So glad to hear you enjoyed it. I thought the play was great, and I couldn't pass on the opportunity to share it with all David's fans. Proof his talent was there all along!
Poor darling having to sing a solo while sick, especially since the role also required him to have a fake cough in the lead up to the scene. As someone who used to get sick pretty easily and also have a flair for the dramatic, I know that trying to force a cough while already having one is a terrible idea. No wonder the strain can be heard in his voice on the 4th performance in 3 days.
If the lyrics thing truly was a slip up, it's a good thing David changed both the 2 and 4th line, so that the rhyme was preserved.
As for the accent, it does seem stronger than in the anti-smoking commercial from '87 or Dramarama, although his character in the latter is supposed to be from Edinburgh, so that might not be a good sample of what David's natural accent sounded like around the time. He'd have less incentive trying to change his accent for a Scottish anti-smoking campaign though, so based on comparison with that, I'd lean towards he was doing it intentionally and my best guess as to why would be to make Benjy stand out even more from the modern day kids, and/or make the voice of Benjy more distinctive from other characters in general, with the goal of making it easier for people who might not have a clear view of the stage to identify when Benjy is talking. This is pure speculation on my part though, and not even a particularly educated guess.
It's a pretty solid explanation, really! I'll have to dig around and listen closely to the other examples I have of David in his early years. He moved to England in '94, so I think we're safe using the first five years or so after that for comparison's sake, too. That would cover 1989's 'Biting The Hands', 1992's 'Miles Better', 1993's 'Rab C. Nesbitt', 1994's 'Takin' Over The Asylum', 1995's 'The Bill', 1996's 'A Mug's Game', and 1997's 'Bite' and 'Holding The Baby'. (other things are in this time frame, too, of course!)
This might be an excellent question for me to ask David Blair, the director of 'Takin' Over The Asylum'! He'd certainly know if David's accent during ToTA was his own, or if he was directed to emphasize it. Mr. Blair has let me know he'd do another interview with me, so all I need to do is gather all the questions people have.
There's footage of David's audition for Takin' Over The Asylum on Youtube, in which you can hear him speaking in his own voice when he is not doing the scenes used for the audition. That could also help in the digging.
If I remember correctly, he uses an English accent in The Bill. And in Rab C. Nesbitt, he puts on a different voice (still Scottish, but clearly not his own).
Well pointed out re: his own voice in the 'Takin' Over The Asylum' audition! That'll be fun to investigate, as it's quite enjoyable watching from a historical perspective. I'm so glad they kept those audition tapes!
This was peak! A complete joy toe read your well paced story and to warch the clips! Thank you so much!
So glad to hear you enjoyed it. I thought the play was great, and I couldn't pass on the opportunity to share it with all David's fans. Proof his talent was there all along!
Poor darling having to sing a solo while sick, especially since the role also required him to have a fake cough in the lead up to the scene. As someone who used to get sick pretty easily and also have a flair for the dramatic, I know that trying to force a cough while already having one is a terrible idea. No wonder the strain can be heard in his voice on the 4th performance in 3 days.
If the lyrics thing truly was a slip up, it's a good thing David changed both the 2 and 4th line, so that the rhyme was preserved.
As for the accent, it does seem stronger than in the anti-smoking commercial from '87 or Dramarama, although his character in the latter is supposed to be from Edinburgh, so that might not be a good sample of what David's natural accent sounded like around the time. He'd have less incentive trying to change his accent for a Scottish anti-smoking campaign though, so based on comparison with that, I'd lean towards he was doing it intentionally and my best guess as to why would be to make Benjy stand out even more from the modern day kids, and/or make the voice of Benjy more distinctive from other characters in general, with the goal of making it easier for people who might not have a clear view of the stage to identify when Benjy is talking. This is pure speculation on my part though, and not even a particularly educated guess.
It's a pretty solid explanation, really! I'll have to dig around and listen closely to the other examples I have of David in his early years. He moved to England in '94, so I think we're safe using the first five years or so after that for comparison's sake, too. That would cover 1989's 'Biting The Hands', 1992's 'Miles Better', 1993's 'Rab C. Nesbitt', 1994's 'Takin' Over The Asylum', 1995's 'The Bill', 1996's 'A Mug's Game', and 1997's 'Bite' and 'Holding The Baby'. (other things are in this time frame, too, of course!)
This might be an excellent question for me to ask David Blair, the director of 'Takin' Over The Asylum'! He'd certainly know if David's accent during ToTA was his own, or if he was directed to emphasize it. Mr. Blair has let me know he'd do another interview with me, so all I need to do is gather all the questions people have.
There's footage of David's audition for Takin' Over The Asylum on Youtube, in which you can hear him speaking in his own voice when he is not doing the scenes used for the audition. That could also help in the digging.
If I remember correctly, he uses an English accent in The Bill. And in Rab C. Nesbitt, he puts on a different voice (still Scottish, but clearly not his own).
I'm loving this deep dive - thank you!
Well pointed out re: his own voice in the 'Takin' Over The Asylum' audition! That'll be fun to investigate, as it's quite enjoyable watching from a historical perspective. I'm so glad they kept those audition tapes!