"Nana's Party" is the fifth episode of the second series of the British dark comedy anthology television programme Inside No. 9. It was first broadcast on 23 April 2015 on BBC Two. Written and directed by Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, the episode starred Claire Skinner as the obsessive-compulsive and aspirational Angela, who is hosting a party for the 79th birthday of her mother Maggie, played by Elsie Kelly. Angela's husband Jim, played by Pemberton, is keen to play a prank on Pat, Angela's brother-in-law, who is a practical joker. Pat is played by Shearsmith, while Carol, a recovering alcoholic who is Pat's wife and Angela's sister, is played by Lorraine Ashbourne. The episode also features Eve Gordon as Katie, Angela and Jim's teenage daughter, and Christopher Whitlow as a paramedic seen at the beginning and end of the episode.
Much of the episode's plot revolves around a practical joke with a fake cake that Jim has set up in an attempt to fool Pat. Moving the cake reveals the head of the person hiding under the table, but, in the meantime, the hidden character can hear conversations taking place nearby, unbeknownst to those who are not in on the joke. The episode plays on viewers' guesses as to what has led to the arrival—seen at the opening of the episode—of a paramedic. In particular, the person under the table is at risk of injury if candles burn down or someone puts a knife into the "cake".
"Nana's Party" was the first episode of Inside No. 9 to be written, but it was shelved when BBC executives instead suggested that it worked as the first episode of a sitcom. Pemberton and Shearsmith revisited and modified the script during the writing process for Inside No. 9 second series. The writers aimed for a feeling of suburban darkness reminiscent of the work of the playwright Alan Ayckbourn, while commentators compared the episode to the work of the playwright and screenwriter Mike Leigh, particularly the play Abigail's Party. The story addresses themes including alcoholism, extramarital affairs, aging and social class. Television critics responded positively to "Nana's Party", which was praised as a typically-strong instalment of Inside No. 9. Particular praise was directed towards the writing and performances, especially Skinner's performance as Angela, Ashbourne's performance as Carol and Shearsmith's performance as Pat.
Production
Writing "Nana's Party" was the first episode of Inside No. 9 to be written by the programme's creators Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton.Pemberton and Shearsmith, episode commentary, 0:45. BBC producers felt the episode worked as the opening episode of a sitcom, but Pemberton and Shearsmith were not happy to develop the idea into its own series, given the events of the plot. As such, the script was shelved, and revisited during planning for Inside No. 9 second series.Pemberton and Shearsmith, episode commentary, 1:10. A number of changes were made from the original script when the concept was revisited. For example, a paramedic was added to the opening scene in order to add a sense of danger and foreboding, and the character Angela's "borderline OCD" was accentuated.Pemberton and Shearsmith, episode commentary, 4:40.
Shearsmith said that the episode's focus on a grandmother's birthday party felt "domestic" and "homely". Pemberton, too, called it a "domestic" story, describing it as playing upon the classic British plot device of a family party going wrong. Shearsmith suggested that the pleasant house did give the episode the feel of a sitcom, but said that the story went somewhere "darker" than a typical sitcom would. With "Nana's Party", the writers wanted to produce something "dark" and "suburban", with Pemberton citing the playwright Alan Ayckbourn as an influence. Indeed, at the time the episode was written, Shearsmith was starring in an adaptation of Ayckbourn's play Absent Friends.Pemberton and Shearsmith, episode commentary, 2:20.
The writers intended to play off the idea of a hidden character being able to hear conversations revealing secrets. An initial idea of Pemberton's was to have a large parcel on a table at the birthday party, but with Maggie—on whose birthday the episode would be set—absent. Other characters would repeatedly ask where Maggie was, until it was revealed that her head was in the parcel. This idea developed into the possibility of a hollow cake hiding a character, a device used in the final episode.Pemberton and Shearsmith, episode commentary, 3:00. For the writers, there is humour in characters spending time talking earnestly to a cake;Pemberton and Shearsmith, episode commentary, 18:20. they noted that the prop cake had features resembling a face. In the editing stage, the production team kept reintroducing the cake in order to remind viewers of its presence.Pemberton and Shearsmith, episode commentary, 19:20. The original script ended with a knife being plunged into a fake cake followed by the revelation, contrary to viewers' expectations, that no one was under it at the time; instead, the writers upped the drama in the story, making it possible that any of the characters could be injured. For the writers, the original plot was, in a sense, darker, as some characters got away with wrongdoing in a way they do not in the final version.Pemberton and Shearsmith, episode commentary, 24:20.
