Some thirty odd years ago I wanted to be an actor. I spent much of my spare time during my 20’s in theatre groups taking improvisation workshops and actually became quite good at it. I even ran some groups myself and for the most part, enjoyed being in a creative setting where we would conjure up something deep and meaningful or and this was my preference, something funny. Observers and other actors would clap and/or cheer and I’d feel that warm glow of validation.

My romance for the stage began to wane when I visited an actor friend who was working in The National Theatre. My friend was a very talented performer and was in a play with some very well-known players including one who was already very famous and is now, some 30 years later (and here’s your clue), is known as a national treasure (NT). When I went backstage after the performance I was shocked at how small my friend’s dressing corner was in comparison to the established star’s room. We went to the actors’ bar and I spotted NT. I said to my friend I would like to meet NT. ‘No’ my friend said, ‘we’re not allowed to cavort with the ‘grown ups’. Apparently the hierarchy was so strict that unless one of the stars invited a young actor for a drink, they couldn’t mix. This is not a ‘Me Too’ story, but you can see how that whole thing happened. The star summons a junior over only if they ‘want’ something from them.

My stage ambitions were finally killed off when I was in a restaurant with some friends and we could hardly hear ourselves because a group of noisy young theatricals was behaving badly and loudly. I knew the type instantly and when they refused to quieten down I told them that singing aloud and throwing food was no substitute for talent. A few bitchy comments were exchanged but considering the people involved (me included) were more at home with vicious (you hit me with a flower) put-downs than fists, the whole thing calmed down.

What struck me was how the most annoying thing about some actors is self-aggrandisement. I stress ‘some’ because I have known others that are not in it purely to patch up their own emotional failings and are professional.

Which brings me to the so-called ‘Awards Season’ which this week culminated in the Oscars. What a steaming pile of …! This event and the others that lead up to it are simply a way of converting weak egos into big money for the industry. What is equally annoying is how the media willingly fan these peacock plumed flames, presumably to obtain exclusives to sell their own load of rubbish.

I know these awards can be seen as a harmless break from politics and the misery of daily grinding life, but it is ridiculous that true talent and creativity becomes secondary to fame and showing off.

Peacock credit; https://kitcheninterviews.com/14322/peacock-pictures-to-print/