In celebration of the US finally getting season 2 of Staged, I’m finally posting my thoughts on season 1. It has absolutely been the best quarantine show and not only gave us a new spin on television but also stretched and grew the abilities of those involved in the show. The Tennants have stated how difficult it could be sometimes trying to take care of their children (including homeschooling) while filming and how they had to do their own filming with cameras, lights, and sound. They’ve really given much of themselves and their personal lives even through the scripted show by allowing us into their home. That’s not to say that Sheen and Lundberg haven’t given their personal lives as well since we do see a little bit of their home and they do discuss their family as well including their baby girl. Staged is an amazing example of the creativity and ingenuity of those in the entertainment business and deserve all the praise we can give them.
I enjoyed season 1 immensely. Even though it’s scripted, you can really see the amazing friendship that David Tennant and Michael Sheen have together. And I feel like their relationship with their significant others are mirrored as well. (Obviously I don’t know them and can’t say that for sure; it’s just a feel.) I personally saw so much I could relate to with the Tennants between my own husband and me in regards to how they feel/deal with their children and how comfortable they are with each other in various situations. It was so adorable how David sat with Georgia on the stairs when he needed comfort in one scene and how, in a different scene, she was playfully picking on him and he said “Fuck off.” Which sounds rude in text here but seeing the scene, the tone of voice, the body language – you can tell it’s all love and that’s just how they are. It’s not mean-hearted in any way. Which is the same with David and Michael as well when they’re playing around with those sorts of phrases and hand gestures. It’s just great spouses, great friends, having fun together. And it just makes me ridiculously happy. The script may be written and fake – but I can’t help but see that the fun and love is real.
Everything about this show is absolutely brilliant. Whoever thought about doing something like between David and Michael is a genius because there’s so much chemistry between them. You can’t help but enjoy yourself when seeing them together. You just can’t. Good Omens was beautifully done and Aziraphale’s and Crowley’s friendship was one of the best parts about it. But to see these two men able to showcase their real friendship even through acting is gorgeous and hilarious. I loved Sheen’s portrayal of himself as being more quiet, a little stand-offish, a bit of a daydreamer, and easily distracted. How many times can I say an aspect of this show is fun? Because it really was fun and entertaining to see him staring out the window watching birds or thinking about his neighbor or intentionally ignoring something that was said to him. He sometimes had a childlike petulance unless he got his way which was a little endearing. And that hair! Anna joked about how she missed hairdressers while looking at his hair, which was priceless, but I absolutely love it. (Obviously we don’t know what her personal opinion is on the hair, only Anna the character.) In fact, I love both of their hair. They both look great with the longer hair and while I’m sure they’ll need to change it eventually – either for roles or just personal choice – I’m personally enjoying the looks while they have it. Tennant really shows the exhaustion of being home with multiple kids and needing to escape. Of needing to be something other than a parent even for just a little bit. He’s restless. He feels unsure of where he belongs. He’s just trying to reach for something that makes him feel like himself again. I have no doubts he loves being a dad and being able to spend time with his family, but if you’re a parent, I know you understand what I mean. (And I say this as my two boys are wrestling around in the living room behind me when they’re not supposed to. Again.) We all need something that’s for us. “Parent” is not all that we are and especially for Tennant, who was named the Hardest Working Actor in 2019 in Britain, he’s not used to being cooped up in the house. His portrayal of himself as a parent stuck inside with kids has been pretty much all of us parents during the pandemic.
Georgia Tennant and Anna Lundberg have been the rocks, the steadying points, for their respective significant others. Always cool-headed, always have things under control, and trying to keep their partner motivated and supported. Which is as much for their benefit as for David and Michael. Out of anyone in the show, Georgia Tennant is absolutely the one person I relate to the most in so many ways. She has her own dreams and yet she takes care of everyone and everything else in the house. Even when David is supposed to be keeping an eye on the baby through the monitor so she can write, she’s the one that goes in when the baby starts crying. I wish I could relate to her in actually writing though. I can’t seem to juggle the household and my dreams the way her portrayal of herself does. (I’m trying not to presume too much about their personal lives.) Lundberg is so calm and collected all the time. And she’s obviously highly intelligent, sometimes correcting the men, without it feeling like she’s a know-it-all or bragging. She just has the knowledge and states it. She comes off almost ethereal to me. Like a type of physical and mental beauty you hope to attain but feels out of reach, if that makes sense. Both women have such amazing qualities and I highly enjoyed watching their characters be the lighthouse in the storm, so to speak. To be the ones that are keeping life together while the men are trying to figure out where they fit during the pandemic.
I certainly can’t miss discussing Simon and his sister Lucy who make up the third duo of the show. What was initially a “Why are you in my house?” by Lucy to Simon quickly turned into a compassionate sister trying to lift her brother up in a never-before-done venture he was trying. Seeing two siblings work together and become closer was heartwarming. Here is a man with little self-esteem, reaching out to do something new and that he wasn’t comfortable doing (hey look, more things I can relate to), and almost giving up. Then there’s his sister who was initially upset that he basically broke into her house and became his biggest supporter. It became a project that brought them closer together and that’s a beautiful thing.
Then we have the guest stars. The absolutely amazing, incredibly hilarious, guest stars. First off, I just have to say how incredibly excited I was to see Nina Sosanya who plays Jo, the lady financing the play and pushing Simon to get David and Michael in line. Ever since I watched Casanova I can recognize her in anything and I just really enjoy watching her act. (For anyone interested, she’s currently in His Dark Materials too.) So it was really awesome to see her. In the third episode, we get to see Samuel L Jackson make an appearance in episode three, “Who the F#!k is Michael Sheen?” As always, he was highly entertaining with his “anger” and his multiple uses of the word “fuck.” During this episode we “find out” that Mr Jackson was originally supposed to play Michael’s role in “Six Characters,” turned it down for a different project, and now wants back in. David attempts a plan to get him away from the production that utterly backfires and what ensues is hilarity between Mr Jackson with Michael going after “that fucking liar, David Tennant.” It’s great. Adrian Lester makes an appearance in episode five, “Ulysses,” where he’s supposed to talk Simon up to David and Michael, as Simon is currently showing to be out of his depth. However, he winds up just chatting away with the two men and having a great time with them, much to Simon’s frustration. Then there’s Dame Judi Dench who speaks with the men and gets them whipped back into shape. Her charisma and presence is enough to make anyone in awe of her, even through the tv screen, and she is certainly a force to be reckoned with.
Staged has just been a wonderfully done production and I am incredibly excited to see season 2!! I’ve been hearing so much on Twitter about how funny it is and that it’s even better than season 1. I was able to find a clip of one episode on YouTube and I just can’t wait to see it all. I really enjoyed watching Staged. I thought it was hilarious and it was wonderful to see them with their partners too. Both couples are absolutely adorable. And their interactions with each other, especially the Tennants, could be so entertaining! And extremely relatable. Also, the amount of times the phrases “Fuck off” and “Fuck you” was used made it even funnier. I feel like the way they had to use cameras, especially Zoom, also made it feel much more personal. There’s a part in the last episode where Michael is very relieved about a situation (I don’t want to spoil it) and even though it’s scripted, I felt tears in my eyes as if it were a real person they were talking about. The style they did the show in absolutely made a huge impact regarding the feel of the show and it makes me wonder if this is a style people will continue to work with or if everything will revert back to the way it was before the pandemic. I guess only time will tell.
The Variety of David Tennant (and friends) 