{"id":1322,"date":"2016-10-10T19:24:57","date_gmt":"2016-10-10T19:24:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/?p=1322"},"modified":"2018-08-30T20:22:03","modified_gmt":"2018-08-30T20:22:03","slug":"theatre-in-film-a-midwinters-tale-in-the-bleak-midwinter-1995","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-a-midwinters-tale-in-the-bleak-midwinter-1995\/","title":{"rendered":"Theatre in Film: A Midwinter&#8217;s Tale (In The Bleak Midwinter) (1995)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"fusion-one-full fusion-layout-column fusion-column-last fusion-spacing-yes section-header-post\" style=\"margin-top:;margin-bottom:;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper\"><h3>Theatre in Film: <i>A Midwinter\u2019s Tale (In the Bleak Midwinter)<\/i> (1995)<\/h3>\n<font size=\"2\" color=\"grey\"><span style=\"border:1px solid ;-webkit-border-radius:50%;-moz-border-radius:50%;border-radius:50%;-moz-box-shadow: 0 0 3px rgba(0,0,0,.3);-webkit-box-shadow: 0 0 3px rgba(0,0,0,.3);box-shadow: 0 0 3px rgba(0,0,0,.3);margin-right:25px;float:left;\" class=\"fusion-imageframe imageframe-glow imageframe-1 hover-type-none author-image\"><a class=\"fusion-no-lightbox\" href=\"http:\/\/performerstuff.com\" target=\"_self\"> <img src=\"http:\/\/mgs.performerstuff.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/authorimage.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"img-responsive\" style=\"-webkit-border-radius:50%;-moz-border-radius:50%;border-radius:50%;\"\/><\/a><\/span><p>Written by Ashleigh Gardner<\/p>\n<p>October 12, 2016<\/p>\n<\/font><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><div class=\"fusion-one-full fusion-layout-column fusion-column-last fusion-spacing-yes section-body-post\" style=\"margin-top:;margin-bottom:;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper\"><p style=\"text-align: left;\">Welcome to Part IV in Performer Stuff\u2019s Theatre in Film series. In this installment, we feature films from 1989 to 1995 that focus on interpersonal relationships within theatre \u2014 the love, the complications, and the comedy that inevitably occur when actors, directors, playwrights, and technicians share the same space for extended periods of time. We conclude\u00a0Part IV with the 1995\u00a0black-and-white British comedy by Kenneth Branagh, <i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Midwinter\u2019s Tale (In the Bleak Midwinter).<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<h4><i>A Midwinter\u2019s Tale (In the Bleak Midwinter)<\/i> (1995)<\/h4>\n<br><div align=\"center\"><div class=\"fusion-video fusion-youtube\" style=\"max-width:600px;max-height:350px;\"><div class=\"video-shortcode\"><iframe title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vBS92ui_h74?wmode=transparent&autoplay=0\" width=\"600\" height=\"350\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><\/div><br><p style=\"text-align: left;\"><b>Director: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kenneth Branagh<br \/>\n<\/span><b>Starring:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Michael Maloney, Richard Briers, Hetta Charnley, Joan Collins, Nicholas Farrell, Mark Hadfield, and Julia Sawalha<\/span><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: left;\">What happens:<\/h4>\n<br><p style=\"text-align: left;\">Out of work British actor, Joe Harper (Michael Maloney), convinces his catty producer and agent, Margaretta D&#8217;Arcy (Joan Collins), that he should direct a production of Shakespeare\u2019s <em style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hamlet<\/em> during the Christmas holidays in the small town of Hope, Derbyshire, England. It\u2019s a disaster from the moment the auditions start, and the\u00a0auditioners are anything but normal: a tap-dancing actress presenting an interpretation of the \u201cto be or not to be\u201d speech, an actor who bangs a baking sheet against his head in a madcap chant, and an actor who won\u2019t accept direction after he\u2019s presented a comical interpretation of Richard III. However, Joe finds his actors from the pool of eccentrics and casts his play with some of the oddest yet most committed actors in Hope. (He\u2019s also cast himself as Hamlet.) His set and costume designer, Fadge (Celia Imrie), is a visionary artist whose specialties are \u201cair, space, and fog.\u201d On top of it all, his performance venue is a rundown, abandoned church. Everything is perfect &#8212; almost.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rehearsals are a disaster, with the actors constantly bickering about their accommodations, each other, and the direction of the show. The week before opening, the troupe comes under threat of being evicted by the greedy landlord. In an attempt to keep the show running, Joe moves the show to another church. Their technical rehearsal is complicated by falling plaster and overall confusion, and when Joe tells the cast that he\u2019s signed on to a sci-fi film and won\u2019t be making the opening performance (or any performance thereafter), they\u2019re all devastated. But rather than forsaking his theatre family, Joe returns to the church moments into the play\u2019s first performance and takes back his role as Hamlet, playing to a sold-out, excited, and supportive crowd.