A week ago we watched a DVD of the excellent 1999 TV adaptation of Dickens’ David Copperfield. It had been standing on a bookshelf unviewed for years. One of the strongest performances, among many, was by Clare Holman as a waspish character named Rosa Dartle; Ms Holman better known these days for her appearances in Inspector Morse and Lewis.
The next day a car stopped at the end of our drive; it seemed someone might be lost. Jan, already in the garden, went to help. Turned out the couple in the car had heard our house might be for sale, so they were invited in. At which point I recognised the woman as Clare Holman, aka Rosa Dartle from the Dickens serial we had viewed only hours before.
Hence, the title of this blog. Her husband, by the way, turned out to be the distinguished stage director Howard Davies, of National Theatre, RSC and Warehouse Theatre fame, who has worked with many famous names: Kevin Spacey, Daniel Craig, David Suchet, Francesca Annis and of course Clare Holman herself; the list goes on. To be candid we were somewhat awed to be in the presence of such prodigious talent. But I did suggest to Ms Holman that if they were interested in buying the house we hoped she would not assume the character of Rosa Dartle. And if that doesn’t mean much to you, watch the DVD.
