New Worlds Freya Mavor Q&A
Skins and Sunshine of Leith starlet Freya Mavor is slipping into something more 17th century for her role in New Worlds, the much anticipated follow up to Channel 4 mini-series The Devil’s Whore. Alongside Joe Dempsie, Alice Englert and Jamie Dornan Freya took part in a Q&A following a special preview screening of the first episode. Her’s what she had to say:
Q. New Worlds has a lot of different themes and subtexts, what does your character specifically represent and bring to the series?
I would say Beth definitely takes a while to grasp the seriousness and the reality of the political situation. In the beginning she’s been living in a very sheltered environment where her mother has actively chosen to live away from politics and the royal court as way of protecting Beth from the evils of the world. But through this encounter with the rugged Abe Goff she has this awakening. Her eyes and her heart are opened to a whole new world. It’s cheesy but true. I think for her it’s about discovering herself as a woman, falling in love and finding her sense of justice. I’m going to stop there…
Q. How did you research this period of history?
Martine and Peter were very helpful in suggesting things when I asked. Martine suggested a great book called Cavalier by Lucy Worsley. Which is all about the 17th century, following the Cavendish family, it gives a great insight into the intricacies of that era. Everything from childbirth to the way you hold your cutlery. When doing something like this that’s the kind of detail that helps creates a reality.
Q. Do you think people will see parallels between the evens in the show and what is happening in the world today?
I think it was a more brutal time back then, people fought tooth and claw, it was a lot more animalistic in the way everything operated. I definitely think any show that explores social concepts still reaffirms a divide that exists today. I feel like there’s never going to be a politically comfortable situation. I mean just being Scottish and talking about the referendum … I’m not going into the referendum actually. But I think the show’s also about fighting for things that aren’t necessarily going to be an immediate result. It’s fighting for a cause and freedoms that generations later will take the benefit of.
Q. Do you think the show will make a younger audience want to engage in politics more?
One thing that’s definite about this series is that it’s not some sort of cosy tea and crumpets on a Sunday night watching people in tight corsets run around. It’s got a really strong and important message to I that I think does come through. The fact that it looks so beautiful, with a great cast and beautiful writing makes you pay attention.
Q. How easy is for you and Jamie to integrate a love story in amongst all the political themes and action?
I think as the series progresses you’ll see that things don’t necessarily go to plan; they don’t even go well at all for our characters. That was partly due to the fact that they’re in this love drunk stage. They’re both being active and rebellious in this haze of romance which puts them both in danger.
Q. Has the project made you personally more politically aware or motivated?
Getting a historical project incites you to read up about that period of history and research it. I didn’t know half the stuff before doing this. It was a real eye opener. For me it was a very beautiful but intense and full on experience. I ‘m looking forward to seeing the rest of the series!
Be sure to check out our other posts for the rest of the Q&A and what the rest of the talented young cast had to say.
Creator Martine Brant Talks New Worlds
In mini-series The Devil’s Whore, Martine Brant and Peter Flannery charted the bloody progress of the English Civil War, in the much anticipated sequel New Worlds they pick up that account 20 years after the end of the war with violent tensions brewing in both England and dangerous new territories of Massachusetts. Red Carpet News were treated to a very special screening of the first episode of the new series followed by a Q&A with the cast and crew. Here’s what creator Martine Brant had to say about the new series.
Q. What made you want to continue to capture this period of history?
The reason we were drawn to this period is because the restoration was thought of in popular imagination as Prince Charles as this merry monarch with all his mistresses who failed to produce an legitimate heir, which of course caused him all these problems by the time you get to 1680. But of course these are the children of parents who had fought during the civil war for a better world. A world without king’s and courts, a world more equal and just where the poor would not be oppressed and dispossessed. They had it for ten years they thought. Then it was all lost and the monarchy was restored. Of course in fact the republican experiment hadn’t worked.
From 1860 onwards everyone was pleased to welcome back Charles II. He promised to heal the wounds and no prosecution. But in order to keep control of the government the regime turned into one of the most repressive that this country has ever known. Not a lot of people know that. But there were still people there who wanted to realize the legacy of those brave men and women who had given their lives during the civil war. What we were trying to show is that the young can do this and they need to engage in their world. Politics which is about the way you live your life is indivisible from the way you love in your own life. You can’t separate it out, but it is within your power to shape your world if you engage with it. There are all kinds of resonances in modern times for that. It’s about young people making the world a better place for themselves and for others
Q. Are there any particular real life figures who inspired the series?
Colonel Sydney who features in the series was actually really an avowed republican and fought in the civil war before suffering a traitor’s death. At his trial a manuscript from his study was presented as a second witness of his crimes. It had never been published but obviously he wrote it with the hope it would propagate these forbidden ideas eventually. The notion was that if a tyrant makes a bad law then you have every right to rise up and pull him down. He was condemned to death but he became an hero and his ideas carried over to Massachusetts. His phrase “Let this hand be an enemy to tyrants, by the sword seeks peace with liberty” is the inspiration for the motto for the state of Massachusetts although not many Bostonians know that.
Q. Do you think there are any particular parallels with the modern world, particular the Puritan community in Boston?
The English settlers, the puritans, who went to Massachusetts in the 1630’s and founded Boston, left England because they were separate. They wouldn’t conform to the established religion. They wanted a reformed church where there were much stronger strictures. It was very Taliban like in the way women had to behave. It was very prescriptive. It went on through until Nathanial Hawthorn was writing The Scarlet Letter. Women were very much the target much more so than the men.
Check out the rest of the Q&A to see what stars Jamie Dornan, Freya Mavo, Alice Englert and Joe Dempsie had to say about the exciting channel four mini-series.