Such Fun: Miranda Hart Q&A

Well hello to you!

As a subscriber of The Times my mum is able to access the numerous offers available from the team at Times+: varying from restaurant discounts to advance film screenings; Q&As to competitions. Unfortunately I always seemed to find out about London-based events either after they’d happened or when they’d sold out, so as a result of constantly missing out I started following the @MyTimesPlus account on Twitter and am now often aware of events and offers before my mum has checked her emails. Within half an hour of last week’s event being advertised, I was on the phone and getting her to book us tickets as this was something we simply couldn’t miss: Miranda Hart in conversation with David Aaronovitch at Cadogan Hall.

We’re both huge fans of Hart, having religiously followed her eponymous sitcom Miranda, watched her raise the bar in primetime BBC drama Call the Midwife and made fools of ourselves hysterically laughing in public at her book Is It Just Me?. The thought of spending an evening listening to her speak in person was an opportunity both of us couldn’t entertain missing out on. On Thursday my mum made her way down to London from Cheshire, and after a quick coffee in Peter Jones we settled into our seats in Cadogan Hall, having a nosey through our complimentary Times canvas bags and leafing through our paperback copies of Hart’s book. 

It must be pretty odd to have a conversation with another person in front of hundreds of people, but with a glass of bubbly in hand and a well-timed quip about the awkward shuffle along a row of people to get to your seat that had the whole room laughing, the ice was well and truly broken. Due to the runaway success of her sitcom and the increasing popularity of her bumbling persona on screen it’s initially easy to confuse the character with the real Hart. In actuality she seems far removed from the clumsy, joke-shop owner the nation has grown to love. A noticeable difference – and a fact I was not aware of – is that she does not have the aversion to exercise that inhabits her character, and was a keen lacrosse player at school, playing for her county (Royal County Berkshire, obviously) and even attended England trials. This clearly placed her in the best position to indulge Aaronovitch’s request for a miniature lacrosse lesson, describing the general concept of the game complete with hand actions and enthusiastic gestures. Back into Miranda-mode though she went on to describe gyms as “cathedrals that smell of crotches” and instead advocated the benefits of a brisk walk, an anecdote that also made its way into her book.

Occasionally Aaronovitch would prompt Hart to touch upon topics that were covered more closely in her book, such as her opinion on hairdressers: she hates them with a passion and approaches them with the age old adage of “I’m British and middle class and can’t possibly complain” even when it’s an absolute disaster. Recently Hart has undergone a noticeable makeover, attending events with slicked back hair, a glowing tan and a refined wardrobe. This departure from her usual style suits her incredibly well, allowing her to look effortlessly stylish as well as retaining her own personal flair. In particular, her outfit for the 2013 BAFTA TV Awards was inspired, with shoes by Alexander McQueen and a beautiful patterned Vivienne Westwood jacket. 

[Image sourced from the BAFTA Flickr account]

This sophisticated image now successfully embodies her new position as a ‘serious’ actress following her move from comedy to drama. Aaronovitch accurately voiced how the nation had embraced Hart’s portrayal of her character ‘Chummy’ in the hugely successful BBC drama Call the Midwife. Her genuinely moving performance over the last two series had people weeping, and rightfully won her the award for Outstanding Drama Performance at the 2013 National Television Awards. It’s clear that Hart has versatility: she has shown that she is also able to act confidently in roles that require gravitas and have a deep emotional range. She spoke of how as an actress she has “to experience emotions to draw on them” and believes that it is now, at this stage in her career, that she has the resources to act seriously.

 

[Image sourced from radiotimes.co.uk]

Despite her overwhelming success in drama it’s impossible to forget that Hart laid her foundations in comedy, a genre that offered a release onstage due to its freeing and exciting nature. While studying politics at Bristol, Hart had auditions for drama schools but never attended them due to nerves and a lack of confidence in her abilities. Talking herself out of going was simple as acting seemed an “arrogant and preposterous” idea. However, the control offered by creating and performing her own material enabled her to attack comedy with more conviction, securing a show at Edinburgh in 2002. From then on there were small roles in BBC shows such as Absolutely Fabulous and The Vicar of Dibley, and a regular part in Lee Mack’s Not Going Out before her own show was commissioned in 2008. She spoke of how stand-up and comedy acting were unusual job choices, but that there was an innate sense of freedom performing on stage and making people laugh. When quizzed about future ambitions Hart’s face lit up at the notion of writing a farce as she adores the technicality of comedy. She’s evidently in her dream job, and the success she’s achieved shows that her tenacity has ultimately paid off.

