Joined in 2023 
82 
63 About this deal
Miss Havisham's father was a wealthy brewer and her mother died shortly after she was born. Her father remarried and had an illegitimate son, Arthur, with the household cook. Miss Havisham's relationship with her half-brother was a strained one. Ronald Frame's 2013 novel, Havisham, is a non-canonical story about Miss Havisham's early life. The story tells how Miss Havisham (given the name of Catherine) is the daughter of a brewer. The story tells of more than just the infamous trauma of being left behind by her fiancé and goes on with her taking charge of her family's business before descending into vengeful madness, adopting Estella, and arranging the meeting of Estella and Pip. Verity Hawkes and her costume department are basically my way in to Miss Havisham. The first time I tried on Verity's costume, she said "I don’t want it dusty and old, I want it rotten. I think Miss Havisham is darker than that, she is rotten on the inside." It was so great, and the dress is sort of rotting. You know when you see a lemon left in the fruit bowl, and it has gone those beautiful shades of green. The decay is growing up the dress, it’s amazing.
What was the most difficult part of adapting Great Expectations? How did the process of creating it differ to adapting A Christmas Carol? We were so excited to meet each other! He was in makeup and I went in and went "hello" and he went "oh!" He got his earbud and I think he put it up his nose, he didn’t know what to do! We had heard so much about each other, from mutual friends, so working with him was so exciting. He is a proper, proper actor. I like any of the scenes with Miss Havisham, Estella and Pip when he’s being educated. I think they’re just great. Can you tell us about the relationship between Pip and Miss Havisham and what it's been like working with Olivia Colman?The process of hair, makeup and wardrobe with a period drama is so different to anything I've ever experienced, specifically with wardrobe. In our very first meeting with Verity Hawkes, who's the designer, she'd laid out all these incredible sketches that she had drawn up and was explaining the process of what happens to Estella – we see her bloom and rot in her clothing, like you would with flowers. I remember going in for those first fittings and seeing those dresses for the first time – they literally took my breath away. KC: It really taps into themes that are there in Steve's writing in his other works. He looks at things like class and social mobility and, in this version, the time that it's set, the way that empire and commerce has affected and shaped London, for example, are all things that very much interest Steve. Ryan, J. S. "Donnithorne, Eliza Emily (1826–1886)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. DB: Steve examines her mental illness in a way that's never really been done before, it feels so much more truthful. She is obviously a fragile character to begin with but then when she was left at the altar it had a profound impact on the course of her life.
Mazur, Matt (5 January 2011). "The Devil is a Woman: Sunset Boulevard, Norma Desmond, and Actress Noir". International Cinephile Society . Retrieved 30 June 2018. What makes this story such a timeless tale is that it’s somebody who’s desperate to be something other than themselves. I think, at some point, everyone has gone through that. Or desperately wanting to climb the social or class ranks to be richer than they are. There's something in that for everyone to relate to at some point in their life.
I think the casting is inspired. I was excited when I heard Ashley was going to be playing Jaggers – he’s mastered language as a rapper and is an incredible actor. As an actor you'd be lying if you didn't say that you're always intrigued as to who’s going to be the other cast members! I’m a massive fan of Olivia. It just works. When they said Olivia was going to play Miss Havisham I was like: they’ve nailed that. Sometimes adaptations can be a bit dusty and old, but I think Steven's was unashamedly modern.
Working with Olivia Colman was incredible. We had a couple of big scenes and she just made it effortless, very easy, very seamless. We had a laugh, and it was huge honour; it's a huge honour to be on this set with everybody. You feel incredibly blessed. Olivia is a national treasure. I have to point a gun at her at one point and I was very nervous about that, and I have to push around a little, and she's a national treasure, so if you harm Olivia you might as well ask Jeff Bezos for a trip to the moon, as there's no place here to hide. Collin, Robbie (29 November 2012). "Great Expectations, review". The Daily Telegraph. London . Retrieved 9 March 2013.
Miss Havisham repents late in the novel when Estella leaves to marry Pip's rival, Bentley Drummle; and she realises that she has caused Pip's heart to be broken in the same manner as her own; rather than achieving any kind of personal revenge, she has only caused more pain. Miss Havisham begs Pip for forgiveness.
Great Deal 
New Comment