So it was Nancy’s sixtieth birthday last night, and my first one to one encounter with a celebrity. Mum wasn’t sure if Tim McInnerny and his partner Annie were going to be there, because it was the first dress rehearsal of Annie’s new play in London. But, lucky for me, they arrived somewhat fashionably late. I didn’t feel as anxious as I first thought, but I wasn’t sure how to approach him and when to go for the kill and ask him if he’d give me an interview.
Mum was hastening me to introduce myself and get on with it, but I wanted to wait till he’d settled into the swing of the party. So I had a glass of sparking pink and felt less than comfortable in my borrowed red silk dress and mum’s original croc stilettos. They were too big for me, but suited the dress so well I had to forget the pain. I’d stuffed so much cotton wool in the toes that my poor feet felt thoroughly trapped. I sat and ate a Mexican feast at a table with dad, Tim, Nancy’s son Henry and his girlfriend. At this point I begin to feel at ease, but still didn’t feel it was the right time to approach the subject of the interview.
Paul and Nancy hired a projector for the night and we watched the classically cheesy cult movie Flash Gordon. (Something everyone could relate to in one-way or another.) We had a proper interval at half time, with ice cream and wafers. It’s hilarious to be aware of the ‘in jokes’ after so many years of viewing Flash purely as a fantastic rollick through space. Just as spectacular as I remember from my childhood, but now added with a thick layer of sexual innuendo and tongue in cheek humour. The special effects barely look dated, and the wardrobe department must have had all their Christmases in one go sourcing the whacky costumes (and painting Ming’s eyebrows.)
After the showing I felt the time dissolving, and quickly gravitated to mum and dad, who were chatting to Tim. I waited for my time to open a conversation, and asked him what it was like working on Severance. He was only too happy to divulge a fair few anecdotes about the experience, his relationship with the production team and the trials of filming in Hungary. At last I had engaged him, and although I was dying on my feet in those ridiculous heels, I was making headway. I couldn’t decide when to ask him about the interview, but when he told me about his casting in a new production of Othello at the Globe, I thought that would be a good angle for an interview; Tim goes back to the theatre.
So I said, “Would you be interested in giving me an interview sometime?” and then, “Is it ok to take your details?” To my immense relief, he said, “yes” to both. I wonder if the red dress had made an impression, or was it just my natural charm? So anyway, I got him to write down his number and email and he said something like, “lets do lunch sometime…” So I think as soon as I’ve got my work experience out of the way, I’ll give him a call and arrange a day trip to London. I was nicely surprised at how approachable Tim was, and how interested he was in what I was doing. He even said he’d be interested in reading my script! (Note that I never use exclamation marks, but I thought it was highly appropriate here.)
I know I was pretty lucky for it to work out like that, but it wasn’t quite as hard as I thought it was going to be. I hope he will follow up his promise. But if he’s too busy, I could always interview Annie, as I’m sure she’s got her fair share of stories to tell. Either way, it’s another name to add to my contacts book (yuck, that sounds so shallow.) I don’t know if I could make a full time living out of this, but it is kind of fun and involves a lot of careful planning (which I’m getting better at) and working out the best time to strike in the hope of turning a few tiny cogs in the media machine.
