Stefan Golaszewski is the writer, creator and director and executive producer of Marriage, and he has explained his intentions behind the polarising BBC One drama.
The writer previously saw a lot of success with his drama Mum on BBC Two, but Marriage – exposed to a more mainstream audience on BBC One – is dividing viewers (although, it must be noted, it has been roundly lauded by critics – ED! among them).
Some have branded it boring and lacking in any action. But they’ve missed the point…
Read More: Marriage theme tune is annoying the hell out of viewers – what is it?
Marriage writer explains the drama
While a lot of viewers were excited for the new BBC drama starring popular actors Sean Bean and Nicola Walker, many complained that the show was boring and uncomfortable.
When explaining the premise for Marriage, Stefan shared: “Marriage is a show about a couple and how they get through things together. I guess I’m trying to write about what it is actually like to be a person instead of what it is like on television or in fiction.
“People find things difficult and they don’t really know what they feel. They think they feel one thing but often feel something else.”
Many people complained about the silence but this was most important, with Stefan explaining of couple Ian and Emma: “They often don’t know what to say to each other, which seems to be like a more truthful depiction of what it is like to be a person.”
Marriage backlash – viewers call the show “dull and boring”
One of the most common complaints about Marriage is the lack of plot, with one viewer summing up complaints on Twitter: “How can a programme with both Sean Bean and Nicola Walker in be so dull and boring??? Waiting for something to actually happen.”
Yet, Stefan intended to write a more character-based, realistic drama: “In the show, that’s what I’m trying to do – connect with the audience about what it’s like to be [Ian and Emma] and live their lives in a minute-by-minute way as opposed to a broad, plot-thrusting way.
“Digging into the minute and tiny moments to find the dramas and tensions in the way that we as people live our lives – moment by moment. We don’t experience life as big thunderstorms, it’s more like constant drizzle, and that’s what the show explores.”
One of the viewers who ‘got it’ commented: “I can’t believe people saying it’s boring- it’s brilliant! All the things unsaid among families all the time – it leaves us to do the work while reflecting on the mundane.”
Stefan remarked that the show is very detail orientated, with every awkward moment and silence being a purposeful decision: “I think it is very important for this kind of writing that what we shoot is absolutely what I wrote down to ‘erm’ or ‘err’, ‘yes’ or ‘yeah’.
“Without that specificity, when I get in the edit, I’m not able to tell the same story. When your plot lines are as minimal as these are and based on such tiny shifts of emotion or mood, you have to have the absolute pinpoint tools to tell that story.”
What the writer of Marriage wants audiences to take from the drama
Stefan Golaszewski explained what he wanted audiences to take from the drama amidst the backlash: “I hope that the audience will connect with it and feel that it reflects what it’s like to be them and that it reflects the warmth, humour and the shared world view that you have in a relationship.
“The shared moments and joys, but the potential for frustration and the impossibilities of it. When people get married they make a completely impossible pledge to be together happily for the rest of their lives, and no one can do that, yet everyone tries.
“That’s what makes it a beautiful thing. In a marriage, you are spending all day every day trying to make this thing work that really shouldn’t. It’s impossible to live with one person all day every day for the rest of your life, but you try it because you love each other and it’s worth it and worth trying for.”
Marriage continues on this Sunday August 21 at 9pm on BBC One. The fourth and final episode airs next Monday, August 22, at 9pm.
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