Nicholas Hytner had never produced or directed television before lockdown. He confesses as much himself: “I’m the last person you’d come to in normal times to make seven hours of television.” Yet in the midst of a pandemic, the rules are bound to change ever so slightly.
As of tomorrow, Hytner’s first ever work for television will grace our screens – a reimagining of Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads for the era of social distancing. Hytner said yes to the project almost immediately. He was given three weeks to commence filming.
Hynter’s organisational brain went into overdrive. First tasked with convincing Bennett the plan was solid, he then moved to organising make up and costumes.
As for the actors, he said to casting director, Robert Sterne: “They’ll have a single day to shoot upwards of 30 minutes, direct to camera, and these monologues are written to be shot in long, uninterrupted takes, so they’ll really have to know them, no safety net.” He found twelve willing participants easily.
While Bennett has not worked on commission for as long as Hynter has known him, he wrote two additional monologues a few years ago, which will be released tomorrow too. According to Bennett: “The essential thing about the monologues, is that they are just that – one person talking without a lot of movement. Too much movement makes it look as though there is action, whereas all the action is in the story being told.”
Hynter concludes that the arts are “at the heart of the country’s future, as powerful a force as sport in bringing people together, to heal, to entertain and to inspire. Meanwhile, Talking Heads is a small reminder of what’s at risk.”
Talking Heads was delivered ten weeks and a day after the first call with the idea. It begins tomorrow at 9 o’clock on BBC One.
