Altitude
We didn’t realise it, but we probably all practiced social distancing as teenagers. Just look at the way Daniel (Earl Cave) shuffles along a good two metres in front of or behind mum Sue (Monica Dolan) in Simon Bird’s Days Of The Bagnold Summer. Just like others of his age, he’s embarrassed to be seen with her: parents just aren’t cool, they don’t understand and they always, but always get everything wrong. The set up for a coming of age story, then.
But Bird, he of The InBetweeners and Friday Night Dinner, has given us something more in his first film as a director. Mother and son are stuck together one summer – whether they like it or not – after holiday plans go out of the window, a scenario that unexpectedly mirrors current events. And, while it’s undoubtedly, a coming of age story, the film belongs just as much to middle-aged single mum Sue as it does to her son.
Talking to Freda Cooper, Bird explains why it was so important that both characters had equal on-screen time and talks about his choice of cast for the film, which also includes Rob Bryden, Tamsin Greig and Alice Lowe. And he reflects on why, despite trying, he can never totally escape Will or teenagers in general…
Simon Bird – Image provided by Altitude Films
Read the interview in full below.
It seems like quite a while indeed it is quite a while since you were in The Inbetweeners as Will but it’s still the part in the series that everybody associates you with. So has he been difficult to shake off? Has the series been difficult to shake off, because you’ve done quite a lot since then?
It has been hard to shake off, but I guess I should look at that as a good thing. It just shows how popular the show was and how it really how it chimed with a lot of people. So, you know, in my mind I look on the bright side say and that does mean the show is a success, which is what we all wanted. So, yeah, that’s the silver lining.
And strangely enough, you’re still on sort of teenage territory for Days Of The Bagnold Summer as well. So why the interest in teenagers?
I mean, this is a story about a 15-year-old kid that lives in suburbia. It was actually sort of put me off and made me think twice about this being the source material for my [first] film. But ultimately, I just, I just thought the book was so, so charming and so relatable And, you know, it was just hit so many right notes for me. The fact that it would be sort of slightly lumped in with The Inbetweeners, I decided to overlook and I think actually, although people might assume it’s gonna be in similar territory, the tone of the film is so totally different. There isn’t really any overlap at all.
So you didn’t see anything of yourself as a teenager in Daniel, who’s the teenager in the film?
Yeah, I think part of the reason the book that the film is based on is so brilliant is that it’s really relatable I think people see something that was ourselves in, in both the characters, you know, even if they weren’t a crisp eating metalhead. I think everyone has experienced having a sort of a rocky patch in your relationship with your parents, as you try and figure out who you are. Most people come out on the other side as you assume Daniel will too.
So we know you best as an actor, but of course, you are a writer as well. And yet this is actually the first time that you’ve directed a film. So what made you want to go behind the camera?
I think this is the same impulse that so is there when I write scripts as well, which is, I just have a sort of creative instinct. I find it very satisfying to just to see a project through from the very beginning to the very end, and directing is really the only way to do that in film. I love acting, but really only you’re only there for such a small part of the process, whereas with directing you get to meddle with every aspect of the production. I guess it’s about control about having a final say about how the film turns out.
So did you feel that your experience in acting was an asset when it directing?
Yeah, I think so in that I’ve been on a lot of different sets, and I knew what sort of atmosphere, I believe that’s conducive to get people to do their best work. So, and also, you know, I’ve worked with lots of different directors, so I’d be able to pick up things for the brilliant people that I’ve worked with over the years. So yeah, I think just in terms of having the tools to handle some of the difficult stressful situations that filming can throw up. It was definitely useful.
So the story, I think, and I hope you’ll agree with me, belongs exactly as much to Sue, the mum as it does to Daniel, the teenager. We normally tend to think of coming of age stories as being just about young people. But how much do you think this is coming of age for both of them?
I’ve always been confused by the phrase coming of age, and I’ve tried to keep away from the publicity material for this. Because totally, I mean, what really drew me to the book and what made it feel so unique and original was the fact that it was, as you say, as much Sue’s story is Daniel’s. So that was something we were very keen to protect in making the film, right down to doing a line by line count to make sure that they were both equally represented. Because that’s the whole point of the story is about their relationship and how, even when you’re with one character, you know their behaviors besides what’s been happening with the other character? You can’t have one without the other
You’ve lined up a really lovely British cast for this one. You’ve got Monica Dolan the mother; you’ve got Tamsin Greig, you’ve got Rob Bryden. Were they all first choices?
They were, yes. As you say, I couldn’t believe it when we got the amazing cast that we have got. It was a real dream team. I guess with Rob and Alice [Lowe], I know that at a level that I had sort of a nodding relationship with them, so I guess that sort of helped. Tamsin I know very well from Friday Night Dinner, Tim Key who is also the film, I know well as well. So, I guess I sort of hoped they would sign up. Monica, I didn’t know at all but I’ve followed her work for years and knew that she was totally brilliant and that she would absolutely nail the tone that I want to achieve. She’s so unique in her career in terms of being so adept in both sitcoms and in drama. So I knew she could still walk that line. I was thrilled when she agreed to be in.
So, what have you got coming up next – more acting or directing or writing or all three?
Well, very little at the moment. I’m want to continue doing what I’m doing really. I loved directing this so the plan is to start working on another feature at some point when we hit upon the right idea, but definitely, in the meantime, I’ll keep acting. We’ll see what happens.
Days Of The Bagnold Summer is released on digital on Monday 8th June.
