‘Cleaner’ confesses a liking for money

Press, 28 March 1980, Page 4

‘Cleaner’ confesses a liking for money

Robin Askwith has found himself a money spinner and is not about to relinquish it quickly. He freely admits that money rules his life. After six “Confessions of

. ." tours he still remembers Cork as a beautiful city because the threatre was packed, while Dublin did not impress him because people were not as responsive. Interviewed in his hotel room yesterday, he was wearing running shorts and shoes.

“Well. plonk yourself down,” he said. “Fire away but I’m not going to give you the answers you want.” Mr Askwith said he was anti-jogging. But of course! That would explain the clothes. The part Mr Askwith plays in “The Further Confessions of a Window Cleaner” is that of Timothy Lea, an accident-prone, lovable chap: a loser. Before that he played the part of the lodger in the television series, “Beryl's Lot”: another loser. For somebody with the uncanny knack of gaining sympathy on the stage, he comes on like the British bulldog in person. He is amazed by the public outcry in Christchurch about the content of the bawdy play. He said he had come to the conclusion that "these New Life Insurance! people just want, publicity for themselves.” ' Before he went on stage!

last evening he was fully prepared for picketers and hecklers. He had organised a picket line of his own and was ready to reply to anybody in the threatre who was going to shout abuse. It would have been one case of the show not necessarily going on. Mr Askwith could not understand the number of complaints in Christchurch when the play’s promoter had received only one in the whole of the North Island. He also could not understand the stand against the play, which he described as ■‘a bawdy romp,” when another full-frontal-nudity play was showing peacefully in Christchurch. “Statements,” at the Ngaio Marsh Theatre, might not have attracted the same sort of opposition because it would not be so widely' viewed. The “bold and brassy” character of his play might have attracted more

notice than “Statements,” which hid behind “a gauze of intellect.” Anyway, nobody had the right to complain about his play until they had seen it.

In spite of adverse publicity in Christchurch “The Further Confessions of a Window Cleaner” had been received “fantastically” Mr Askwith said. Audience response in New Zealand was second in the world to Rhodesia’s. Nudity for laugh’s .sake

'made the play so popular. Mr Askwith enjoys making his audiences laugh. He will direct the next “Confessions” film, “Confessions ■of a Lorry Driver." He wants to be involved in all avenues of theatre, but realises that for the time being he is on to a winning for;mula. The man who won the “most promising newcomer” accolade in the “Evening News” film awards in 1975 and then starred in a Hollywood film, “Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates” does not seem fussed about being; taken seriously. He said people frequently confused him with Timothy Lea (the character he plays), but that did not necessarily mean that he was a sexual failure. Billed as a sex symbol in Britain for several years, he recently had this description deleted from his press biographies. He said he was not a sex symbol; he

was just associated with sexy films and plays. He does not know for how much longer he will be a window cleaner, lorry driver, plumber’s mate, etc.'He can-

not foresee what he will be doing in five minutes time, let alone five years, and chides in his north-country accent when asked about his directing hopes: “Ah, but now you’re going over the five -minute limit.” ■