Man with the mobile hands

Press, 2 September 1983, Page 4

Man with the mobile hands

Ry

LINDA HARRISON

Rowan Atkinson’s hands barely pause in an interview. They rub his eyes, clasp his face, hover meaningfully through the air, embrace his nose, get tucked between and under his legs, and thoughtfully support his chin and cheek. The British actor, known to millions throughout the world as one of the cast of “Not the Nine O’Clock News,” almost hypnotises anyone he talks to. His manner is easy, making it much more like chatting with a friend or acquaintance than one of Britain’s top actors. His nasal voice freely answers questions covering topics ranging from the choristers’ preparatory school that he attended to the lack of inhibition of his New Zealand fans. As he talks, reminders of the characters he portrays leap to mind with the raising of an eyebrow and contortions of his mouth. The voice is, as expected, very English and with a definite hint of a public school upbringing.

He explains his humour as satire based in love. “It is very difficult to satirise anything you do not have a lot of respect for,” he says. “I am very much of the Establishment and in no way a radical thinker. I enjoy finding ironies and inconsistencies. “The need we felt (on “Not the Nine O’Clock News”) to poke fun at topical issues and things of today is very much a talent we came on by mistake.” He is quick to emphasise that he was involved in oneman shows long before joining that show. “I feel happiest working in a more individual area/’ There his characters really come to the fore — “a lot of them I like a lot and always inspire me to write something new for them. “The character who stands in the audience and berates people — he is someone I can write for easily.” His one-man shows are less topical, Mr Atkinson says, something that must

make life a lot easier for someone who does not read newspapers. “I never read newspapers as a rule — not that I don’t want to. I don’t watch television either. The idea of just sitting in a chair ... it’s not a very regular occurrence.” He does watch his own shows on television, an activity he claims he has to do on his own. “I don’t mind them (other people) seeing it and then commenting on it. I can only see the bad bits. I can only see the faults that come out larger than life,” says the man who is obviously his own best critic. He says that being in New Zealand is like effectively going back two years in terms of public reaction. “It is rather nice to see that you haven’t burnt yourself out yet.” His shows at the Theatre Royal this evening and tomorrow mark the end of a very successful first tour of New Zealand, which will be followed by a month in Australia.