Casting and characters
As each episode of Inside No. 9 features new characters, the writers were able to attract actors who might have been unwilling to commit to an entire series. "Nana's Party" featured Claire Skinner as Angela, who is hosting a party. Pemberton and Shearsmith lived close to Skinner, but they had not properly met. She was one of several members of the cast of the film Life Is Sweet (others being Alison Steadman and Jane Horrocks) who have starred in Inside No. 9.Pemberton and Shearsmith, episode commentary, 3:40. Skinner enjoyed the "funny" script and her "nice" character. Eve Gordon (trained at the Nottingham Television WorkshopPemberton and Shearsmith, episode commentary, 14:15.) starred as Angela's daughter Katie, and Pemberton starred as Angela's husband Jim. Pemberton and Shearsmith suggested that Pemberton's costume made him look like Mr Chow Mein, a Benny Hill character.Pemberton and Shearsmith, episode commentary, 20:20.
Elsie Kelly played Angela's mother Maggie, on whose birthday the episode is set. The part was not written with anyone in mind, though Pemberton already knew Kelly well from their time together on the sitcom Benidorm.Pemberton and Shearsmith, episode commentary, 7:20. Lorraine Ashbourne played Angela's sister Carol, and Pat, Carol's husband, was played by Shearsmith. Carol was Pemberton's favourite character in the whole series; Shearsmith worried that an actor may not portray the character as they had hoped, but was very happy with Ashbourne's performance.Pemberton and Shearsmith, episode commentary, 10:40. Ashbourne said she was "thrilled" to be working with Pemberton and Shearsmith, for whom she had great admiration. She described the character of Carol as "hilarious", characterising her as "sexually frustrated" and "sad". To reflect Carol's alcoholism, Ashbourne swilled whiskey around her mouth before filming.Pemberton and Shearsmith, episode commentary, 16:40. Shearsmith wore a red wig to play Pat, something he had never done before. His skin-tone needed to be changed to match the hair, necessitating a white spray on his face every morning.Pemberton and Shearsmith, episode commentary, 18:30. In order not to give the impression that Pat was a thief or murderer (rather than simply a practical joker), Shearsmith was directed to chuckle while Pat set up his jokes.Pemberton and Shearsmith, episode commentary, 17:30. Christopher Whitlow plays a paramedic seen at the beginning and end of the episode. The scene featuring the paramedic at the end of the episode was longer in the final cut than had been initially intended in order to show more of the character's actions.Pemberton and Shearsmith, episode commentary, 26:30.
Filming and direction The second series of Inside No. 9 was filmed from the end of 2014 into early 2015. "Nana's Party" was filmed in January,Pemberton and Shearsmith, episode commentary, 25:20. and was the final episode of the second series to be filmed.Pemberton and Shearsmith, episode commentary, 11:20. The writers saw a number of houses before selecting the one used in the episode; they wanted an open plan home to allow for easy movement between rooms. The one chosen was close to Twickenham Studios.Pemberton and Shearsmith, episode commentary, 9:30. A "deckhouse" was added to the house's garden; despite there already being two sheds, neither would have been visible on-screen. A new one was thus added. The executive producer Adam Tandy suggested that deckhouse would be preferable to shed, as the latter term suggested the site of something awful.Pemberton and Shearsmith, episode commentary, 13:40. Scenes in a bedroom used the room mostly as the production team found it. The room featured a number of books not seen on-screen, which reminded Shearsmith of a script (in the end not used for Inside No. 9 second series) of an episode set in a library.Pemberton and Shearsmith, episode commentary, 15:20. The front room had a buffet, including a prawn ring; by the third day of filming, this had begun to smell, and needed to be removed.Pemberton and Shearsmith, episode commentary, 27:40.
Pemberton and Shearsmith, in addition to writing and starring in "Nana's Party", directed the episode. This was the second episode they jointly directed in the second series after "Cold Comfort", their directorial debut. The pair did not know, while writing for the series, which episodes they would be directing, meaning that their writing was unlikely to be influenced by the knowledge. Pemberton and Shearsmith had always intended to try directing, and the second series of Inside No. 9 offered them the opportunity. David Kerr, who had directed all of the episodes in the first series, was unable to return for the second. Guillem Morales and Dan Zeff each took on directorial duties for two episodes, while Pemberton and Shearsmith decided to direct the remaining two. Shearsmith said in an interview that the pair had considered directing episodes in which they did not appear much, but scheduling concerns left them with "Cold Comfort" and "Nana's Party"; both episodes feature the writers quite heavily.
"Nana's Party" represented a directorial challenge insofar as Pemberton and Shearsmith were both on-screen for a relatively large amount of the episode. The pair took turns off-camera; on one day, Shearsmith acted and Pemberton watched, and the next day, the two switched; they were, however, tired, not least because it was the final episode of the series filmed. "Nana's Party" required more direction than "Cold Comfort", due in part to the larger number of actors.Pemberton and Shearsmith, episode commentary, 12:00. Pemberton and Shearsmith leaned strongly on Stephan Pehrsson, their cinematographer. While Pemberton and Shearsmith handled staging, Pehrsson handled cinematography.Pemberton and Shearsmith, episode commentary, 12:20.
Plot