63rd Monte-Carlo Television Festival Winners Talk - The Gathering
Winners of the prestigious Golden Nymph Awards were announced during the closing ceremony of the 63rd Monte-Carlo Television Festival in the Salles Des Princes theater on Tuesday, June 18. Laureates were selected from 18 nominated programs from 11 countries across the Fiction and News & Documentaries Categories.
The big winner of the night was British thriller The Gathering which won three Golden Nymphs - for Best Series, for Best Actress (Eva Morgan who made her TV debut in the drama) and for Best Actor (Warren Brown who also won the award last year for Ten Pound Poms). The Gathering centres around a violent attack on a teenage girl during a rave on a tidal islet. Set on Merseyside, the drama focuses on a group of teens from disparate backgrounds, each of whom could have committed the crime, along with their parents - who give equal cause for suspicion.
The series is produced by World Productions for Channel 4 and distributed by ITV Studios. The six-part series aired in the UK on Channel 4 from 14 May 2024.
TVBIZZ's Yako Molhov sat down together with other journalists to talk to actors Eva Morgan who plays the lead role of Kelly and to Vinette Robinson who portrays Natalie as well as spoke with Helen Walsh who is the creator, writer and executive producer of the series and to EP Laura Cotton at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival earlier this week.
The two actors shared that they didn't see the scripts before starting to shoot the series so this maintained the thriller aspect. Morgan commented that as far as the whodunit element of the series was concerned and whether wanting to know who was the attacker or not, she was back and forth - everyone from the cast was thinking "who did it" and for her character Kelly she would not have known but Eva eventually took over and she did want to know the secret. Talking about The Gathering being her first role, Morgan shared that she was both very excited and very nervous since "it was a whole new experience entirely, nothing to go off".
The newcomer was sure that "it is going to be hard work but it is going to be worth it, it was a mix of many emotions, a learning thing every day". As far as support from the other members of the case, Morgan commented that "everyone was very supportive, I worked more closely with Warren Brown (who won the Golden Nymph for Best Actor this year, ed) who is Kelly's dad in the show - Paul and it was nice because we developed a father-daughter bond as well and there are a lot of scenes in the show that are more heavy, upsetting so it was that with Warren we could have lighter moments".
As far as the setting of the show is concerned - Liverpool - Morgan, who is a liverpudlian herself said that her hometown "has the biggest heart, the people, the energy feels so bold honest and everybody is friendly, we are a welcoming city, i get excited for people who have never been before - this is my city, it will always greet you with a big smile". Robinson added that the city has "real energy, it feels unique, a really strong identity and pride, unpretentious and that is represented really well in the show - that energy, joy... We grapple with difficult subjects but we also show joy and light and energy coming out of that city".
On the question of whether they brought some personal experience to the characters they played and the issues explored in the series, Robinson commented that the blueprint was the script but actors always bring something from their own worlds and that every person who is around teenagers knows the pernicious nature of social media and the worries of that, of how it is affecting the children, their mental health and how they are interacting with the world, adding that "Helen (Walsh, the creator of the series, ed) spoke eloquently about how she was interested in control, how we now exert control more than ever on our teenagers because we are monitoring what they do, we track them, but they use it as a form of rebellion, kids by nature are rebellious, they will find ways... the way they are exploring their burgeoning sexualities is through that medium. It is looking at parenting but also coming of age in this modern tech world and asking questions about what it looks like - I don't think it is pointing out answers but opening a conversation".
When discussing the realism of the dialogue in the series, Morgan noted that Helen Walsh is herself from Merseyside (which Liverpool is part of) has written the dialect for her character Kelly so she didn't have to hold back on (the was she talks), adding that sometimes during auditions they will ask for her own accent and it is hard to read sometimes because she might say things differently. Kelly has the scouse dialect (the dialect in Liverpool is sometimes called "scouse", ed) and Walsh has written the character like that and Morgan didn't have to think of putting on a voice; the script felt more accessible to her, focusing more on the character. Robinson added that the dialogue is grounded in realism, it is looking at real characters, real people and places.
