STACK NZ Nov #57

DVD&BD

FEATURE

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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

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

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’m a big fan of Chris Lilley. I think he is amazing.

“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

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.”

Big School is out on DVD on Nov 1

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.”

NOVEMBER 2014 JB Hi-Fi www.jbhifi.co.nz

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