It would be amiss not to mention Hart’s sitcom Miranda. Spanning three series since 2008 it has created numerous catchphrases, with “such fun” proving popular, and “sashay to the sashay” and “moist plinth” often being quoted. However Hart’s most proud of “bear with…” – the phrase immortalised by Sally Phillips’ blackberry-wielding and super-posh Tilly. It’s an undeniably funny and well-loved show, with witty scripts and elements of the ridiculous in the slapstick gags. The physical comedy makes up very little of the actual show but is such a crowd pleaser that it’s impossible to ignore. The grave scene (below) in particular is akin to the chandelier scene in Only Fools and Horses or the puddle in The Vicar of Dibley: a stand-out gag that’s perfectly rehearsed and comedic gold. The heart of the show has to be the central relationship between Gary – played by Tom Ellis – and Miranda, and given the cliff-hanger at the end of series three it’s no wonder that the audience at Cadogan Hall was so keen to ask Hart about the direction she wishes to take the couple. Hart, rather annoyingly, avoided directly answering any specific questions on the state of the relationship, instead choosing to keep the audience guessing and comment on the nature of the relationship itself and the quest for the pair of them to find their way back to that initial spark. No matter what ultimately happens to the couple, she emphasised that even with the innocence of the character there’s a lot to cover with Miranda in a relationship - as briefly seen in the dinner party episode – so clearly viewers have nothing to fear. Everyone has a favourite episode, but Hart said her top two were the episode with the therapist, as the mother/daughter relationship with Patricia Hodge (“Mum 2”) worked so well; and the episode where Stevie and Miranda competed for the 22 year old, quoting: “People go out at 9? But that’s when Poirot starts!”

The latter half of the evening oscillated from discussions about Miranda to specific – albeit slightly odd at times – personal questions from the audience. She addressed fan aspirations for her to take over from Matt Smith as the next Doctor Who, laughing that it would be hard to say no should she be offered the part (she hasn’t been) but that ultimately she couldn’t imagine a female Doctor. If anything, it was flattering that “people think I look slightly alien.” Despite having natural rhythm and line (according to Karen Hardy) Hart has no intentions to do Strictly Come Dancing: she loves the idea of learning to dance but cannot escape the fundamental problem that it is televised. Protestations of “I couldn’t, I couldn’t, I don’t think!” sounded feeble, so fingers crossed… An audience member timidly asked rather simply what Hart’s favourite food was, to which she replied enthusiastically with Christmas dinner as it’s “got a lot going on” and she’s “passionate” about bread sauce. One of the best – and final - random answers revealed that she would like to be in Neighbours, specifically in a scene with Karl Kennedy. After-all, she could keep dying and coming back to life in order to work around scheduling conflicts in Britain.

Hart was as warm, conscientious and genuinely funny as her television personality would suggest, but she also displayed an innate humility, grace and buckets of typical British self-doubt. To top off a wonderful evening, my speedy event spotting meant that as one of the first 100 Times+ subscribers to book tickets my mum and I were able to meet Miranda afterwards and get our copies of her book signed. We scurried from our seats after she’d left the stage and joined the front of what turned out to be a massive queue of eager fans. In very un-Emma like behaviour I didn’t take any pictures, mainly as I find the whole photos-with-celebrities thing a little awkward! Needless to say, she was utterly lovely when signing our books, took the time to speak to everyone individually and with a smile, and managed to endure the constant camera flashes without complaint. 

 

[Image sourced from miranda-isitjustme.tumblr.com]

After the meteoric success of the last few years, it’s only right to expect more great things in the future. Hart spoke about writing her next book about her dog Peggy, a cross between a shiatsu and a bichon frisé – “a shitty frisé, don’t judge…” There’s also a 35 date stand up tour next spring, during which she assured Aaronovitch she will be making no wild demands for anything but potentially a Lucozade and a banana (“no chairs made of swans…”). Hart was down to earth, undeniably likeable and showed that she deserves all of the success that comes her way: a prime example that good things do happen to good people. Plus, she cemented the notion that she’s just one of us with a passing mention that Matthew Perry was her future husband - he just doesn’t know it yet. Aaronovitch pounced upon this, and Hart was quick to admonish with a blush and, “now it looks like I’m in love with Matthew Perry!” Well, aren’t we all?! What a way to end, and surely what happens in Cadogan Hall stays in Cadogan Hall…