen team: Mark Gatiss, Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton.
Psychobitches runs on Sky Arts until 4 July. It will be released on DVD later in the year.
Which is why you might consider Frances Barber an extraordinary success. Fresh from a triumphant run leading an all-female cast in an extraordinary new take on Julius Caesar at the Donmar Warehouse, and with a continuing role in hit legal drama Silk, she’s about to essay three challenging characters in a frankly bonkers comedy series from The League Of Gentlemen mainstay Jeremy Dyson.
Despite all that, Frances still doesn’t feel as if she has arrived. I caught up with her shortly after she completed filming on Psychobitches, which imagines famous women from history on the psychiatrist’s couch. I asked her when she first saw herself in a newspaper and realised that she was a famous actor.
‘I’ve never thought that,’ she laughs. ‘I’m not being silly. I still feel as if I’m fluking it, and I’ll be found out. Every job I get, I think, “I can’t do this”. When I was playing medium Doris Stokes, I thought, “What was I thinking saying yes to this?" But perhaps that’s the healthier attitude.’
Frances has often said that if she hadn’t become an actor she might have pursued a career as a political commentator. ‘I’ve always been interested in politics, it’s always been my passion. But I’m not committed enough. I’m not intelligent enough. I envy the kind of instant knowledge that Sarah Montague has. When I hear her interviewing a government minister on the Today programme, I just think it must be so thrilling.
As Bette Davis‘I am quite serious about politics. I get annoyed with young people who are apathetic about it. Even just on the level of being a member of Equity. I get very cross with them because they don’t have to get as involved any more. So I do rather bang on about it.’
With that in mind, it’s surprising that many of her standout performances have been quite fantastical and otherworldly. I suggested that she might relish a meaty role in a political thriller…
‘I would love that. Borgen was tailor-made to make me stay in every Saturday night. I adored it. The politics, the intrigue, the drama, a fantastic role for a woman… perhaps it’s because the subtitles force us to pay closer attention to what people are saying.
‘I saw a French film recently and it was somewhat preposterous. But because it’s in another language you do concentrate more and perhaps you get more out of it because of that. Broadchurch was like an attempt to do something on the Scandinavian model, where it’s in no rush, and you do get to know the characters a little bit better, with time to delve into their backstories.'
Throwing the question wider, I asked which performances she had seen that aroused a stab of 'it could have been me' envy.
'Ooh, almost everything I watch. Certainly everything Olivia Colman does. But because she’s so good, and in fact most of the people I find myself envying are so good, it’s just a tinge of envy really. I’m happy that they’re doing it.’
Frances gets three very substantial roles to play with in Psychobitches: Bette Davis, Catherine the Great, and medium Doris Stokes. I asked how she had landed those three particular parts.
As Catherine the Great in Psychobitches'The first one we talked about was Catherine the Great and I said, "Oh I'd love to be involved in it," because I'd seen the pilot and I think Rebecca Front is fantastic. Then they asked if I could do Doris Stokes and I said, "Well, I'll have a go." Then a little later they said, “Would you do Bette Davis with Mark Gatiss?” So it was like a sweet shop, where I thought I had a tiny packet of sweets and it turned out I’d been given an enormous box of chocolates. I was thrilled.’
Psychobitches is a comedy, but Frances finds the dark core just as she manages to tease a hint of comedy out of even the most serious roles. I asked if that was accident or design. ‘I think if it’s anything it’s my personality – and I think it’s because I am essentially half … well, more like 30 per cent melancholic and about 70 per cent fool.’
FUNNY LADIES
There may not be many juicy roles for women on television. But this first full run for Psychobitches must be at least one small step towards redressing the balance. Sky Arts’s new comedy series sees the minds of some of history’s most famous women probed by Rebecca Front’s deadpan therapist.Julia Davis, who has been behind some of the darkest, funniest comedy on British TV in recent years, appears as Sylvia Plath. Sharon Horgan is original ‘bad girl’ Eve. Sam Spiro gives us her Audrey Hepburn. Kathy Burke will be playing deliciously against type as Mona Lisa and Katy Brand turns up as the creator of Frankenstein, Mary Shelley.
The series will also include appearances from Jack Whitehall and Harry Enfield. It also represents something of a reunion for The League Of Gentlemen team: Mark Gatiss, Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton.
Psychobitches runs on Sky Arts until 4 July. It will be released on DVD later in the year.