Simon Nye finds comedy in people who talk too much and understand themselves too little. We value his affection for difficult households, especially when the writing gives their exhausted peacemakers as much attention as the troublemakers.
Fi1m perspective
In The Durrells (2016), Louisa is trying to keep a household going while her children quarrel and Corfu offers the prospect of an easier life. Simon Nye understands how much comedy there is in having to deal with people we also happen to love. He lets the children remain difficult without making their mother merely useful, and Keeley Hawes gives that attention its reward. We warmed to Louisa because Hawes makes the work of managing the family matter as much as the jokes.
Men Behaving Badly (1992) grew from Nye’s own 1989 novel, adapted for television at producer Beryl Vertue’s suggestion. His interest in basic domestic situations and self-deluded people chatting was there before Corfu. His television film My Family and Other Animals (2005) adapted a Durrell memoir, and he returned to those books for the series. In between came Amy’s Choice (2010), his one episode of Doctor Who, involving dreams and relationships. The attraction of the memoirs is clear: an argumentative family gives him plenty to write before much has happened.
His dialogue-heavy writing needs actors who can make small irritations worth our time. In The Durrells, Josh O’Connor, Milo Parker, Daisy Waterstone and Callum Woodhouse keep the siblings’ bickering enjoyable rather than merely noisy. Nye lets affection survive each quarrel without requiring anyone to become nicer before the next one, which gives the cast room to keep finding fault with one another. The animal encounters provide a welcome break before the family arguments become the only joke available.
The limitation is how long Nye is prepared to keep pleasant company without much happening. The Durrells can be leisurely, and there are stretches when Corfu does more work than the writing; the cast’s warmth does not make every pause necessary. We recommend it for Hawes and the family friction, with some patience for the stretches between arguments. If a brisk plot matters more than company, we would suggest spending the evening elsewhere.
Biography
Simon Nye (born 29 July 1958) is an English screenwriter and novelist. He was born in Burgess Hill, Sussex, and studied French and German at Bedford College, University of London. He began his career as a translator before publishing the novel Men Behaving Badly in 1989.
Nye adapted Men Behaving Badly into a sitcom that ran from 1992, creating and writing the series. He contributed the 2010 episode 'Amy's Choice' to Doctor Who. His other credits include the drama series The Durrells (2016–2019), adaptations such as Just William (2010) and The Railway Children (2000), and various sitcoms including Is It Legal?, Hardware and Carrie and Barry.
