Memoirs of the Celebrated Mrs Woffington: Bye-bye bonnets

Thursday 15 January 2009

Bye-bye bonnets

Speaking as someone who once got banned from the BBC History forum (how is it my fault if everyone wants to flame each other over Regency House Party??) - I'm glad the BBC is dropping Regency costume drama. I love Jane Austen's works, but some of these latest dramas have become a grotesque breeches'n'bonnets parody which, despite my enthusiasm for literature, I can hardly be bothered to watch these days. Whatever happened to Austen's gloriously catty voice? Her unsentimental opinions?

I'm also pretty fed up of Andrew Davies' reputation for raunchiness - something that he himself seemed fed up with at least eight years ago when I saw him address the University of Warwick writing group; he complained about 'that picture of Colin Firth in a wet shirt' and seeing it pinned to the kitchen cupboards of 'women of a certain age'. Amazing that, in his BBC adaptation of John Cleland's Fanny Hill, he actually went the other way and turned a work of eroticism into cosy teatime drama!

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7 comments:

Elizabeth Kerri Mahon said...: I'm just glad that they are going to stop remaking the same five novels over and over again. How many versions of Wuthering Heights or Jane Eyre do we need? I'd like to see them explore more works of the 19th century, maybe even some Henry James.; 15 January 2009 at 17:02
Mrs Woffington said...: Hi Elizabeth, yes I agree entirely. I loved Davies' adaptation of Pride & Prejudice, but I think the whole genre needs a shake-up now and a new approach. Something a bit darker like Wilkie Collins would be great to see too.; 15 January 2009 at 17:09
Anonymous said...: They should do The Prisoner of Zenda! That'd be a lark. Or Halldor Laxness' "Iceland's Bell". An epic costume drama of love, war and manuscript-collecting set in 1720s Iceland! All the decolletage and breeches - plus geysers and glaciers! Now THAT'd make a change from Austen!; 15 January 2009 at 17:32
Mrs Woffington said...: People who had money in Icesave may be deterred from watching, however.; 15 January 2009 at 17:35
Anonymous said...: I agree. I found the BBC's last version of Sense & Sensibility dull, dull, dull. Apart from David Morrissey :) Likewise ITV's adaptation of Mansfield Park. Don't get me started on Billie Piper's brassy hair and black eyebrows...and yes, some Wilkie Collins would be great; 15 January 2009 at 18:57
Mrs Woffington said...: You rarely see such blatant miscasting as Billie Piper in a demure Empire-line frock.; 15 January 2009 at 23:44
Anonymous said...: Yes, I kept expecting David Tennant and the Tardis to appear at any moment, and for her to start shouting "You're 'avin a laaarf, aint 'cha Edmund?"

Mansfield Park vs The Daleks. I would pay to watch that...; 17 January 2009 at 14:34

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Who was Mrs Woffington?

Virtually forgotten today, Margaret Woffington (also known as Peg or Peggy) would rise from humble origins to become one of Georgian London’s most famous actresses, sharing the stage with the likes of David Garrick and excelling in so-called ‘breeches roles’. Born around the year 1720 in Dublin, her childhood years were marred by the death of her father, which plunged her family into poverty. Having reputedly sold watercress barefoot in the streets of the Irish capital, she was soon talent-spotted by a tumbler known as Violante, who staged populist entertainments in booths around the city. Violante had a troupe of child actors called the Liliputians, and before long Woffington was making her debut as Polly Peachum in their version of The Beggar’s Opera. Moving to London, she gained plaudits for both her outstanding beauty and her talent – particularly in comedy – appearing at both Covent Garden and Drury Lane. Known for her quick wit and no-nonsense attitude, she had high-profile affairs with Garrick, Lord Darnley and Charles Hanbury Williams; she was also a generous benefactor, supporting her elderly mother and may even have endowed some almshouses in Teddington, where she had settled at the height of her success. She died, unmarried, in 1760, having suffered a long wasting illness, and is buried in Teddington's parish church of St Mary’s.

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