Ruth Wilson plays Mary Gilbert
After her acclaimed performance in the title role of Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ One's Jane Eyre, Ruth Wilson is rapidly becoming regarded as one of our finest young actresses. Her performances as Mary in Capturing Mary and the Culture Show drama A Real Summer can only help enhance her growing reputation.
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Ruth takes the role of young Mary (she is played in later life by Maggie Smith). Mary is a highly promising young writer in the late Fifties whose career is derailed by the machinations of Greville (David Walliams), a malevolent older man whom she unwisely crosses.
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The character of Mary is first introduced in A Real Summer, which Poliakoff was commissioned to write for The Culture Show.
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Ruth explains more about her character: "A Real Summer charts the development of an unexpected friendship between the rising columnist and a young female aristocrat, Geraldine. This drama gives a deeper understanding of how Mary's attractive qualities: her audacity, her compassion and her outspokenness, contribute to her downfall in Capturing Mary."
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The actress, who was Bafta-nominated for Jane Eyre, says working with Stephen is a real privilege. "He is passionate about his work and has a real respect for the actor in the process. Within this business that is a unique quality. Stephen's writing is superb it's so rich. Each time you look at a scene, you keep finding more and more new things in it.
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"Mary's journey reflects the Fifties and Sixties, which were a massive era of change. The whole idea really excited me and I haven't been disappointed.
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"When we see the young Mary, she's incredibly successful and confident. She feels she can do whatever she wants. She's on the crest of the wave, an integral part of the intellectual elite who are heralding great change in the late Fifties. That makes her downfall all the more tragic."
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The actress goes on to describe the relationship with Greville at the core of Capturing Mary. "It's a power struggle between old and new and between men and women. She's fighting a losing battle against entrenched tradition. Mary is originally from the North and is very determined to prove herself and take on the mantle of 'the voice of youth'. Greville, on the other hand, represents the old guard. He holds all the power and influence and she just can't break that.
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"Greville wields this immense power over Mary. He burdens her with these awful secrets and she thinks, 'I don't want to know all this dreadful stuff' but she does and it really takes the wind out of her sails.
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"He makes the world she had previously trusted suddenly seem frightening. She becomes cynical, everything is now tainted in her eyes. She finds herself no longer able to voice an opinion or express an optimistic view about what the future holds. She is now burdened with a terrible knowledge that prevents her from writing. She is left with secrets that she can't tell anyone and that have ruined everything for her. It's shocking."
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The 25-year-old actress explains why she thinks Greville destroys Mary's career. "Because she's young and represents change, she stands out from the crowd and is willing to challenge her elders. She is a towering force, and he sees this as a serious threat. She wants to introduce change, but he can't bear it if he's not in control, so he snuffs out anything new. It's a fascinating, complex power struggle."
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According to Ruth, the fight between Mary and Greville also symbolises the age-old battle of the sexes. "It's the archetypal male-female struggle," she reckons. "Feminism was starting to erupt after the Second World War. Even though women had had greater independence during the war, they were expected to go back to the old repressive ways and work in the home. Mary reacts against that reactionary male view that women should merely be submissive, and Greville is desperate to stop this new wave of women coming through."
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There is also initially a crackle of sexual tension between Mary and Greville. "In lots of scenes, they're on the cusp of the bedroom," Ruth reveals. "They're very intimate, but their connection is not ultimately romantic. It's not love between them, more a mutual intellectual attraction."
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Ruth says she was delighted to be playing the younger version of Maggie Smith. "It's such a thrill," she beams. "I thought, 'wow, to be asked to play the young Maggie Smith is such an honour!' But it's also a great pressure. I hope I've lived up to it."
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Fortunately, Ruth adds, "we really hit it off. Maggie's absolutely lovely. The first thing she said to me was, 'I feel like I know you because I've been watching you for weeks performing with my son' [Toby Stephens, Ruth's co-star in Jane Eyre].'"
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Ruth continues that, "we met three times beforehand to discuss the character, and I found that so helpful. We decided that you could see the seeds of the older Mary in the young woman. She has a strong will and a fondness for drink. Maggie shows how Mary has got to where she is. She was unable to beat Greville as a young woman, and now she's in her sixties, she still doesn't have the confidence to break his hold over her.
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"I didn't want to do an impersonation of Maggie because that would have been a massive distraction. I studied tapes and watched her performances in Othello and Ladies In Lavender. I tried to hold myself more like Maggie, her stance is very balletic. There was no slouching, I had to hold myself very high, with my chin up and my back very straight. I tried to be as elegant as Maggie which is very hard."
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Ruth found it equally rewarding to work with David Walliams. "I didn't know David beforehand, but he's great. I loved collaborating with him. It sounds horrible, but David is perfect for this role. He's a lovely guy, but there is something intriguing and mysterious about him. He also has this rare presence and intensity and charm which are qualities he invests in Greville."
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Ruth goes on to play the lead in a new TV drama-documentary by Leo Regan.
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