An Act of Valour
Encyclopedia
An Act of Valour is a 2010 short film and the directorial debut by the respected English
actor Allan Corduner
. It was written by Juha Leppäjärvi, and produced by Janet Sate for Caravanserai Productions. The film premiered at the 24th BFI London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival
in March 2010.
gay
couple, Kevin and Will, face a grim morning after, anxiously waiting for the next news broadcast. At a police station, Detective Sargeant Russell is trying to pacify Lisa, whose boyfriend seems to be missing. There's a body on a nearby common. Something happened the previous night, but who's going to pick up the pieces?
The cast of An Act of Valour mainly consists of members of the Caravanserai Productions and Acting Studio, but also of experienced actors like Gerard Monaco
, and most notably Marcus D'Amico
, best known for his portrayal of Michael 'Mouse' Tolliver in the Channel 4
adaptation of Armistead Maupin
's Tales of the City
. Director Allan Corduner
had previously worked - as an actor - with both D'Amico and Monaco in the West End
: with D'Amico in the play The Boys Next Door
at the Comedy Theatre, and with Monaco in the revival of A View from the Bridge
at the Duke of York's Theatre
.
For a character-driven piece like this, Leppäjärvi specifically wanted a director who understands how to direct actors, so he persuaded his partner, the respected stage and screen actor Allan Corduner
, to direct and lend his long acting experience to the project.
The film was mainly financed by money generated through a fund-raising event in September 2009 at Royal Vauxhall Tavern, where the host Dorian Black aka Dusty Limits
chatted on-stage to celebrity guests Ruby Wax
, Miriam Margolyes
and Belinda Lang
.
Originally, Leppäjärvi and Corduner had approached D'Amico with the idea of him playing the drag-queen Bette Noir (a pun on French
expression bête noire
). However, it was eventually agreed he should play DS Russell instead. Dorian Black was then asked to play Bette.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
actor Allan Corduner
Allan Corduner
Allan Corduner is an English actor.-Early life:Corduner grew up in a secular Jewish home in North London with his mother, father and a younger brother. His mother had escaped to England from Nazi Germany with her family in 1938...
. It was written by Juha Leppäjärvi, and produced by Janet Sate for Caravanserai Productions. The film premiered at the 24th BFI London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival
London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival
The London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival takes place every spring in London, England. It began as a season of gay and lesbian films at the National Film Theatre in 1986 and 1987 under the title "Gay's Own Pictures", curated by Peter Packer of the Tyneside Cinema, and was renamed the London...
in March 2010.
Synopsis
A LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
couple, Kevin and Will, face a grim morning after, anxiously waiting for the next news broadcast. At a police station, Detective Sargeant Russell is trying to pacify Lisa, whose boyfriend seems to be missing. There's a body on a nearby common. Something happened the previous night, but who's going to pick up the pieces?
Cast
- Juha Leppäjärvi as Kevin
- Henry BlakeThe Actor"The Actor" is the eleventh episode of the HBO comedy series Flight of the Conchords. This episode first aired in the United States on Sunday, August 26, 2007.-Plot synopsis:...
as Will - Marcus D'AmicoMarcus D'AmicoMarcus D'Amico is a film, TV and stage actor best known for his role as Michael "Mouse" Tolliver in the original Tales of the City miniseries in 1993. However, he has appeared in theater productions for over 15 years...
as DS Russell - Victoria Bavister as Lisa
- Gerard MonacoGerard MonacoGerard Monaco is a British actor who trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.Monaco’s first film was Mike Leigh’s Vera Drake. He has since had roles in movies including Starter for Ten, Jane Campion’s Bright Star and Jerry Bruckhiemier’s Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, directed by...
as Jeremy - Dorian Black (aka Dusty LimitsDusty LimitsDusty Limits is a cabaret singer and comedian based in the United Kingdom, and one of the leading figures on the “new cabaret” scene.-Biography:Dusty Limits first appeared in cabaret in Brisbane, Australia, and made his European debut in 1999...
) as Bette Noir - Kristin McIlquham as PC Harris.
The cast of An Act of Valour mainly consists of members of the Caravanserai Productions and Acting Studio, but also of experienced actors like Gerard Monaco
Gerard Monaco
Gerard Monaco is a British actor who trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.Monaco’s first film was Mike Leigh’s Vera Drake. He has since had roles in movies including Starter for Ten, Jane Campion’s Bright Star and Jerry Bruckhiemier’s Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, directed by...
