STACK NZ Magazine November Issue 57

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DVD&BD FEATURE
British comic DavidWalliams changes tack in his new faculty-based show
Big School. He spoke with Zoë Radas.
D
avid Walliams – the taller, “computer
says no” of the Little Britain duo
– has created a new series with the
effervescently self-deprecating Catherine Tate.
While Walliams always thought a high school
would be the perfect domain for neurotic
potential between teachers, he straight away
professed his idea had an Australian catalyst.
“The best one is Summer Heights High,”
says Walliams, when asked about other shows
he looked at that were set in the education
system. “I’m a big fan of Chris Lilley, so I’ve
seen all his work. I think he is amazing. But...
even though that is a piece of genius, I didn’t
feel there couldn’t be another show
set in a school.”
It was the singularly claustrophobic nature
of school that the comedian wished to use as
a backdrop for another kind of trope. “I really
wanted to do a love story, first and foremost,”
he explains. “I was thinking, ‘I’d love to do
a love story about two dysfunctional people
who can’t get it together’. You don’t get a lot
of privacy at school, so if you fancy someone,
you never get a moment of peace to talk
to them. Then the more I thought about
it, a school is a good situation for a sitcom
because it’s so universal.”
In terms of Lilley’s multi-character
approach, Walliams has obviously had great
experience working the same way within
one series. Little Britain featured scores
of characters
that were shared
between Walliams
and collaborator
Matt Lucas. This
time, Walliams was
interested in playing
one character with an
overarching storyline.
“It was amazing
to be a part of Little
Britain, [but] I felt like
it was good to move
on and take on a new
challenge,” he says.
“I thought a sitcom is
such a hard thing to
do because you’ve got
to juggle not just the
characters and jokes,
but also plots as well, and
plots are hard. Having done
a show where you play a different
character every two minutes, it would be
really lovely to sit with one character for six
half-hours and have that character have a bit
more of an emotional life.”
Walliams and the rest of the cast visited
schools to do some research and get a “feel
for what it’s like to be at a modern school”
and speak to teachers and pupils. “At first
we were just relaying all our different school
experiences ... it’s weird how you go to
different schools and you still have lots of
similar experiences with people,” he says.
“With Catherine Tate’s character – the
French teacher who thinks herself very
sophisticated but she’s never actually been to
France – I felt that was a trait [some teachers]
do have: being sophisticated, but they might
not necessarily be out there in the big world.”
But Walliams makes sure his respect for
the profession is clear. “It’s a very honourable
tradition and I feel a huge gratitude to my
teachers ... I’ve seen them in recent years and
it is very lovely to go and thank that person
[for] encouraging me to do what I love doing.”
While Tate is not credited formally,
Walliams explains she contributed thoroughly.
“She’s obviously a brilliant writer herself,”
he says, “and she did actually have a lot of
input in the script. A fellow comedian or writer
approaches [things] differently [to an actor];
they see the script as something that can be
bent, changed to get the best out of it. It was
just so great having her being
there and having her opinion
on everything, ‘cause I sort
of trust her taste implicitly
... I knew it wouldn’t work
unless I had someone of her
calibre in there.”
I’m a big fan
of Chris Lilley.
I think he is
amazing.
visit
NOVEMBER 2014 JB Hi-Fi
Big School
is out on DVD
on Nov 1