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: left;\">Why it matters:<\/h4>\n<br><p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A quick note: Though this film is in black-and-white, it was released in 1995 and\u00a0shot in black-and-white for artistic effect. Picture the cinematic British child of <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Waiting for Guffman <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(1996) and <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Noises Off<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (1992) &#8212; that\u2019s <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Midwinter\u2019s Tale<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The subtitle of the film, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the Bleak Midwinter<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, may refer to the Christmas poem by Christina Rossetti, <\/span><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/In_the_Bleak_Midwinter\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIn the Bleak Midwinter\u201d<\/span><\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, that was written prior to 1872 for <\/span><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Scribner%27s_Monthly\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Scribner\u2019s Monthly<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. (It later became a Christmas carol in 1906 with musical composition by Gustav Holst.) The poem describes the harsh conditions during Christmas Time that Mary and Joseph endured during the birth of Jesus. Not unlike the Christ Child and his parents, the actors in Joe Harper\u2019s version of <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hamlet <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">must bear with what little they have. In their case, they make do with a cold and drafty church, little pay, shoddy props and costumes, food scraps, and the uncertainty of their show\u2019s upcoming premiere.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The lack of a reliable venue (or reliable <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">anything<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) in theatre is often a serious problem for many theatre companies, especially if they\u2019re starting out or down on their luck. Community productions that are renting an expensive space or amateur productions that can\u2019t find a venue run into the same financial problems that Joe does: instead of paying top notch actors and getting a stable venue, they get actors with little experience and a performance space that may crumble into ruins at any moment. (Though inexperienced actors can be talented, this rag-tag bunch of talented actors are also a bit insane.)<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, in the small company\u2019s struggles to maintain a professional, creative, and collaborative atmosphere, they also find themselves inexplicably drawn to each other\u2019s talents and charms, an experience that countless actors have when working on a production. When Joe, who&#8217;s said he\u2019s leaving for a film gig, tells the cast they should be with their families on Christmas instead of working on a play, Nina Raymond (Julia Sawalha), his would-be girlfriend who plays Ophelia, tells him, \u201cWe\u2019re with our <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">family<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">! That\u2019s what actors do!\u201d She speaks truth in the face of Joe\u2019s unyielding depression and lack of self-worth, reminding him that an actor\u2019s family is, more often than not, the people they work with on a production. In a field where so many misfits gather together to find acceptance, it\u2019s inevitable that the word \u201cfamily\u201d comes to describe those who aren\u2019t necessarily blood related. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Midwinter\u2019s Tale (In the Bleak Midwinter) <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">showcases how actors with artistic differences find camaraderie and hope in a world that seems intent on breaking them apart.<\/span><\/p>\n<br><p>This film is the first featured in Part IV of \u201cTheatre in Film\u201d. See below for the others in Part IV.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-a-chorus-of-disapproval-1989\/\"><strong><em>A Chorus of Disapproval<\/em>\u00a0(1989)<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-noises-off-1992\/\"><strong><em>Noises Off\u00a0<\/em>(1992)<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-vanya-on-42nd-street-1994\/\"><strong><em>Vanya on 42nd Street\u00a0<\/em>(1994)<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-bullets-over-broadway-1994\/\"><strong><em>Bullets\u00a0Over Broadway\u00a0<\/em>(1994)<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Want to start with\u00a0<strong>Part I<\/strong>? Begin with\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><em><a href=\"http:\/\/mgs.performerstuff.com\/?p=133\">42nd Street\u00a0<\/a><\/em>(1933)<\/strong><\/span>.<br \/>\nMiss\u00a0<strong>Part II<\/strong>?\u00a0Check out\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-series-the-band-wagon-1953\/\"><strong><em>The Band Wagon<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<strong>(1953)<\/strong><\/a><\/span>.<br \/>\nNeed a refresh for\u00a0<strong>Part III<\/strong>? Start with\u00a0our feature on\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-series-all-that-jazz-1979\/\">All That Jazz\u00a0<\/a><\/em><\/strong><strong>(1979)<\/strong><\/span>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><hr \/>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: left;\"><em><strong>Ashleigh Gardner<\/strong>\u00a0received her AA in Theatre\/Drama\/Dramatic Arts\u00a0from Valencia College and\u00a0her Bachelors Degree in English Literature and\u00a0Masters Degree in Literary, Cultural, and Textual Studies from\u00a0the University of Central Florida. She is a playwright, an actor, and PerformerStuff.com\u2019s Editor.\u00a0<\/em><\/h5>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: left;\">Thumbnail image from\u00a0<em><i>A Midwinter\u2019s Tale (In the Bleak Midwinter).\u00a0<\/i><\/em>Copyright<em>\u00a0\u00a9\u00a0<\/em>Sony\u00a0Pictures\u00a0Classics 1995<em>.<\/em><\/h5>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [...]","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1344,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[259,265],"tags":[106,25,319,407,80,63,14],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1322"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1322"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1322\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1344"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}