0/5

Wentworth keeps it real

The claustrophobic set of Wentworth can be all too real, according to actress Celia Ireland.

2013-06-18_2251Working on the claustrophobic set of Wentworth in a former Clayton factory has been quite a revelation for actress Celia Ireland.

The on-set realism has helped her find a sense of realism in her performance as Liz Birdsworth in the Foxtel reimagining.

“When you’re on the set you actually start to feel the oppression and the restriction. You feel quite trapped, especially when you’re filming in the cells. It’s dark and claustrophobic and you really feel like you’ve been locked away,” she says.

“The first day I looked at my cell which had been dressed by the Art Department I got quite teary and I hadn’t anticipated that emotion at all. They had a lovely idea of what Liz was like. She grew up in the country from a poor family, she married a grazier who was quite refined and struggled from day one with his family and feeling like an outsider.”

Liz’s backstory differs somewhat from the original character played by the late, great Sheila Florence in Prisoner, but so far the show has been well-received by viewers.

“Liz was a troubled alcoholic and quite dysfunctional. Something happens and it’s horrible, then she ends up inside for 11 years. She’s done 6 of those 11,” she explains.

“But my favourite scenes have been the ones with the women in the unit which is close-barred, but their cells are open and they can wander freely. In those scenes you get a much more detailed, private look at the women where they’re at they’re most relaxed.”

Already renewed for a second season by Foxtel, Wentworth is slowly revealing the past of its key characters who became so familiar to viewers in Prisoner. Ireland notes that it also deals with wider social questions.

“Usually there’s some sort of drug or alcohol issue and then there’s a whole other trauma of having done something horrendous, that puts them there in the first place. But if any of that stuff goes unattended to, it’s a mighty mix of force and madness, in a way.

“I like that it gives a new voice to institutionalising and the notion of rehabilitation. How do we fix the cycle of crime?” she asks.

“We had a guard talk to us who said the sad thing is a lot people have been in for 6 or 7 years but go on parole and re-offend because they don’t have a network in place.

“And that’s how it is for Liz. Her family had moved on because she felt such shame and guilt about what had happened. She kills her mother in law in full view of her husband and two children.

“You’re taken away from everything that’s familiar and you’re all stuck together. But how do people cope?

“Do they become violent, do they sit on the fence, do they watch everything, do they guard themselves constantly?

“We had a day when we met some ex-inmates which was fascinating and they all said there’s this low-level anxiety the whole time. You have to be aware of who’s doing what to whom, where your stuff is, not to borrow anyone else’s things accidentally. The pecking order and the hierarchy that goes with it is like another world.”

Reimagining a classic Aussie soap could have gone pear-shaped but nods to the past within contemporary plotlines have even impressed many die-hard fans. Ireland says she has only seen Sheila Florance’s performances as Lizzie a handful of times and while she is respectful of the work, her job is to interpret the current script in the hands of her director.

“The fact is Sheila was an older actor anyway, and (Liz is) quite a different character.  Her back story is completely different, the way she is in prison is completely different.

“Liz has a different power base at the end of series one. She’s not involved in top dog shenanigans but she wields power in a different way.

“It is cutting edge, it is unapologetic and gritty which is similar to the original,” she insists.

“Of course the (production) standards have changed since the 80s but I actually think the voices of the characters are interesting and complex. After episode 3 I wanted to see 4 to see where it’s going and that doesn’t always happen as an actor.  So it feels to me that it’s really very much its own thing with a nod to the past series.”

Wentworth airs 8:30pm Wednesdays on SoHo.

4 Responses

  1. I watched a couple of episodes our of curiosity – but that is all. Prisoner explored women on the edge of society three decades ago but now we want to see modern women taking their rightful seat at the table. This series is feeling strangely dated already.

  2. Season 2 needs to move a bit faster than the first season has. I’m done with all the back stories robbing momentum from the present day story lines.

    And surely we’re not expected to feel sympathy for every single character? We didn’t have to in Prisoner.

    I suppose the formula will change tonight with one dimensional Jac’s back story – the one we all have to hate.

  3. Realism?! Are you kidding?! This show is so clunky and badly executed it’s almost embarrassing.

    So disappointing that this is Foxtel’s big drama of 2013.

Leave a Reply