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Eyes
Down - Edna Doré is Mary
Edna
Doré's CV makes for mouth-watering reading.
This
veteran of film, television, theatre and radio has seen it all -
a number of years as Mo Butcher in EastEnders, plum roles in the
West End and the National Theatre, countless roles in classic television
sitcoms and dramas, and a prestigious film award.
The
role of Mary in Eyes Down, however, is something altogether different
to anything she has done previously.
"Mary
is the cleaner of Rio Bingo," Edna explains.
"She's
the world's worst cleaner, slap happy in the extreme. But she's
incredibly good-hearted and would be anybody's treasure because
she'd always turn up and do the dirty chores.
"She's
had 12 children, so she knows all about life!
"Somehow
she puts up with Ray - no mean feat - and he puts up with her; they
bounce off each other. It makes for good chemistry."
While
some great-grandmothers would balk at the humour and content of
Eyes Down, Edna relishes the opportunity of playing the much maligned
Mary.
"Mary's
a fantastic character to play. She gets lots of funny quips and
talks about life as it really is.
"Her
husband, Eric, is long dead but was clearly very close to her.
"She
tells plenty of stories about 'my Eric' and their once rampant sex
life, and talks very candidly and crudely about the pains of child
birth, the problems of growing old and the various ailments from
which she suffers."
Playing
Mary does, however, come at a price: Edna has to perform without
her teeth in.
"My
having no teeth was in the script. It wouldn't have been a priority
of mine - in fact, it would be the very last item on the agenda.
"I
hated the idea and never wanted to have to take my teeth out.
"Only
once have I had to act without my teeth, and there were two good
reasons to do it - one was that it was only a very brief scene,
and the other was that it was for the great Mike Leigh.
"Even
then, it took me a couple of months to persuade myself to do it.
Finally, I went up to Mike and said, 'For you, I will do it'.
"Then
I rang my agent and asked if I was making a mistake. She said, 'If
it's for Mike Leigh and that's what you want to do, then do it.'
"I
warned her, 'Bear in mind, this is not going to become a regular
occurrence'.
"So
when I was offered this part, I realised that if I really wanted
it I had to take out the teeth again.
"I
knew I couldn't cheat - I either took my teeth out and did the part
or I couldn't play Mary at all. As I go on, I mind it less. But
it's taken me a while to get used to.
"Sometimes
it slows me up and I have to say, 'I won't talk that fast or else
you won't understand a word I'm saying'.
"I
do my best to articulate as much as I can, but it does make talking
that much harder."
As
if performing without her teeth wasn't
bad enough, the part of Mary also demands that Edna is hunch-backed.
"I
had to go to a man who makes prosthetics," explains Edna.
"He
modelled it on my back and made me look like Quasimodo.
"And
don't forget, Mary also has terrible toe-nails and awful crustings
around her heels. Poor Mary - she really does have it bad.
"Who
would have thought that I, once a starry-eyed 16-year-old, would
end up having to take my teeth out and cut my toe nails in front
of a live studio audience?
"But
at least it's a good laugh. I look forward to coming in to work.
"All
the cast, and Paul O'Grady in particular, are incredibly talented
and funny people.
"Any
time I've worked with comics, which is quite a lot, I've loved it
- it's the general atmosphere I like so much.
"I
did five episodes of Al Murray's Time Gentlemen, Please and I did
all the radio shows of Harry Hill's Fruit Corner, in which I played
Nana Hill.
"In
my very early days, I did lots of double acts with comics, so I
know how they work.
"Comedians
are
wonderful people with whom to work - you pick up so much from them,
because good comedy is far and away the hardest thing to do well."
It's
all a far cry from Edna's beginnings which, much to the amusement
of the cast and crew of Eyes Down, were starring with Phyllis Dixie
in her infamous strip show at the Whitehall Theatre.
"Yes,"
says Edna, "Paul O'Grady was talking about Peek-A-Boo, and
he could hardly believe that I was in it.
"But
I didn't take my clothes off - I was one of the dancers.
"We
did three shows a day, six days a week, for which I got six pounds
ten shillings - good money.
"The
girls who took their clothes off got an extra pound a week. I would
have quite liked that, but they didn't think me suitable - I wasn't
tall enough."
Edna
laughs. So many stories. So many memories.
Back
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