A Place of Execution: Juliet Stevenson interview – from itv.com
Juliet Stevenson found it easy to identify with her character’s all-consuming urge to find the truth about a missing schoolgirl.
She said: “I have always been haunted by the Suzy Lamplugh case – that girl was never found. How do families and parents of loved ones cope without the lack of closure? Also the McCanns – all parents have been identifying very strongly with that case. So our story is very current.”
The script was just one of the appeals of the drama for Juliet: “There was a lot going on sub-textually. Catherine is pursuing buried secrets from the past which have never been resolved but she also has secrets in her own life. The narrative drive and her internal life make for an interesting combination. I liked the whole package.
“I read the book, as I always like to, but my character differs a lot because in the book she doesn’t have a teenage daughter and that is a big part of the film. The very first script didn’t have a daughter either and I loved it when I read the second draft and discovered she is a struggling single parent, going through a difficult time. Her personal life is unravelling as the story unravels.”
Catherine is forced to confront her problems with her daughter Sasha (Elizabeth Day) when she accompanies her to Northumberland to investigate the story of missing schoolgirl Alison Carter (Poppy Goodburn).
Juliet explained: “Catherine is a workaholic. She’s passionate about her work; she’s very direct, full of energy and a perfectionist. Although she’s a strong woman she knows she’s probably not the best parent.
“She found parenthood difficult to plait into her working life, her marriage has fallen apart and she and her daughter are locked in mutual frustration, misunderstanding and anger.”
“Her own relationship with her mother is difficult and fractured too but I don’t think she realises it. She is a woman of her time.”
The drama, set in the present day with flashbacks to the 1960s, was filmed in Northumberland in two distinct parts.
The actress continued: “We never saw the 1960s cast, so my scenes are with Dave Hill and Philip Jackson in the present day. I didn’t get to see Lee Ingleby, Tony Maudsley and Greg Wise. The only actor who covers both eras is Joy Blakeman who plays Kathy Lomas. She is aged by prosthetics to go from her thirties to her seventies.
“The 60s section was filmed first and then us, almost like two different films. As we arrived all the other characters were saying fond farewells. We felt like the new kids on the block.
“It’s a strange feeling, almost as if the house belongs to someone else and you are walking into someone else’s bathroom. Lots of relationships have been established there. But of course in only a matter of days you take over the house – to flog the metaphor.
“We all stayed in the same hotel in Northumberland so we could sometimes all meet up in the evening. I loved filming it as I love the north east and my family also came up to see me.”
