FIRST IMPRESSIONS: MAUREEN LIPMAN
What are you working on?
I’m doing a play, called Daytona, by the actor Oliver Cotton, who is in Passion Play.
When are you most happy?
When I’m not conscious of trying to be happy.
What is your greatest fear?
Pain.
What is your earliest memory?
I suppose the small toilets at the preschool I was taken to, which frightened me.
Who has been your greatest influence?
Jack Rosenthal, my late husband.
What is your most treasured possession?
I'm not wild about possessions. In a material way, it would probably be my late husband’s sculptures in bronze. Otherwise, it would be my children and granddaughter.
What trait do you deplore in others?
Mean spiritedness.
What do you most dislike about your appearance?
My mother loved everything about her appearance and convinced me that mine was all wrong, bless her. I dislike having a thin face because in books the villains always have thin faces. I would like to have a much more modern face with a square jawline – and a short neck.
What is your all-time favourite book?
I once read, when I was ill, all six Jane Austen books on the trot and it was a real treat. Pride And Prejudice is probably the best, but it was the experience of someone really getting under the skin of society that appealed to me as I lay captive in my bed. There is something very comforting about that – my daughter says she loves having a cold so she can snuggle up and be ill with a book.
Your favourite film?
Carlos Saura’s Carmen – the flamenco Carmen. It had a huge effect on me.
Your favourite music?
It’s so hard to pick one, but I would say Max Bruch’s violin concerto 2nd movement.
Your favourite meal?
In my head it’s fish and chips, but I’m always vaguely disappointed. Sometimes it’s the simplest food: sardines on toast, kippers in a hotel, egg on toast when you have nothing else in. It certainly wouldn’t be a tasting menu.
Who would you most like to come to dinner?
If I were cooking and I had strychnine available, Adolf Hitler.
What is the nastiest thing anyone has ever said to you?
Diana Rigg hates my dog and I find that hard to bear. I have a basenji and she’s lovely. She was in a play with Diana and now every time I see her she asks if I still have ‘that horrible dog’. Actually the worst thing was a review by AA Gill in which he described me as a ‘three flush floater’ – a piece of s*** that won’t go down the toilet.
Do you believe in aliens?
I would like to. It’s the only salvation for mankind – something to threaten us from outside and stop us tearing each other apart.
What is your secret vice?
Liquorice fudge. You have to get it from Denmark.
Do you write thank-you notes?
I never did growing up because we didn’t do that in Hull, but I do now.
Which phrase do you most overuse?
‘You know’.
What would improve the quality of your life?
A kind of mindfulness that would keep me calm.
What would you like your epitaph to read?
‘One of the best actresses of her generation’. In fact, it will no doubt joke ‘she was cut off in her prime’ because of the BT commercials.
Maureen Lipman is in Daytona until 18 August at the Park Theatre, Clifton Terrace, Finsbury Park, London N4. The play then begins a nationwide tour: 020-7870 6876, www.parktheatre.co.uk
I’m doing a play, called Daytona, by the actor Oliver Cotton, who is in Passion Play.
When are you most happy?
When I’m not conscious of trying to be happy.
What is your greatest fear?
Pain.
What is your earliest memory?
I suppose the small toilets at the preschool I was taken to, which frightened me.
Who has been your greatest influence?
Jack Rosenthal, my late husband.
What is your most treasured possession?
I'm not wild about possessions. In a material way, it would probably be my late husband’s sculptures in bronze. Otherwise, it would be my children and granddaughter.
What trait do you deplore in others?
Mean spiritedness.
What do you most dislike about your appearance?
My mother loved everything about her appearance and convinced me that mine was all wrong, bless her. I dislike having a thin face because in books the villains always have thin faces. I would like to have a much more modern face with a square jawline – and a short neck.
What is your all-time favourite book?
I once read, when I was ill, all six Jane Austen books on the trot and it was a real treat. Pride And Prejudice is probably the best, but it was the experience of someone really getting under the skin of society that appealed to me as I lay captive in my bed. There is something very comforting about that – my daughter says she loves having a cold so she can snuggle up and be ill with a book.
Your favourite film?
Carlos Saura’s Carmen – the flamenco Carmen. It had a huge effect on me.
Your favourite music?
It’s so hard to pick one, but I would say Max Bruch’s violin concerto 2nd movement.
Your favourite meal?
In my head it’s fish and chips, but I’m always vaguely disappointed. Sometimes it’s the simplest food: sardines on toast, kippers in a hotel, egg on toast when you have nothing else in. It certainly wouldn’t be a tasting menu.
Who would you most like to come to dinner?
If I were cooking and I had strychnine available, Adolf Hitler.
What is the nastiest thing anyone has ever said to you?
Diana Rigg hates my dog and I find that hard to bear. I have a basenji and she’s lovely. She was in a play with Diana and now every time I see her she asks if I still have ‘that horrible dog’. Actually the worst thing was a review by AA Gill in which he described me as a ‘three flush floater’ – a piece of s*** that won’t go down the toilet.
Do you believe in aliens?
I would like to. It’s the only salvation for mankind – something to threaten us from outside and stop us tearing each other apart.
What is your secret vice?
Liquorice fudge. You have to get it from Denmark.
Do you write thank-you notes?
I never did growing up because we didn’t do that in Hull, but I do now.
Which phrase do you most overuse?
‘You know’.
What would improve the quality of your life?
A kind of mindfulness that would keep me calm.
What would you like your epitaph to read?
‘One of the best actresses of her generation’. In fact, it will no doubt joke ‘she was cut off in her prime’ because of the BT commercials.
Maureen Lipman is in Daytona until 18 August at the Park Theatre, Clifton Terrace, Finsbury Park, London N4. The play then begins a nationwide tour: 020-7870 6876, www.parktheatre.co.uk