Q: What drew you to Vicious?

A: Derek and I arranged a reading with friends. We went round to Derek’s and read the script, and our friends laughed all the way through. I thought, “Aha, it works.” Its aim is to entertain people by making them laugh, and once I realised it did, I was very glad to do it.

Q: Please describe your character for us.

A: Freddie is a pain in the neck, but he’s also a survivor. He’s game. He’s always up for it. He is also honest and is not afraid to speak his mind. I really do like Freddie.

Q: How would you characterise the relationship between Freddie and Stuart?

A: It’s a relationship of long standing. They have fallen into the habit of being horrid to each other. Although they’ve got into this habit, they clearly still love each other in the way that people who have been together for nearly 50 years do. They’ve survived. Anyone who was gay in the 1970s was rather heroic -‐ when Freddie and Stuart first knew each other, it was actually illegal. But they’ve come through thick and thin together, and are still incredibly close.

Q: Do they like to keep the rest of the world at bay?

A: Yes. They are not aware of much outside their own flat. They keep their curtains closed to shut out the outside world. The serious point is that for much of their lives they have had to live privately.

Q: Do you think this show will shock some people?

A: No. It’s not aiming to shock people. It won’t alarm anyone. It isn’t a satire or an expose of gay life. These characters just happen to be gay. For me it is as if TV has grown-‐up. In the past gay characters in sitcoms have been figures of fun. They were funny because they were gay. But I like the fact that these characters are funny because of the people they are. That’s a real advance.

Q: What do you think its appeal will be?

A: I think it’s a family show that will get the broadest possible demographic. Old people will respond to it and see themselves in it, gay people will respond to it and see themselves in it, and the rest will respond to it and see themselves in it. Everyone will be able to relate to these characters. It wasn’t meant to be a gay or an old audience.

Q: Have you enjoyed the studio recordings?

A: Very much so. Initially it seems confusing because as a theatre actor you think the audience is out there. But you have to remember that you also playing to an audience down the camera. You have to rely on the wonderful director, Ed Bye, who is a veteran of this type of comedy, to make sure you get the level right. Also at first it’s worrying as you think, “Am I going to remember the lines?” In the theatre, you have more rehearsal time, and in film you can stop and start. But with this, you just have to keep going. However, it’s really useful to have the studio audience there because they tell you exactly what’s funny.

Q: How have you found it working with Gary Janetti?

A: It’s been wonderful. It’s a fairly traditional sitcom which reminds me of The Golden Girls or I Love Lucy. Gary is very, very alert to what’s comedic. He writes hythmically and with great accuracy. He is very particular that we speak the lines exactly as they are written, in order to elicit a laugh. He’s marvellous to work with. All in all, it’s been a bit of a love-‐in!

Q: What are the advantages of casting you and Derek as Freddie and Stuart?

A: We don’t have to pretend we’ve known each other for 50 years because we have. It was a great relief when I saw the first episode and Freddie and Stuart looked as if they’d been together forever. That ease with each other is essential to the show. Some people will be delighted that Derek and I are making fun of ourselves. We’ve had a ball making Vicious. It’s been an absolute delight.

這部劇的司徒和弗雷迪是繼梅林和二瑟，卷福和花生后最喜歡的CP之一。英劇賣(mài)腐又一次刷新了它的節(jié)操下線，從直男演Gay,到兩個(gè)出柜的男演員演一對(duì)Gay的老年日常生活。
　　不需要任何宏大的場(chǎng)面，兩個(gè)老爺爺一個(gè)客廳就可以撐起一部劇了。
　　
　　司徒敏感 善良 小別扭。雖然總是毒舌，但是當(dāng)男朋友事業(yè)低潮的時(shí)候奉上無(wú)條件的支持和贊美，去當(dāng)售貨員給弗雷迪賣(mài)一身出席的風(fēng)衣。當(dāng)被欺負(fù)的委屈含淚時(shí)，對(duì)方一個(gè)sorry 就立刻破涕為笑原諒了。
　　
　　弗雷迪真是霸道 自負(fù) 毒舌 優(yōu)雅 的女王呀。如同幼兒園小男生對(duì)喜歡的女生只會(huì)惡作劇，他每次毒舌司徒把他批評(píng)的一無(wú)是處，看著男朋友捂著小嘴，淚奔而去，露出淡淡微笑。但是總是會(huì)在最關(guān)鍵的時(shí)候站出來(lái)給司徒無(wú)限的勇氣。
　　
　　弗雷迪說(shuō)：He is the most wonderful man in the world and I am proud to call him my lover.
　　司徒睜大著眼睛充滿崇拜地望著弗雷迪，聽(tīng)那個(gè)49年來(lái)不停和自己作對(duì)的人說(shuō)愛(ài)他，他的小心肝開(kāi)始顫抖呀顫抖了。
　　于是，那些毒舌都變成充滿愛(ài)的調(diào)情。
　　對(duì)弗雷迪來(lái)講，司徒是他的男朋友，就意味著，只有他可以毒舌，欺負(fù)，其他任何人都不可以，哪怕那個(gè)任何人是丈母娘，他也會(huì)為愛(ài)的人奮起反擊。
　　這樣的愛(ài)人，讓人無(wú)論何時(shí)都可以充滿信任，可以相伴到老呀。
　　作為一個(gè)一點(diǎn)不敏感纖細(xì)的女漢子，看完之后還是不禁感慨：
　　幸福就是毒舌老伴和老狗呀。

