[ad_1]
To celebrate Black History Month, we’re talking to writer, director and producer Trix Worrell, whose work has helped break down understanding and who has set up an initiative in Stevenage to help new writers be heard
Best known for creating the much-loved Channel 4 sitcom Desmond’s, Trix Worrell never thought of himself as a comedy writer.
“I don’t write comedy, I can’t keep a joke,” he laughs. “However, if it’s a character with comic flaws or comedy in them, I can put that person in a situation and make you laugh.”
Laughter was a key part of the 63-year-old’s upbringing after he arrived in England from St Lucia in 1964. “My parents were part of the first generation that came over. There was this layer from St. Lucia that settled in Peckham.
“Part of your armor of being a migrant is that you either laugh or you cry. Nine times out of 10 we’ve had a lot of laughs because that’s how we get through.
East London was a far cry from the beautiful mountains, rainforests and beaches of the Caribbean island. His youth was a time of the National Front, but also of anti-racist marches, where he met academics who broadened his view of Britain.
“My landscape changed – I realized there were all kinds of people of different colors who were amazing people and brave.”
He trained at the National School of Film and Television Arts, starting out as a theater writer and director, but winning a debut writing competition with Channel 4 ignited his career. Offered the opportunity to pitch a new series to producer Humphrey Barclay, Trix sat on the top floor of a number 36 bus en route to the meeting. “I had no idea,” he admits. As the bus passed the local Afro-Caribbean barber shop, The Fairdeal, he could see the barbers ‘chirping’ with the girls as they walked past and ignored their customers – it was a lightbulb moment.
When presented with the idea, Barkley was initially unenthusiastic. “Let me guess,” he said. Is it called Short and Curlies? Do you know how many barbershop comedies I get a week? But Trix wasn’t fazed: “It’s not a barbershop, it’s a community visit – you can get food, talk nonsense and at some point you might get a haircut.”
The series was never about trimming. In fact, Desmond, the main character, wasn’t very good at it. At its core were family life, community and values. His friend Porkpie was a mix of some of the Trix’s uncles. “I wanted to portray a black family. I never wrote Desmond for black people, I wrote it for white people.
Filmed in front of a live audience, it was a breakthrough hit. “We played to an audience of 550 people, black and white, and it went down a storm. We had to do takes sometimes three or four times and say to the audience, “Can you slow it down a little bit?”
After 71 episodes, peaking at over five million viewers and a BAFTA nomination, Desmond ended in 1994 due to the ill health of lead actor Norman Beaton. He retired to return to Guyana as his character Desmond was doing the same. Tragically, Norman collapsed at the airport and died a few hours later of a heart attack.
The show was not forgotten. Danny Boyle introduced it in the Best of Britain TV segment at the opening ceremony of the London Olympics in 2012. And a spin-off series, Porkpie, aired from 1995 to 1996.
Trix’s many other successes include writing the screenplay for Queen and Country, a 1989 film starring Denzel Washington. “I was his voice coach and then we became friends. He is an extraordinary man; there are very few actors you meet who are erudite.
He found work in America easier, starting Wicked Films and Trijbits & Worrell with Dutch producer Paul Trijbits. They went on to work with companies including Universal, Disney and New Line Cinema, producing and developing a number of films, including 1997’s Roseanna’s Grave starring Jean Reno. He has also worked with Harvey Keitel, Thandie Newton, Whoopi Goldberg, Pam Grier, Viggo Mortensen and Ridley Scott.
“In America, making movies is a business. They are honest and tell you exactly what they think of your script. There’s none of that old-school procrastination and talk about relationships. I found it really refreshing, in America it’s all about the product, it doesn’t matter what you look like.
Has the Black Lives Matter movement helped in this regard? “Now there’s a platform we can work with and doors are opening because of it. I’m really encouraged by young people, they don’t see color, they don’t see gender.
Recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Medal from the Royal Television Society and Honorary Fellow of the British Academy of Comedy, Trix’s latest project is Distant Voices Group, based in Stevenage. He set it up with business partner Celia Taylor and his brother Sean last year after reading a statistic that only three per cent of film graduates find work in the industry.
“We wanted to create a more holistic media company that tells stories in a different way, it doesn’t always have to be three acts.”
They created Graddies, a student film festival, produced a Christmas comedy club with Lost Voice Guy for ITV, recently held a writers’ room in Stevenage with Channel 4 and are planning community-led projects.
“We’re using our expertise to try to change the game,” says Trix. The group is open to all races and ages. “It’s a platform for new writers, really new voices.”
In recognition of Distant Voices, it is a finalist in the 2022 Black British Business Awards, with winners due to be announced this month.
Trix’s latest film script, Brown Skins in the Rain, is a “Windrush generation comedy” that has been picked up by producer Steve McQueen. Other projects in the pipeline include one with MasterChef judge Greg Wallace and a drama set in the Caribbean. “It’s a comedy-drama because for me we have to laugh,” he explains. “The future is bright, we have a lot to say.”
[ad_2]
Source link