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Renowned
screen-writer Andrew Davies was charged with turning this hilarious work
from a page-turner to a screen drama for BBC Four. We caught up with him
to find out just what attracted him to the project.
The
Diary Of A Nobody is obviously a favourite book of yours – why?
It
is one of the funniest books ever written in the English language and
was a favourite of the likes of Evelyn Waugh. It's appealing mainly
because of the gentle humour – the insights it gives you into late
Victorian life – and Pooter himself, who is a wonderful character...
genuinely lovable.
Would
you like to have lived in that period?
Yes,
I would, in some ways. It was a more sociable time. I feel there would
have definitely been more family parties and lots of laughter. I do
think people had more fun in the days when they had to make up their own
amusements to pass the time.
Was
it a gentler society than ours – or was there a dark side?
I'm
sure there was a dark side, but it doesn't enter Pooter's little world.
Pooter himself is as gentle as you could wish. His friend, Gowing, goes
in for rather dangerous practical jokes, but that's about as dark as it
gets.
Was
it hard to adapt as a drama?
Not
at all, because I took the decision to let Pooter tell his own story.
The book is beautifully constructed and I changed hardly anything –
just a bit of editing.
What,
to you, are the funniest moments in the book?
There
are some big set pieces, like The Lord Mayor's Reception – but I like
the smaller moments set at home, lots of them involving Lupin, Pooter's
mildly rebellious son.
What
were the challenges in adapting it for the screen?
The
biggest challenge was making the characters come alive through Pooter's
narration – we have to be able to see through it, because he's not an
entirely reliable narrator – so much of the humour comes from his not
being able to see the joke that we see.
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