May 21 - Interview with Emma Paetz who plays who plays Dr Graves in The Famous Five The Eye Of The Sunrise

What three things should we know about Dr Graves?

She’s very smart and dedicated but you probably shouldn’t trust her.

Tell us more about Dr Graves?

Dr Graves is a psychiatrist and she works for the Greenpoint Institute. She’s very ambitious and she really cares about her patients. You could say she’s a baddie or you could say she’s misguided, that she’s not going about it in the right way. She’s got such clear intentions and strong convictions, she’s really fun to play.

What do you think her motivations are?

She’s seen some pretty traumatic things with her patients, specifically with PTSD that they experienced after the First World War, and she’s just trying to find a way to help people. She’s really influenced by these developing ideas from Jung and Freud, she believes very passionately that she can help people. She has really zeroed in on how she’s going to help people and is not focussing on the harm that she’s doing to others.

Have they met their match in The Famous Five?

Definitely, Dr Graves and Sir Lincoln Aubrey are no match for The Famous Five!

What three words would you use to describe The Famous Five?

Courageous, inventive and loyal.

Would you say you’re similar to any of the Five?

I wouldn’t say I’m similar to any of them specifically but something about running around in all these countryside locations does remind me of when I was a kid. I grew up in a neighbourhood with a gang of kids my age and we all rode around on our bikes until it got dark.

The Famous Five is so well-known, how is it being made fresh and new for modern audiences?

I think what’s new and fresh about it comes from the scripts. It is set as a period piece but the way they speak to each other and relate to each other is familiar to us, it doesn’t feel separate and divided from us in time, it feels very immediate.

Did you have a favourite scene?

I’m really enjoying the circus scenes. I really like it whenever you get to do something where there’s a lot of crowd work and costumes, hair and make-up. There’s a sense of adventure for us filming it, there are so many different locations we’re going to. We’ve been in the studio and in the Welsh countryside, they are such beautiful spots that you feel like you don’t have to work that hard to lock into an adventurous tone.

Which locations have you been to?

We were outside Abergavenny, which is the cottage exteriors of their house, with beautiful hillsides, sheep, rabbits and a lot of wasps.

We’re at Giffords Circus which is a real circus. A lot of the circus performers are the supporting artists in our scenes, there’s a fire-breather and a lot of ponies – the ponies have their own hair and make-up – and amazing acrobats who have been doing their own routines.

What do you hope people feel when they watch?

I hope it makes people feel good, you’re very easily transported. It’s very wholesome and familiar.