“Relatable” continues to be the watchword with this series. It’s not hysterically funny and it doesn’t have a brilliant or complex story, but there’s something so satisfying about seeing these actors play themselves as they go through what many people have been going through this year (albeit from positions of relative safety and privilege – neither Michael Sheen nor David Tennant are forced into dangerous settings as underpaid essential workers, and neither of them are having to stress over how they’re going to get their bills paid.)
Having agreed to resume their casting and rehearsal process for Six Characters in Search of an Author online, David, Michael, and their very nervous director Simon take to Zoom, where they get off to a shaky start. Even though all of them are itching for something to occupy them, they struggle to get things off the ground as each deals with other personal issues amid their cabin fever.
Once again, we see different aspects of lockdown and quarantine-brain play out between the different characters. Little things get on Michael’s nerves, and there’s a really fun scene of him confessing to David about his increased wine consumption, which he insists isn’t “excessive” but just so happens to look that way when you gather up all the empty bottles for the recycling. Simon, who is decidedly less famous than either David or Michael, has a hard time taking the reins of rehearsal, and the remote platform makes that even more difficult for him.
Meanwhile, David is feeling rudderless but eager that no one else suspect that of him (particularly his wife,) and he tries to find ways to pitch in around the house while not really being sure as to how. His approach to household chores is similar to his approach to the play so far – he talks big about wanting to do it and has every intention of doing so, but he fumbles when it comes to taking decisive steps to actually doing it.
Side note: I like that, while we see Simon putting in effort to look “work ready” for their Zoom calls, David has already given over entirely to a “lockdown wardrobe.” With his floppy uncut hair (occasionally adorned with a headband) and his pairing of hoodies and shorts, everything about his look and overall posture/demeanor screams the mild depression of someone whose usual routine has been upended through the pandemic and is struggling to cope, despite having all their basic needs met.
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