In Conversation with... Jeremy Brett
In Conversation with... Jeremy Brett is an article written by Christopher Roden published in the A.C.D. - The Journal of The Arthur Conan Doyle Society (Vol. 1, No. 1) in september 1989.
In Conversation with... Jeremy Brett
A visit to London is always an exciting occasion, and on the particular visit in March 1989 the opportunity of seeing the highly successful production of The Secret of Sherlock Holmes and discussing Sir Arthur Conan DoyleSir Arthur Conan Doyle with Jeremy Brett, added a wholly new dimension.
A chill wind howled through the alleyways which criss-cross London's Theatreland as I made my way to the Stage Door of Wyndham's Theatre. It had been a day of almost incessant rain and it seemed that a swirling London fog, and the grinding of Hansom Cab wheels upon the cobbles, were all that would be needed to complete the atmosphere of Sherlock Holmes's London.
I had chatted briefly with Brett following the previous evening's performance, and realised very quickly how difficult it must be to drop the mantle of Sherlock Holmes which he has carried, very successfully. for over five years. Prior to this evening's performance, I met a very different Jeremy Brett: one labouring under a heavy cold and concerned how this would affect his voice and his forthcoming performance, yet relaxed on a comfortable dressing room sofa surrounded by tributes from his many admirers around the world.
There can be little doubt that Jeremy Brett has introduced a sew element into the Holmes of the screen. I don't think that anyone has yet adequately defined that element but, in part, it s the 'humanisation' of Holmes coupled with the development of a genuine and apparent friendship with Doctor Watson, portrayed more intelligently by David Burke and, more recently, by Edward Hardwicke.
The theme of the intimate bond between Holmes and Watson is more deeply explored in The Secret of Sherlock Holmes, which has been skillfully written by Jeremy Paul drawing very heavily on the original writings of Arthur Conan Doyle.
The study of Conan Doyle as a hobby is a very different thing to earning a living from acting the part of one of the characters he created. 'What,' I asked Brett, 'are your personal feelings about Sherlock Holmes and Arthur Conan Doyle?'
'I find talking about Holmes somewhat difficult while I'm still playing him; but as far as Arthur Conan Doyle is concerned, Holmes is one of the greatest inventions that has ever happened in literature. This man lives; as indeed does John Watson — and this is amazing.'
'I think that what I now want very much is for Conan Doyle to be recognised as the Literary Giant that he is. He's been rather dismissed as a thriller writer and, of course, he's not yet on the list of people to read when one goes to University in this country — although he should be.'
'As far as The Secret of Sherlock Holmes is concerned — this play which Jeremy Paul has done so brilliantly is so largely Conan Doyle, and has done so much for his reputation. By removing the case, you suddenly 'hear' somebody's writing. Your ear turns into a different shape if you listen to a Dorothy Sayers, or a Conan Doyle adaptation per se — you go into 'The Thriller Stream'. But the actual writing is something which goes slightly above — and, until now, it's never been taken quite so seriously.'
'I'm only sad that Conan Doyle didn't have a chance to 'break away' from Holmes. I should love to know what else he would have written if he'd left Holmes at The Final Problem. But popular demand is popular demand and, whilst I think that there are some wonderful stories in The Return, from his point of view it must have been quite wearing. He's a very complicated creature to be around — S.H. — whether you're writing him, or trying to act him.
I know that Conan Doyle scored a hundred at Lord's and then dashed back to write The Speckled Band but, at the same time, he then became somewhat dwarfed by his own creation and that must have been very difficult for him: Conan Doyle was a gentle man — he didn't look like his invention. There are debates about identity — whether it was Joseph Bell — but, of course, Holmes was all him — all Conan Doyle.'
'Yes, I think he was swamped, to a degree, by his own invention and that's something I'm struggling not to be — not to be swamped by my invention on top of his invention. Because there's no doubt that I have, I know, done something else: I've shown a few cracks; I've succeeded in making something else — I don't know what it is, but I know there's something.'
'I think that Conan Doyle has done something quite remarkable. He created a heroic figure which saw the last Century through. They stepped into the 1900's with Sherlock Holmes as their hero and now you're going to step through the year 2000 with the same character as a heroic figure. He's got a few others alongside him sow, but he's still number one; and that is the most incredible achievement of any writer. He created a hero figure — and the young are desperately in need of hero figures at the moment. We love all the eccentricities and the brilliance, but the children love the heroics — and they do the deduction without any fuss at all. They're not hung up by the cocaine — they go straight to the deducing.'
It's been a very great honour for both Edward and myself, and indeed David Burke who was the original breakthrough as Watson. I think that what has happened now is that there is a new look at Holmes and Watson because of the brilliance of David and Edward. They've brought Watson into focus, and you suddenty realise that it's not just 'a streak of genius with someone toddling along behind', it's a great and important friendship. I think this adds another image when you're reading it.'
'What is very extraordinary are the things Watson doesn't say — because he's so kind to his friend; always covering up for him. Thanks to Granada , I've been allowed to show that, because they've given me my head.'
'And so, Conan Doyle remains intact after all the parodies. And after all the horrendous things that Dame Jean Conan Doyle has had to go through over several years, she knows that it's all going to go forward with people reading her Father's books. Because all the kids who come to see this play are reading The Canon — and that pleases her, and me, immensely.'
As our meeting drew to 2 close, Brett the Actor had sprung into action and, seated before his dressing-room mirror. had begun to assume the guise which has become so familiar to all of us in recent years — a nightly ritual which takes about an hour to perfect.
'You know,' he said, turning from his desk for a moment, 'although it feels nice to receive acclaim from the critics, it bas meant far more to me to receive so much acclaim from Sherlockians and Doyleans. This to me has been the ultimate accolade.'
- Article courtesy Christopher Roden, founder of The Arthur Conan Doyle Society (1989-2003).
