Everything you need to know about David Tennant and Michael Sheen’s lockdown comedy, Staged star Michael Sheen says lockdown comedy with David Tennant is “art imitating life”, David Tennant and Michael Sheen team up for new BBC One lockdown comedy Staged. Top Critics (5) Sign in to manage your newsletter preferences. Copyright © Fandango. Inspired by Georgia's writing, David is tempted to start a new endeavour. Your email address will not be published. As Georgia (who also produced the show) points out, Tennant goes more than a little stir-crazy when left to his own devices without a project to work on. When Tennant, stung by Sheen labeling his voice “cartoony”, seeks assurance from a busy with actual problems Georgia, the insecurity is thankful more endearing than fatuous (something The Trip can be guilty of…along with ‘smug’). Thanks! While the premise is that Tennant and Sheen rehearse the play under Evan’s direction, things don’t go to plan. “I have never been second choice for any role!” booms Sheen, about to find out that, for this play at least, he is quite definitely incorrect. Even when they’re miles apart and staring at screens, the chemistry between the pair is electric – their friendship is clearly at the stage where they can frequently take the piss out of one another, culminating during episode one in an hilarious and childish debate over whose name should take precedence in the play’s marketing (Tennant, citing Good Omens’ marketing: “It’s my turn!”, right down to looking at each other’s Wikipedia pages to see whose middle name comes first in alphabetical order. Such a premise lives and dies on the chemistry of its stars and it only takes a few minutes to see that Tennant and Sheen have this in spades. Jo drafts in the voice of experience to get Michael and David in line. Michael is blackmailed by his neighbour. By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Simon brings in an old friend to try to convince David and Michael to put their faith in him. By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie. The show also sees Sheen and David Tennant reunite on-screen for the first time since they appeared together in Good Omens. ‘The show must go on’ is a world-famous adage. Sidney Poitier’s 7 Most Memorable Performances, All Harry Potter Movies Ranked Worst to Best by Tomatometer. It gets overly-complicated with the introduction of all the other characters and sort of loses its way a little bit. Copyright © 2018 NextFlicks.tv. | Headlines, The percentage of Approved Tomatometer Critics who have given this movie a positive review. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Please reference “Error Code 2121” when contacting customer service. At points it can seem a bit, well, staged. Get the freshest reviews, news, and more delivered right to your inbox! Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. However, it was a good idea, two furloughed celebrated actors becoming increasingly angsty and hairy. Georgia has sold her novel and tells Anna that she's due to be a birthing partner for her friend. Anxiously fiddling around trying to get Zoom to work, you finally log on and find everyone is talking over each other. In that fantasy adaptation, Sheen played a fussy angel and Tennant played a swaggering demon, but in Staged, the roles are somewhat reversed. Staged will no doubt be a hit, its bitesize-chunks formula winningly combined with Tennant and Sheen's easy, witty banter and insights into lockdown life. Broadcasters and streamers have obviously woken up to the future potentials of the actors’ on-screen partnership – and the only question left is when we’ll see them together next. There’s only one catch: Sheen (whom Simon is a little bit scared of) isn’t keen on the idea, and must be coaxed and flattered by Tennant until he agrees. During these strange-and-unprecedented-times (a phrase I am sure you have heard enough by now) to produce a show of this quality with the limited tools available is proof, if such were needed, that comedy flour can be baked in lockdown bread in any scenario. You would never have thought that wheedling discussions about name placement in the credits (then reflected in the credits of the episodes themselves) could mine so much mirth. Already have an account with us? Starring David Tennant and Michael Sheen, Staged is a comedy series filmed almost exclusively on zoom calls (with some inserts filmed in the actors’ homes to fill in the gaps). All rights reserved. All | Rating: 2/5 |, Jun 15, 2020 Enter stage right: Staged. While Tennant plays Simon’s affable intermediary, Sheen is grumpy and sweary, and obsessed with the “bastard” birds that are gathering outside his window, half-believing himself to be stuck inside an Alfred Hitchcock film. Critics (12), View All These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Meanwhile, Michael gets drawn deeper into the situation with his neighbour, while David is nervous about Georgia leaving to help her friend in labour. It did sometimes drift into self-indulgence and on occasion the self-congratulation did not feel entirely faux. Indeed, if you were to check out Tennant’s podcast interview with Sheen you’d hear plenty of the back and forth in Staged coming naturally in their real relationship. A notable silver screen host meets up with someone from her past with a shady history. Michael spies an ambulance next door and worries about his neighbour. Click the link below to see what others say about Staged: Series 1! You eventually establish a ‘turns’ system, and when it’s your chance to speak… the internet connection is lost. The new puzzles website is now live - sign up now and enjoy a 7-day free trial! Both actors play exaggerated versions of themselves in the show. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. It is a truth not often acknowledged that in many sit-coms the best episodes are ones that take place within a ‘locked room’ scenario. Where in ‘The Trip’ Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon’s larger than life personas are frequently competitive over various dinners and lunches, Staged treads the (floor)boards by having Tennant suffer from neediness and insecurity, and Sheen succumbing to petulant bouts of childishness mixed in with good old luvvie egotism.