Morgan also talked about the physical side of her character Kelly who is a gymnast - she is very active and talented at what she does. The young actress is not a gymnast herself but the cast trained in parkour for a few weeks and that was really good for her to understand and experience that adrenalin, that feeling why she loves to parkour and the freedom in this. She added that she had wonderful stunt doubles who did all the proper flips, the cast and crew wanted to make it as realistic as possible because Kelly is so effortless at what she does.
The creator and writer of the series Helen Walsh made some changes to the character of Kelly following the casting of Morgan for the role. Eva shared that the writer told her of that just the day before and that Kelly was written in a certain way because different actors will read the part differently and she quite liked it that it was adapted in a way and that it was a nice compliment but she was very adamant whatever she wrote that she would honor it.
On the involvement of Walsh in the filming process, Robinson commented that the script was pretty much set in the beginning and while the writer was open to conversation about the script, the cast didn't need such discussions because the world was so complete, the characters were fully realized and the script was first set as a novel. Morgan added that she had just some questions about Kelly's backstory. As far as the novel which the script is based on, Robinson commented that it was not published and they didn't get to read it.
TVBIZZ's Yako Molhov also sat down with Helen Walsh who is the creator, the writer and is also an EP on the series and also with Laura Cotton, who is an EP on the series as well, together with Simon Heath and Graham Bryn. The Gathering marks the television writing debut for novelist Helen Walsh. The writer commented that the project was picked up because "the themes are very contemporary, the rise of surveillance parenting, the desire to optimize our children which was traditionally seen as a middle-class thing has turned to a universal symptom of the Western world, some of the themes are universal like familial conflict, the obstacles of teen love and teen sexuality and what I think that makes them different is that the show explores them in a digital environment, in the era of the smartphone - that makes them relevant but also because it is one of the few shows that where both the teenage and the parental land is given equal wake". The writer also noted that The Gathering is a very Liverpool story, she moved there at 17, she grew up in a satellite town in between two big cities - Liverpool and Manchester - and she started going out as a teenager in Liverpool at 13-14 (when there weren't tracking apps like today) and said "I found the city, and it is still to that day, very friendly, very safe space for a young woman, you could find the girls who would let you stay at their place at night, when a girl walks at night on her own a taxi full of girls would pull over to ask her if she is safe, it is a friendly, big-hearted city, a city that has always done things its own ways, refusing to swallow its medicine. For Walsh the characters, especially Adam and Kelly, are the physical embodiment of all the incredible traits and qualities of the city - big-hearted, witty, resilient, they do things their own way.
Walsh also commented that the themes that are universal and resonate with international audiences in the series are parent-teen conflict, "it is not so much the relationships between the teen protagonists that gels the series together, it is more the tensions and rivalries which are very relevant how young people negotiate their journeys and identity, how they create their self sense of identity and in the online world and the offline world, this will resonate with teen audiences; there is an irony that one of the themes of the show is about surveillance parenting, the idea that parents can track, monitor almost police their children and teenagers online, they know where they are at all times. Teenagers these days retrieve in the online world to be teenagers, to have the freedom that they don't necessarily have in the real, physical world anymore and that is one space where parents can't track them. There are conversations about the harmful content teenagers are exposed to but actually the smartphone, social media are incredibly liberating for many teenagers as a social space, to form relationships and especially for marginalized communities, to be seen, to be heard. I don't think it is a negative thing. Teenagers also, as with every generation, always have a way of figuring out and understanding the things we are concerned about as parents, the teenagers recognize what is harmful content, they recognize the dangers; there is a saying "the kids are alright" and the characters in The Gathering, most of them, are resilient, they are independent and by the end of the show all of them have become estranged from their parents".
Cotton shared some details about the casting process, noting that Catherine Willis, the casting director, has cast young actors before and was experienced in that respect, she did a lot of street casting as well. As for the lead, Willis found Eva Morgan at drama school and in some respects the team was really lucky, she embodied so much of the character. The EP also shared with TVBIZZ that Walsh actually changed the character that was written so that it would fit Eva because the character was originally a bit more morally flawed but because Eva has such a pure heart Walsh changed the character to suit that purity that Eva has. Walsh added that "we were very adamant that for teenagers we wanted to cast completely undiscovered raw talent".
