Hi all I'm unable to track down an online copy of Mr Starkey's article in the British TV paper Radio Times, so thought it would be useful to give more info on what he actually wrote.
He was flown over to Lithuania to watch filming - he's a nippy sweety historian who is pretty good at lecturing to camera, but nothing like the class of Kenneth Clark - and raves on about the 1/3 and full scale reproductions of Whitehall Palace constructed with guidance from Simon Thurley, head of English Heritage and ' "the" great expert on Tudor palaces' after pointing out they film in Lithuania because it's cheap. Then we get onto costume. "Where I think this film is really going to score, though, is in the attention to costume. This is not the usual Hollywood version of the Tudors, not the standard stuff. In the 16th century, costume wasn't as we take it for granted now. In, say, a dress, the sleeves were separate, the skirt was separate and the whole thing was held together by a series of ties or aglets (a type of super-safety pin of gold and silver). I asked to watch the actors being dressed, and the textures, the colours and the shapes were all extremely well done; several costumes were entirely authentic." The period of Elizabeth's life is covered (from Armada to death) next and praises the writing, saying it is a formal style without the "horrors of" prithee and forsooth, before detailing the process of hanging, drawing and quartering which we will get to see in full. Yay. There is also a little box called "Spot the Deliberate Mistake: David Starkey explains why, sometimes, artistic license is better for drama than authenticity..." He points out that even shakespeare messed about with facts for the purpose of his drama and concludes "This drama is particularly dangerous because it will look so real". We also have Elizabeth meeting Queen Mary (of Scotland) and King James VI/I, her successor, people sitting and wearing hats in the royal presence and Elizabeth comforting Leicester as he dies (although who could resist an ailing Mr Irons?). All in all I think the article and perhaps the programme will be a mixed bag - I will be keen to see the rest of the costumes, designed by Mike O'Neill (who did Prime Suspect, David Copperfield (1999), Charles II (2004?), Our Mutual Friend, Daniel Deronda and North and South. Obviously the BBC period person du jour. http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/charles/backstage/costume_designer.shtml gives some insight into his process. Mr O'Neill is shown looking at a short bejwelled bodice 'bought in Rome' for Helen Mirren. Mr Starkey was also very impressed with his research (photograph of large white folder). I'm not knowledgeable enough to spot the small things but I'd be delighted if someone could give me examples of a princess seam on an Elizabethan bodice - it shouts to me of inappropriate corseting, my pet peeve. HTH, Katherine, who's sure the show will migrate to our American cousins quite soon. ___________________________________________________________ To help you stay safe and secure online, we've developed the all new Yahoo! Security Centre. http://uk.security.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