正如越強(qiáng)大的人才越敢于表現(xiàn)脆弱，感情越是堅(jiān)不可摧的戀人才越能肆無(wú)忌憚地狂涮對(duì)方，用兩人之間專(zhuān)屬的冷嘲熱諷模式告訴對(duì)方：“I see you; I know you; I love everything you are”。 惡狠狠的唇槍舌劍其實(shí)是濃得散不開(kāi)的恩愛(ài)情話。

而當(dāng)另一半受到來(lái)自他人的攻擊，無(wú)論Freddie還是Stuart都會(huì)挺身而出，用不容置疑的口氣維護(hù)贊美對(duì)方。

印象最深的一個(gè)情節(jié)是，F(xiàn)reddie懷疑Stuart在外面偷吃跟蹤他，發(fā)現(xiàn)Stuart其實(shí)為了給他買(mǎi)大衣偷偷打工?？吹竭@里還以為Freddie會(huì)表示慚愧，結(jié)果他恍然大悟之余對(duì)Stuart的付出欣然接受，照單全收。這種大大方方、平衡契合的施受關(guān)系看著太舒服了。

無(wú)數(shù)惡毒玩笑中最多最妙的，就是兩人天天變著法兒譏諷對(duì)方“老不死”。當(dāng)衰老成為無(wú)法逃避的生活主題，干脆把它變成一個(gè)梗，一起把它玩壞。XD

