There was an interesting article in the Observer about Eton actors and the resultant death of the working class thespian and Anne and I were discussing it over dinner (Anne hadn't read the article, obvs.) You can read it here.
I'm not sure things have changed that much when it comes to acting to be honest. It's always been posh. Sure, there was a 60s moment when all them Grammar school kids done their thing, as there was with literature, but it didn't last long. Bohemianism has always been irredeemably posh – they were always the only ones who could afford it.
Didn't stop me ranting though, and reading bits out to Anne over the lobster thermidor and quinoa washed down with a reasonably priced bottle of bone dry picpoul from Waitrose...
Me: Eton has got not one but two professionally staffed theatres including “a flying system, orchestra pit and revolving stage. Frank Cottrell Boyce says: 'They've got a classical stage and a TV studio. Honestly you could train a monkey. It would be a disgrace to leave there and not be a brilliant actor.'”
Anne; Yes, but Tom Hiddlestone...
Me: All he's got to say about is “I've known Eddie Redmayne since 14 and I've never seen anyone work so hard.”
Anne: Bless...frot, pant.
Me: And it's not even as though they're all any good. I've never liked Damien Lewis, and Dominic West is pretty shit too. Ruth Wilson acts him off screen (Notre Dame, Esher, blah blah blah - admittedly my consistency of chippiness against posh blokes is somewhat undermined by my love of all posh girls, everywhere).
Anne: Dominic West isn't posh. (Reaches for I-Pad sexually excited about proving me wrong, or maybe just about Tom)
Me: Well, Dominic's a clue. I bet there’s never even been a Gary at Eton.
Anne: Umm, Dominic Gerard Francis Eagleton West, yada, yada, Sheffield, Eton...
Me: See. The Sutton Trust (founded by an old boy of my school), found that 67% of British Oscar winners and 42% of Bafta winners went to private school (7% of kids go to private school).
Anne: Yes, but Tom Hiddlestone....
Me: Here's Jessica Hynes. “The academy system has monetised all subjects and schools simply don't receive any money from arts subjects. But drama isn't about prancing around, It's about how you build confidence, how you connect with other people.”
Anne: Not when you were teaching it in Bermondsey. What about that sword fight that became, um, a sword fight...?
Me: Yeah, but the point is Cameron says schools for the proles should aim to be more like Eton. Without the facilities, obviously. Yet Eton's own website says “The aim is to provide the boys with a safe and stimulating environment in which to develop skills not easily learned in the schoolroom: physical and vocal self-confidence; the social disciplines of group work; imaginative spontaneity and the discipline required to channel it; an extended emotional range; the power of their own creativity and an respect for others.” (I don't think Cameron can actually have ever taken drama).
Anne: Yes, but Tom...
And then we watched The One Show, for we know our place...
I'm not sure things have changed that much when it comes to acting to be honest. It's always been posh. Sure, there was a 60s moment when all them Grammar school kids done their thing, as there was with literature, but it didn't last long. Bohemianism has always been irredeemably posh – they were always the only ones who could afford it.
Didn't stop me ranting though, and reading bits out to Anne over the lobster thermidor and quinoa washed down with a reasonably priced bottle of bone dry picpoul from Waitrose...
Me: Eton has got not one but two professionally staffed theatres including “a flying system, orchestra pit and revolving stage. Frank Cottrell Boyce says: 'They've got a classical stage and a TV studio. Honestly you could train a monkey. It would be a disgrace to leave there and not be a brilliant actor.'”
Anne; Yes, but Tom Hiddlestone...
Me: All he's got to say about is “I've known Eddie Redmayne since 14 and I've never seen anyone work so hard.”
Anne: Bless...frot, pant.
Me: And it's not even as though they're all any good. I've never liked Damien Lewis, and Dominic West is pretty shit too. Ruth Wilson acts him off screen (Notre Dame, Esher, blah blah blah - admittedly my consistency of chippiness against posh blokes is somewhat undermined by my love of all posh girls, everywhere).
Anne: Dominic West isn't posh. (Reaches for I-Pad sexually excited about proving me wrong, or maybe just about Tom)
Me: Well, Dominic's a clue. I bet there’s never even been a Gary at Eton.
Anne: Umm, Dominic Gerard Francis Eagleton West, yada, yada, Sheffield, Eton...
Me: See. The Sutton Trust (founded by an old boy of my school), found that 67% of British Oscar winners and 42% of Bafta winners went to private school (7% of kids go to private school).
Anne: Yes, but Tom Hiddlestone....
Me: Here's Jessica Hynes. “The academy system has monetised all subjects and schools simply don't receive any money from arts subjects. But drama isn't about prancing around, It's about how you build confidence, how you connect with other people.”
Anne: Not when you were teaching it in Bermondsey. What about that sword fight that became, um, a sword fight...?
Me: Yeah, but the point is Cameron says schools for the proles should aim to be more like Eton. Without the facilities, obviously. Yet Eton's own website says “The aim is to provide the boys with a safe and stimulating environment in which to develop skills not easily learned in the schoolroom: physical and vocal self-confidence; the social disciplines of group work; imaginative spontaneity and the discipline required to channel it; an extended emotional range; the power of their own creativity and an respect for others.” (I don't think Cameron can actually have ever taken drama).
Anne: Yes, but Tom...
And then we watched The One Show, for we know our place...
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