God On Trial: a new 90-minute drama for 91Èȱ¬ÌýTwo
Writer Frank Cottrell Boyce
Frank Cottrell Boyce explains how he came to write the script for God On Trial: "Mark Redhead rang me up about four years ago and told me about an idea that he'd been nurturing for a long time, the rumour that prisoners in Auschwitz had put God on trial.
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"I'd heard that story, but had never thought of it as anything more than that – an anecdote, a kind of parable. He pushed me into thinking of making a play about it. So it's Mark's dream; all I've done is add a bit of colour to it really."
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In fact, God On Trial marks Frank's first television drama in ten years, following such high profile and varied films as 24 Hour Party People, Hilary And Jackie and Welcome To Sarajevo.
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He says: "This project obviously lends itself much more to television. It's something that you'd want a lot of people to see, to talk about – you want it to be a kind of shared experience.
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"It's got an urgency to it – I didn't want the drama to be seen just on the festival circuit; I wanted people to see it in their living rooms and really think about the issues it raises."
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Frank is not Jewish, but a practicing Roman Catholic: "I've got a flip answer to that in that the one group that doesn't have to ask itself any questions about the Holocaust is the Jewish people. It's the rest of the people in Europe who acted strangely and need to ask themselves questions.
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"But on another level God On Trial isn't a Jewish issue; it's a question about God and who God is, something that people are asking themselves in all contexts all the time.
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"And this particular anecdote, which seems to dramatise these questions really well, happens to originate in the Holocaust."
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The production had access to the very best professional advice, as Frank explains: "Mark got in touch with a number of experts and academics and we went to see Dan Cohn Sherbok who has made a specialism of Holocaust theology.
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"He's an amazing kind of cosmopolitan intellect who happens to teach in Lampeter in the middle of Wales. He was fantastically useful and inspiring; he's lived with these questions for a long time and was really generous with his time and expertise."
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Frank continues: "Most of the films I've made before have been based on real stories or historical events. This one is a strange hybrid because it's a well known story, although it's probably apocryphal rather than factual.
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"It was very weird going on set. In the past, with a lightweight film like 24 Hour Party People, about the Manchester music scene, we rebuilt the Hacienda. And then the real characters came on set and met the actors who were playing them and it was really overpowering emotionally for them.
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"But standing on set and looking at Auschwitz itself is obviously a much more overwhelming experience."
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Frank was delighted by the cast that came together in a very short time: "God On Trial has attracted the most amazing actors, partly because it's such a contained shoot that people can commit to it without making a massive time commitment, although they've made a huge emotional and intellectual commitment as well.
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"It's also been shot in long takes, and it's brilliant watching the cast getting their teeth into the roles. In films you kind of watch 30 seconds of acting here then there – whereas these guys really have to perform.
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"There are great long speeches and – I hadn't noticed this when I was writing the script – there's a proper audience on set. Lots of people are watching these actors as there are so many extras as well as 24 speaking parts.
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"So when Antony Sher does a big speech absolutely everyone on set is very emotionally involved."
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Andy de Emmony was a natural choice to direct such an ambitious piece of television: "It was great having Andy on board as he's totally focused on getting the performances.
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"The core of this is that it's truly theatrical. For much of the time the three cameras were filming simultaneously, so the actors were having to perform all the time and that's given it an energy and momentum.
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"I think other directors might have taken a slower approach but from what I've seen it's really benefited from having the extra speed and adrenaline that Andy's been able to get out of people."
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Frank concludes: "I can't stress strongly enough that God On Trial isn't just about the Holocaust; this is really a question about God. It's so important to keep the memory fresh.
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"That's why it's good that it's going out on telly as it will reach a broader audience. It should be real water cooler television, just as Bloody Sunday was. Television functions as a national forum, and that's great."
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