, and most notably Marcus D'Amico
Marcus D'Amico
Marcus D'Amico is a film, TV and stage actor best known for his role as Michael "Mouse" Tolliver in the original Tales of the City miniseries in 1993. However, he has appeared in theater productions for over 15 years...
, best known for his portrayal of Michael 'Mouse' Tolliver in the Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
adaptation of Armistead Maupin
Armistead Maupin
Armistead Jones Maupin, Jr. is an American writer, best known for his Tales of the City series of novels, based in San Francisco.-Early life:...
's Tales of the City
Tales of the City
Tales of the City refers to a series of eight novels written by American author Armistead Maupin. The stories from Tales were originally serialized prior to their novelization, with the first four titles appearing as regular installments in the San Francisco Chronicle, while the fifth appeared in...
. Director Allan Corduner
Allan Corduner
Allan Corduner is an English actor.-Early life:Corduner grew up in a secular Jewish home in North London with his mother, father and a younger brother. His mother had escaped to England from Nazi Germany with her family in 1938...
had previously worked - as an actor - with both D'Amico and Monaco in the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
: with D'Amico in the play The Boys Next Door
The Boys Next Door (play)
The Boys Next Door is a play, written by Tom Griffin. It deals with four mentally disabled men who live in a group home. It takes place over roughly a two month period of time and consists of brief vignettes about their lives...
at the Comedy Theatre, and with Monaco in the revival of A View from the Bridge
A View from the Bridge
A View from the Bridge is a play by American playwright Arthur Miller that was first staged on September 29, 1955 as a one-act verse drama with A Memory of Two Mondays at the Coronet Theatre on Broadway. The play was unsuccessful and Miller subsequently revised the play to contain two acts; this...
at the Duke of York's Theatre
Duke of York's Theatre
The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End Theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre, until her death in 1935. It opened on 10 September 1892 as the Trafalgar Square Theatre, with Wedding...
.
Production Background
Writer and actor Juha Leppäjärvi was inspired to write An Act of Valour after a news-story some years back. He kept developing the script at Caravanserai Acting Studio, of which he is one of the original founding members, through read-throughs with other members and the resulting feedback.For a character-driven piece like this, Leppäjärvi specifically wanted a director who understands how to direct actors, so he persuaded his partner, the respected stage and screen actor Allan Corduner
Allan Corduner
Allan Corduner is an English actor.-Early life:Corduner grew up in a secular Jewish home in North London with his mother, father and a younger brother. His mother had escaped to England from Nazi Germany with her family in 1938...
, to direct and lend his long acting experience to the project.
The film was mainly financed by money generated through a fund-raising event in September 2009 at Royal Vauxhall Tavern, where the host Dorian Black aka Dusty Limits
Dusty Limits
Dusty Limits is a cabaret singer and comedian based in the United Kingdom, and one of the leading figures on the “new cabaret” scene.-Biography:Dusty Limits first appeared in cabaret in Brisbane, Australia, and made his European debut in 1999...
chatted on-stage to celebrity guests Ruby Wax
Ruby Wax
Ruby Wax is a BAFTA nominated American comedian who made a career in the United Kingdom as part of the alternative comedy scene in the 1980s.-Early life:...
, Miriam Margolyes
Miriam Margolyes
Miriam Margolyes, OBE is an English actress and voice artist. Her earliest roles were in theatre and after several supporting roles in film and television she won a BAFTA Award for her role in The Age of Innocence .-Early life:...
and Belinda Lang
Belinda Lang
Belinda Lang is an English actress, best known in the United Kingdom for her role as Bill Porter in the long running BBC sitcom 2point4 children .-Television:...
.
Originally, Leppäjärvi and Corduner had approached D'Amico with the idea of him playing the drag-queen Bette Noir (a pun on French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
expression bête noire
Bête noire
Bête noire may refer to:* Bête Noire , an album by British singer Bryan Ferry, released on Virgin Records in November 1987* Bête Noire , a comic anthology* La Bête Noire , a comic book...
). However, it was eventually agreed he should play DS Russell instead. Dorian Black was then asked to play Bette.