還有這劇里的衣服真有范，兩個(gè)老爺爺都很帥氣。

比較敗筆的是Ash的出鏡挺生硬，像道具一樣被安插進(jìn)來(lái)，供眾老油條調(diào)戲。

題外話開(kāi)頭——我女友略腐，很喜歡這種題材的劇，用她自己的話說(shuō)那就是：“撿肥皂什么的最有愛(ài)了!”而她不喜歡魔戒，不能說(shuō)不喜歡，用她的話來(lái)說(shuō)是“看不懂”。當(dāng)初我興致勃勃帶她去看《霍比特人1》首映，可是她竟然睡著了?。?！其實(shí)那天不只她，同去的3個(gè)妹子都看的哈欠連天。出場(chǎng)時(shí)，她們只是評(píng)價(jià)“特效不錯(cuò)”“景色真好”！這讓我這種魔戒腦殘粉完全無(wú)法理解，看完退場(chǎng)時(shí)想找人討論劇情傾訴一下都不能！可憋死我了——話題扯回來(lái)，我只是單純的喜歡甘道夫，才來(lái)看這部劇的。兩個(gè)老戲骨的表演，兩個(gè)好基友的愛(ài)情，各位大大的影評(píng)分析的很到位了，不再贅述，我只說(shuō)說(shuō)窗戶和窗簾。
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當(dāng)Ash————看到這貨的名字，蹦到我腦子的第一個(gè)詞竟然是Ashbringer！魔獸粉傷不起————初來(lái)乍到私自拉開(kāi)他們房間厚厚的窗簾時(shí)，昏暗的房間瞬間被日光充盈，滿室皆光。讓人感嘆：這窗戶的布局設(shè)置得真心不錯(cuò)?？蓮N房里出來(lái)的穿著紳士的老兩口卻驚嚇的大喊“LIGHT”，神情語(yǔ)氣仿若大喊“Earthquake”一樣，毫無(wú)紳士氣度，兩位趕緊后退躲回廚房。往深處想象一下：他們?cè)谝黄鸾雮€(gè)世紀(jì)，算起來(lái)，也就是說(shuō)從60年代他們就同居一起，那時(shí)候同性戀不僅世人無(wú)法接受，甚至是違法的。就像劇里他們?cè)谝沟?，S吐槽說(shuō)：“It`s lovely they don’t herd us into police vans and throw us into prison any more!”他們從開(kāi)始同居住在一起后，就只能關(guān)上窗拉起窗簾躲在自己的房子里，躲避著世人過(guò)小日子，只有幾個(gè)朋友理解偶爾探視，連自己的母親都不能告訴。如果他們沒(méi)搬過(guò)家的話，那么之前的訪客屈指可數(shù)。想象一下，06年英國(guó)同性戀合法，在這之前的40年里，他們不可能運(yùn)氣一直都那么好，肯定也被抓進(jìn)監(jiān)獄過(guò)，甚至不止一次，要不然S不會(huì)這么吐槽?？杉词故抢为z之災(zāi)也沒(méi)有分開(kāi)他們，他們依然相守在一起，從未分開(kāi)。
近年來(lái)英國(guó)同性戀合法了，從劇里可以看到，他們能一起去商店買(mǎi)衣服購(gòu)物，可以一起出席觀影等，甚至陌生人——新鄰居Ash——初次光臨，都能進(jìn)他們家，使用他們的廁所。而這在10年前根本不敢想象，他們躲著外人還來(lái)不及，哪還敢輕易結(jié)交還讓人進(jìn)門(mén)啊。可他們?cè)谧约杭依镞€是習(xí)慣拉著厚厚的窗簾。窗簾就像一道屏障一樣，隔絕著世人，保護(hù)著他們。想想覺(jué)得很心酸，尤其是看到那高窗設(shè)計(jì)還那么漂亮，設(shè)置在小樓梯后面，占了半面墻。試想下，如果我們自己家里有那種窗戶，你會(huì)一直拉著窗簾遮住它嘛?
一直到S的母親知道他們的事，并不表示反對(duì)時(shí)，老S欣喜若狂得像個(gè)孩子似的，大聲喊著，端著紅酒去拉開(kāi)窗簾。而老F坐在沙發(fā)上，轉(zhuǎn)頭靜靜含笑看著自己的愛(ài)人，伸出手與其相握。此時(shí)窗外大雪紛飛，潔白如玉，明月如盤(pán)，夜光如水。沒(méi)有什么比兩個(gè)受盡磨難的戀人守得云開(kāi)見(jiàn)月明更讓人覺(jué)得溫暖的了。
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題外話。
我高中的一個(gè)女同學(xué)是拉拉，她本人很性感，身材火辣得很，可她是個(gè)T。她談起來(lái)她的經(jīng)歷，其實(shí)都是玩的成分居多，包括很多跟她一起的P，小姑娘居多（她也是小姑娘，那些P更小）。其實(shí)只是好奇，覺(jué)得酷罷了（T、P之類(lèi)的概念還是多年前她給我做的解釋?zhuān)４笄澳晁鸭奕俗鋈藡D了。
我大學(xué)隔壁宿舍有個(gè)降級(jí)的學(xué)長(zhǎng)，是我們相鄰專(zhuān)業(yè)的，玩3C非常牛逼。我無(wú)意間撞見(jiàn)過(guò)他跟自己男朋友“玩?！睍r(shí)的場(chǎng)景。那天隔壁宿舍其他人都不在，而他們忘了鎖門(mén)。大學(xué)男生隔壁宿舍之間串門(mén)哪會(huì)有敲門(mén)這一說(shuō)。我直接推門(mén)就進(jìn)，結(jié)果挺尷尬的，我假裝什么都不知道，打了個(gè)馬虎眼就出去了，替他們關(guān)好了門(mén)。現(xiàn)在畢業(yè)3年多，這位學(xué)長(zhǎng)也已為人父了。
我想說(shuō)的是，我們碰到的很多同齡人中的同性戀大部分只是為了性、好玩罷了，大都是嘩眾取寵的笑話。而真正寧彎不直，別說(shuō)相守一生，就算相守多年的都幾乎——“呵呵”反正我是沒(méi)有見(jiàn)過(guò)。
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誠(chéng)然，都說(shuō)：趁著年輕，再不瘋狂一把就老了?？烧嬲芘隳憷系哪莻€(gè)人，才是值得讓你瘋狂的理由。

在本國(guó)，重視老人的輩分和低位，多見(jiàn)倚老賣(mài)老，而在歐美，老去則不那么愉快，文化上還時(shí)更崇尚年輕和活力。對(duì)于老年人的玩笑，尺度大點(diǎn)兒算是惡毒語(yǔ)言了，由老人們自己嘴里冒出來(lái)，互相吐槽，就會(huì)意外地有趣。
這是簡(jiǎn)單的情景劇，大部分的場(chǎng)景是他們家客廳，兩位男主乃是揶揄大神，不斷扔段子，可愛(ài)極了。他們說(shuō)話文縐縐的，老紳士風(fēng)范可比貌似缺乏傳統(tǒng)文化熏陶的大西洋彼岸優(yōu)雅得多了。每集只有20分鐘，一季只有6集，一晃就過(guò)去了。劇本精煉而精彩，或許是英劇的魅力之一。