{Film / TV} Performances that break the "fourth wall"
Screen performances that break the "fourth wall"
i.e. the actor faces & speaks straight towards the viewer
i.e. the actor faces & speaks straight towards the viewer
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- StarsMiranda HartPatricia HodgeTom EllisSocially inept Miranda always gets into awkward situations; working in her joke shop with best friend Stevie, being hounded by her pushy mother, and around her crush Gary.
- CreatorIan La FrenaisStarsIan McShaneDudley SuttonChris JuryLovejoy is an irresistible rogue with a keen eye for antiques. The part-time detective scours the murky salerooms, auction halls and stately homes of Britain, always on the lookout for a find.
- CreatorPhoebe Waller-BridgeStarsPhoebe Waller-BridgeSian CliffordOlivia ColmanSeries adapted from the award-winning play about a young woman trying to cope with life in London whilst coming to terms with a recent tragedy.
- DirectorBen KellettStarsJack DochertyKerry GodlimanNigel HaversStudio sitcom about three marriages in various states of disrepair. Rob and Cathy have been married for a long time, and it shows. Evan and Fiona's marriage is one big, noisy argument punctuated by even noisier make-up sex. And David and Georgy have just moved in next door to Rob and Cathy - he's in his 60s, she's in her 30s - firmly putting the (younger) cat among the (not very welcoming) pigeons. When things get tricky in these relationships the characters are able to stop the action, explain themselves directly to the audience and start it all up again."Stop/Start": a 1-off comedy drama, billed as part of a long-standing TV series named 'Comedy Playhouse'. This episode was first broadcast in 2016.
Makes superb - & very funny - use of the fourth wall.
(The series is not a continuous telecast: it has been broadcast very on & off. 'Comedy Playhouse' started in 1961, lasted till 1975, then wasn't picked up again till 2014.) - CreatorJesse ArmstrongSam BainAndrew O'ConnorStarsDavid MitchellRobert WebbMatt KingMark and Jez are a couple of twenty-something roommates who have nothing in common - except for the fact that their lives are anything but normal. Mayhem ensues as the pair strive to cope with day-to-day life.Superbly funny. And good to see a TV programme that utilises a technique that is a variant of breaking the fourth wall. We the camera are the 'other person', seeing the person that is talking to us.
- StarsAlan DaviesRolf SaxonIan BartholomewEnglish comic Alan Davies Is Simon Treat the Timeshare Salesman Extraordinare who puts a New Spin, on the Old Sales Adage of Selling Fridges to Eskimos. He presents his Travelogue of Ideal Timeshare Locations for his Boss Scott, played by Ian Bartholomew.Unknown to me till I came across it on an online player. A piece of 1990s' culture. Somewhat 'mehhhh' in quality. Only a 6.5 out of 10 (if I could rate at IMDb in half-points!). But good to see a TV programme that utilises a technique that is a variant of breaking the fourth wall, rather like 'Peep Show' did years later. We the camera are the video camera that Alan Davies is holding in his hand. We thus see what Alan Davies is doing, & while he often talks straight to that camera.
- StarsFrank SkinnerConleth HillPaula WilcoxFrank Sandford has big hopes for his pop duo, Blue Heaven, but his home life is less than satisfactory.
- StarsRonnie CorbettDonald HewlettRosemary LeachBachelor Ronnie (Ronnie Corbett) lives with his mother in Bramley in the heart of suburbia. Every day he is seen off by his mother into an ever-changing world in which he seems to fight everything while trying to maintain the exterior of a pleasant liberal persona.