As far as season 2 is concerned: Cotton commented that "we are hoping on a season 2, we should hear in the next few weeks; we have been developing the story for season 2. The show is called The Gathering, referring to an illegal beach rave in season 1 where Kelly gets attacked and in S2 it will be a different gathering and stories of the same characters from the first season will spin out from that - we have that format in place but we have so much more to explore with our characters."
The series is produced by World Productions for Channel 4 and distributed by ITV Studios. The six-part series aired in the UK on Channel 4 from 14 May 2024.
TVBIZZ's Yako Molhov sat down together with other journalists to talk to actors Eva Morgan who plays the lead role of Kelly and to Vinette Robinson who portrays Natalie as well as spoke with Helen Walsh who is the creator, writer and executive producer of the series and to EP Laura Cotton at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival earlier this week.
The two actors shared that they didn't see the scripts before starting to shoot the series so this maintained the thriller aspect. Morgan commented that as far as the whodunit element of the series was concerned and whether wanting to know who was the attacker or not, she was back and forth - everyone from the cast was thinking "who did it" and for her character Kelly she would not have known but Eva eventually took over and she did want to know the secret. Talking about The Gathering being her first role, Morgan shared that she was both very excited and very nervous since "it was a whole new experience entirely, nothing to go off".
The newcomer was sure that "it is going to be hard work but it is going to be worth it, it was a mix of many emotions, a learning thing every day". As far as support from the other members of the case, Morgan commented that "everyone was very supportive, I worked more closely with Warren Brown (who won the Golden Nymph for Best Actor this year, ed) who is Kelly's dad in the show - Paul and it was nice because we developed a father-daughter bond as well and there are a lot of scenes in the show that are more heavy, upsetting so it was that with Warren we could have lighter moments".
As far as the setting of the show is concerned - Liverpool - Morgan, who is a liverpudlian herself said that her hometown "has the biggest heart, the people, the energy feels so bold honest and everybody is friendly, we are a welcoming city, i get excited for people who have never been before - this is my city, it will always greet you with a big smile". Robinson added that the city has "real energy, it feels unique, a really strong identity and pride, unpretentious and that is represented really well in the show - that energy, joy... We grapple with difficult subjects but we also show joy and light and energy coming out of that city".
On the question of whether they brought some personal experience to the characters they played and the issues explored in the series, Robinson commented that the blueprint was the script but actors always bring something from their own worlds and that every person who is around teenagers knows the pernicious nature of social media and the worries of that, of how it is affecting the children, their mental health and how they are interacting with the world, adding that "Helen (Walsh, the creator of the series, ed) spoke eloquently about how she was interested in control, how we now exert control more than ever on our teenagers because we are monitoring what they do, we track them, but they use it as a form of rebellion, kids by nature are rebellious, they will find ways... the way they are exploring their burgeoning sexualities is through that medium. It is looking at parenting but also coming of age in this modern tech world and asking questions about what it looks like - I don't think it is pointing out answers but opening a conversation".
When discussing the realism of the dialogue in the series, Morgan noted that Helen Walsh is herself from Merseyside (which Liverpool is part of) has written the dialect for her character Kelly so she didn't have to hold back on (the was she talks), adding that sometimes during auditions they will ask for her own accent and it is hard to read sometimes because she might say things differently. Kelly has the scouse dialect (the dialect in Liverpool is sometimes called "scouse", ed) and Walsh has written the character like that and Morgan didn't have to think of putting on a voice; the script felt more accessible to her, focusing more on the character. Robinson added that the dialogue is grounded in realism, it is looking at real characters, real people and places.
Morgan also talked about the physical side of her character Kelly who is a gymnast - she is very active and talented at what she does. The young actress is not a gymnast herself but the cast trained in parkour for a few weeks and that was really good for her to understand and experience that adrenalin, that feeling why she loves to parkour and the freedom in this. She added that she had wonderful stunt doubles who did all the proper flips, the cast and crew wanted to make it as realistic as possible because Kelly is so effortless at what she does.
