INTERVIEW: On ‘Bookish,’ Mark Gatiss finds clues in literature
Photo: Bookish stars, from left, Mark Gatiss and Elliot Levey. Photo courtesy of PBS Pressroom / Provided with permission.
The new murder mystery Bookish, created by, written by and starring Mark Gatiss, follows the character of Gabriel Book (Gatiss) as he tries to solve cases by relying on his encyclopedic knowledge of literature and history. He’s based in post-war London, and the best way to find the killers is to check the mighty tomes that line his library, very much like Sherlock Holmes. Bookish continues with new episodes Sundays at 10 p.m. on PBS.
“I’ve always loved books and reading, and I do have a vast store of absolutely useless information in my head,” Gatiss said in a recent interview with journalists. “I wish I could get rid of some of it. As Sherlock Holmes says, ‘It’s a mistake to think that the walls of every man’s mind are like elastic; they’re not.’ Actually it’s quite useful to get rid of some of this stuff, but it’s too late, I’m afraid. I know all kinds of nonsense, but some of it is very useful for this show and for shows like it anyway because it throws up strange, little oddities and coincidences and things.”
Gatiss counts himself as a lover of history and books. He relayed an anecdote that sounds like a dream come true: Being stuck on a train in the middle of nowhere, one’s smartphone is dead, and there’s nothing to do but enjoy a book from one’s pocket.
“It’ll take you somewhere else, and that’s the most amazing thing,” the actor said. “And in terms of history, as I say, this period has always interested me. I think I really came to it through the films of Powell and Pressburger, and it’s in the popular imagination because of austerity. It’s a very drab period, but they were making films in illustrious Technicolor. And I always thought that dichotomy between the two things was rather fascinating. People came back from the war; everything turned upside down.”
It’s interesting for Gatiss to perform the very words that he wrote into the script. This means he wears several hats at once, and sometimes he needs to make changes on the spot.
“I do have to be keeping an eye on the rest of the story and the show and where everyone is and stuff like that and also thinking about what’s next, etc., etc.,” he said. “But the plus side of that is I can definitely change it as I go, and I often find that I’ve learned it slightly differently to how I’ve written it. And that’s great because when the script supervisor comes over and says, ‘Is this what you…’ I say, ‘Yes, I want to say this now.’ It’s a bit like doing another draft as you go.”
One example of this: Gatiss was re-reading a speech that another character on the show was giving, and he realized there were “slightly clumsy bits” in the writing. He rewrote the scene in one day to smooth everything out.
“I find that very useful,” Gatiss said. “It sort of keeps it very organic and very fast-moving in a way, and it almost means it’s not holy writ. Nobody is presented with the script, which is absolutely set in stone.”
The creator hopes this show continues for several seasons (or series as they say in the United Kingdom). He has envisioned an ending already, but he’d like “carry on” with the Book character for some time.
“I think I’m really enjoying it,” he said. “It’s very hard work. … I’m writing now with the prospect of filming again later this year. Time catches up with you, but it’s so much fun. I do have a lot of ideas and a lot of settings, I suppose. Murder mysteries are very tough things. … But also the post-war setting sort of throws up so many curious little things. I think that’s exciting. Like most things, I think in the end, Sherlock Holmes said, ‘There is nothing new under the sun,’ and he’s absolutely right. But what you can do is give it a new coat of paint or change the furniture around, and I think present it through a different prism to a new audience is kind of what we’re all trying to do. So, for me, this show as an entertainment is a package of all the things I love.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Bookish, created by, written by and starring Mark Gatiss, continues Sundays at 10 p.m. on PBS. Click here for more information.
