What is the best way to entertain someone who enjoys acting?
Even when we had very little space or were waiting around for hours out on the water during the filming of ‘Coot Club’ and ‘The Big Six’, one thing that kept everyone amused was the game of charades. Simply imitating each other also proved hilarious and kept up moral whatever the weather. Since the children who appeared in the drama all enjoyed acting, they proved natural entertainers both on and off-screen.
The experienced actors entered into the spirit of this in a trice.
The great thing about miming is that it is silent, which was just as well, when we had to keep quiet on set.
The film crew were wonderful, ever inventive and terribly good at charades.
No one was limited by taking themselves too seriously.
Some members of the production team made a tremendous effort to keep up our spirits.
Julian Fellowes, who played Jerry, told me recently that he so admired Henry Dimbleby for taking part in Swallows and Amazons Forever purely because it was fun, rather than because he wanted to be an actor. I appreciated his indestructible good nature and the fact that he made the three months we spent on location enjoyable, in many ways leading the team, even though he was only thirteen years old.
Of course, what is most amusing, is when the unexpected happens. That is what I will attempt to relate in the next post.
Sophie Neville 