The creator and writer of the series Helen Walsh made some changes to the character of Kelly following the casting of Morgan for the role. Eva shared that the writer told her of that just the day before and that Kelly was written in a certain way because different actors will read the part differently and she quite liked it that it was adapted in a way and that it was a nice compliment but she was very adamant whatever she wrote that she would honor it.
On the involvement of Walsh in the filming process, Robinson commented that the script was pretty much set in the beginning and while the writer was open to conversation about the script, the cast didn't need such discussions because the world was so complete, the characters were fully realized and the script was first set as a novel. Morgan added that she had just some questions about Kelly's backstory. As far as the novel which the script is based on, Robinson commented that it was not published and they didn't get to read it.
Left to right: Vinette Robinson, Eva Morgan, Laura Cotton, Helen Walsh
TVBIZZ's Yako Molhov also sat down with Helen Walsh who is the creator, the writer and is also an EP on the series and also with Laura Cotton, who is an EP on the series as well, together with Simon Heath and Graham Bryn. The Gathering marks the television writing debut for novelist Helen Walsh. The writer commented that the project was picked up because "the themes are very contemporary, the rise of surveillance parenting, the desire to optimize our children which was traditionally seen as a middle-class thing has turned to a universal symptom of the Western world, some of the themes are universal like familial conflict, the obstacles of teen love and teen sexuality and what I think that makes them different is that the show explores them in a digital environment, in the era of the smartphone - that makes them relevant but also because it is one of the few shows that where both the teenage and the parental land is given equal wake". The writer also noted that The Gathering is a very Liverpool story, she moved there at 17, she grew up in a satellite town in between two big cities - Liverpool and Manchester - and she started going out as a teenager in Liverpool at 13-14 (when there weren't tracking apps like today) and said "I found the city, and it is still to that day, very friendly, very safe space for a young woman, you could find the girls who would let you stay at their place at night, when a girl walks at night on her own a taxi full of girls would pull over to ask her if she is safe, it is a friendly, big-hearted city, a city that has always done things its own ways, refusing to swallow its medicine. For Walsh the characters, especially Adam and Kelly, are the physical embodiment of all the incredible traits and qualities of the city - big-hearted, witty, resilient, they do things their own way.
Walsh also commented that the themes that are universal and resonate with international audiences in the series are parent-teen conflict, "it is not so much the relationships between the teen protagonists that gels the series together, it is more the tensions and rivalries which are very relevant how young people negotiate their journeys and identity, how they create their self sense of identity and in the online world and the offline world, this will resonate with teen audiences; there is an irony that one of the themes of the show is about surveillance parenting, the idea that parents can track, monitor almost police their children and teenagers online, they know where they are at all times. Teenagers these days retrieve in the online world to be teenagers, to have the freedom that they don't necessarily have in the real, physical world anymore and that is one space where parents can't track them. There are conversations about the harmful content teenagers are exposed to but actually the smartphone, social media are incredibly liberating for many teenagers as a social space, to form relationships and especially for marginalized communities, to be seen, to be heard. I don't think it is a negative thing. Teenagers also, as with every generation, always have a way of figuring out and understanding the things we are concerned about as parents, the teenagers recognize what is harmful content, they recognize the dangers; there is a saying "the kids are alright" and the characters in The Gathering, most of them, are resilient, they are independent and by the end of the show all of them have become estranged from their parents".
Cotton shared some details about the casting process, noting that Catherine Willis, the casting director, has cast young actors before and was experienced in that respect, she did a lot of street casting as well. As for the lead, Willis found Eva Morgan at drama school and in some respects the team was really lucky, she embodied so much of the character. The EP also shared with TVBIZZ that Walsh actually changed the character that was written so that it would fit Eva because the character was originally a bit more morally flawed but because Eva has such a pure heart Walsh changed the character to suit that purity that Eva has. Walsh added that "we were very adamant that for teenagers we wanted to cast completely undiscovered raw talent".
As far as season 2 is concerned: Cotton commented that "we are hoping on a season 2, we should hear in the next few weeks; we have been developing the story for season 2. The show is called The Gathering, referring to an illegal beach rave in season 1 where Kelly gets attacked and in S2 it will be a different gathering and stories of the same characters from the first season will spin out from that - we have that format in place but we have so much more to explore with our characters."
