Phil Daniels | Bouquets & Brickbats

01/11/26

Cineworld, Edinburgh

Co-directed and written by Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson (from an original short story by Ursula Wills), Wicker takes place in a picturesque medieval village somewhere in England, judging by the accents, though it’s actually filmed in Hungary. This is a place where people don’t have names so much as professional labels and it’s clear from the outset that, in this village, marriage is the all-important institution, prized above all else. New brides happily don metal collars to signal their new status and obedience to their husbands – though few of them seem enraptured by the resulting relationships and many spend most of their time dreaming of escape.

Fisherwoman (Olivia Colman) lives alone in a ramshackle dwelling by the river. We learn little of her past but it’s clear from the outset that she’s the butt of every joke in her community, mostly because she smells of the commodity she sells. The haughty, imperious Tailor’s Wife (Elizabeth Debicki) seems to relish belittling Fisherwoman at every opportunity and, since Tailor (Nabhaan Rizwan) is so prosperous, most of the other women in the village follow his wife’s lead. Eventually, something in Fisherwoman snaps and she makes the arduous journey to the remote cabin of Basketmaker (Peter Dinklage). She hands him some coins and instructs him to ‘make her a husband.’ He calmly tells her to be at the chapel in one month’s time.

Sure enough, on the day in question, dressed in what passes for her Sunday best, Fisherwoman turns up to find her groom (Alexander Skarsgård) dutifully waiting for her. Skarsgård wears an extraordinary willow suit created by Weta Studios, which transforms him into something fantastic, while simultaneously allowing his distinctive features to shine through – a superb example of how practical effects can be the equal of anything CGI can achieve. Fisherwoman is initially unsure that she’s done the right thing. Her new amour tends to creak quite alarmingly but, from the marriage night onwards, he’s clearly determined to please her in any way he can and their lusty lovemaking ensures that their bed keeps breaking on a regular basis. Luckily Fisherwoman’s Husband is also quite handy with a hammer and nails.

But as the couple’s bond grows ever stronger, others watch with jealous eyes… and the gentlemen of the village are starting to feel that they’re being shown up as inferior to the wicker alternative.

Presented as a mix of folk tale and parable, Wicker is a truly enjoyable watch. Olivia Colman is always impressive and here she’s joined by a whole crowd of veteran actors, some of them in minor roles. Richard E Grant makes a brief but hilarious appearance as the village’s incompetent Doctor, while Phil Daniels is suitably rumbustious as Butcher, a man who believes that women are placed on this earth for one reason only. Debicki is quietly impressive as the villainess of the story, her lofty height cleverly exaggerated so that she’s literally looking down on all her neighbours – and Dinklage makes a fabulous job of the erudite Basketmaker, who has the ability to sum up everyone he encounters at a single glance.

While it’s undoubtedly little more than entertainment, Wicker is handsomely filmed by Lol Crawley and its various twists and turns keep me hooked throughout, right up to its wild conclusion. I’m amused to learn that some real-life basketmakers have expressed doubts about the techniques used in the Wicker Husband’s construction but, for me, the whole enterprise has been beautifully put together.

4.2 stars

Philip Caveney

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde at the Rose Theatre and Touring Consortium Theatre Company Adapted by David Edgar | Directed by Kate Saxon | Starring Phil Daniels Adaptor David Edgar Director Kate Saxon Associate Director Eduard Lewis Designer Simon Higlett Lighting Designer Mark Jonathan Sound Designer and Composer Richard Hammarton Musical Director Catherine Jayes Fight Director Kev MCurdy Casting Jenkins McShane Casting Cast Rosie Abraham, Sam Cox, Phil Daniels, Polly Frame, Anyebe Godwin, Grace Hogg-Robinson, Ben Jones, Robin Kingsland, Matthew Romain, Alice Bonifacio, Paul Giddings, Samuel Johnson

10/04/18

King’s Theatre, Edinburgh

I’ll admit it: I’ve a soft spot for Victorian potboilers, the more sensational and melodramatic the better. And Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1884 novella – about a doctor experimenting with a serum that transforms him into another man, thus allowing him to indulge in vices without fear of tarnishing his reputation – ticks all those boxes, whilst also managing to be a deliciously clever treatise on the duality of human nature, our public and our private selves.

So I’m excited to see this stage version, adapted by David Edgar and starring Phil Daniels in not one, but both of the eponymous roles. I like this single casting, by the way – it’s much more expressive of the story’s heart than a double act could ever be. And Daniels performs the role with aplomb, at first clearly delineating between the gentlemanly Jekyll and the seamy Hyde, before slowly merging the two together as the lines between them blur.

This production, directed by Kate Saxon, has an old-fashioned, naturalistic charm: it’s very wordy, with characters expounding theories in long, uninterrupted speeches – much like the source material, I suppose. But it works. What they’re saying is fascinating, and I’m more than happy to listen hard and concentrate when I’m in the theatre, especially if the story is this exciting, with murder and mayhem at every turn (although this is made considerably more difficult by the family sitting in front of us, who keep getting up to go the toilet, and whose mobile phone rings during the first transformation scene).

The set is a triumph – a two-storey feat of ingenuity, allowing three completely different rooms to be depicted with a simple slide and turn of scenery, as well as a convincing outside street. Rosie Abraham’s singing over the transitions is haunting and evocative, reinforcing the unsettling atmosphere.

The supporting cast are all very good – Polly Frame as Jekyll’s sister, Katherine, and Grace Hogg-Robinson as Annie are especially affecting – but this is Daniels’ play, and he owns the stage. Of course he does; he’s Phil Daniels; we know he’s got talent. I’m extra glad he’s so good in Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde because it means I can proudly show off to my friends, “I worked with him, you know” (okay, so it was way back in 1987, when I was fifteen, and I had a very small part in Screen Two’s Will You Love Me Tomorrow, and I had precisely zero scenes with him, but still…).

Check this out! It’s exactly as chilling and unnerving as it should be.

4 stars

Susan Singfield