You Might Say That. I Couldn't Possibly Comment
Partly in light of that brilliant actor Ian Richardson’s sudden and unexpected death of February 11th, 2007, I offer this, a recommendation to borrow House Of Cards from the library.
Once seen, this play is never to be forgotten.
In House Of Cards, Richardson played the part of Francis Urquhart who was a fictitious Machiavellian character in the fascinating BBC Trilogy,
House of Cards, which was an ingenious in depth examination of the actions of a certain pathological politician who had what has been described as “a deniable way of agreeing with others”.
Francis Urquhart (initials F.U.) had a psychopathological gift for effectively neutralising even the most legitimate of the public’s concerns about virtually every one of what very few understood were his own often covert actions. He could reassuringly sweeping aside any and all suspicions about himself, successfully dismissing blatant contradictions in his own position, lies, by omission or otherwise, or any conflicts of interest or nagavie press which, not coincidentally, seemed to always surround the character in the play.
HOUSE OF CARDS
YMSTICPC is an initialism that grew from a phrase used in the BBC television series House of Cards about fictional political events in the Westminster House of Commons.
It stands for “You Might Say That, I Couldn’t Possibly Comment” and was regularly used by the protagonist, Francis Urquhart (played by Ian Richardson ), when he wanted to agree with a statement made to him but was ‘politically unable’ to agree or disagree publicly, with the emphasis on either the ‘I’ or the ‘possibly’ depending on the situation.
As a phrase and acronym it has remained in use in Parliament in England, within the Westminster Bubble and in the media on occasions people do not want to commit to a clear ‘yes’ (or ‘no’).
A variant of the line, also used by Urquhart in House of Cards, is “You might very well think that. I couldn’t possibly comment.” Another variant that occurs in House of Cards is “You might very well think that; I couldn’t possibly say that.”
The Westminster Bubble is a term used to describe UK MPs, Peers, lobbyists, Reasearchers, Secretaries, Civil Servants, Lobby Correspodents and Leader writers for newspapers who appear to live their life isolated from the real life that goes on outside Parliament and is so named because Parliament is located in Westminster, London. As of 2004 the alternative term Westminster village had gained much popularity.
Equivalent terms apply in the USA of “Washington Bubble”, or more often “Inside the Beltway”.
Although the term has been used for many years, recent examples of its use include Peter Hain speaking in the House on 29 January 2004:
“All broadcasters, the whole coverage of politics, the Westminster bubble that we as politicians of the Government and Opposition occupy together with the Westminster lobby; together we are all conducting politics in a way that is turning off voters, listeners, readers and watchers by the million.”
In July the previous year he had described it in a newspaper article as:
“That politically incestuous world occupied by politicians, government and opposition, together with the media. Politicians, news broadcasters and journalists now form a ‘political class’ which is in a frenzied world of its own, divorced from the people, and which is turning off viewers, listeners and readers from politics by the million.”.
In November 2003 Tory Leader Michael Howard indicated on the day of his appointment that he wished to be a ‘Leader outside the Westminster Bubble’.
Regards.
Ian Richardson
Sun: Aries
Moon: Capricorn or Aquarius (after 4 p.m.)
Ascendant: 19 Virgo
Mercury: Pisces
Venus: Pisces
Mars: Aries
Jupiter: Libra
Saturn: Aquarius
Uranus: Aries
Neptune: Virgo
Pluto: Cancer
MH: Gemini
Ian Richardson as Francis Urquhart in House of Cards
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6346637.stm
Obituary: Ian Richardson
Born April 7, 1934
Died February 11, 2007
Ian Richardson in his most famous role as Francis Urquart:
‘With his threatening, sardonic look and his cut-glass accent, Ian Richardson became a household name in the BBC’s House of Cards trilogy.
As the Machiavellian Prime Minister, Francis Urquart, his line “You might well say that but I couldn’t possibly comment”, became something of a catchphrase when the series was broadcast in the 1990s.”
“By now, Richardson had become well-known for playing upper-crust types, most notably as Bill Haydon in the BBC adaptation of John Le Carre’s Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Yet, he was born in Scotland to a working-class family with no acting tradition. His father, John Richardson, worked for the biscuit company, McVitie and Price, and when Ian was growing up in Edinburgh in the 1930s, John was loading biscuits on to a horse and cart. His father was a strict Scottish Presbyterian with very fixed views on life. His mother, however, was the instigator of his career on the boards by encouraging him to join a local amateur dramatic group while his father was serving abroad at the start of World War II.”
“When he returned to Edinburgh with his plummy accent, he found it difficult to fit in. He once said: “You were alright in Edinburgh so long as you stayed within the bounds of your own social status.”
“For his defining role as Francis Urquart, he received a best actor Bafta in 1991 and he reprised the role in the follow-ups, To Play the King and The Final Cut.
Richardson based the character on Richard III, the last role he played for the RSC.
In 2005 he said: “Francis Urquart has been the best opportunity for my reputation. The only trouble is getting rid of it. So many people seem to think that I am like him.” ‘
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/news/2007/02/10/db1001.xml
“His magnificent voice, arresting stage presence and incisive delivery of verse brought authority to every role.
On his 39th birthday, however, Richardson was sitting in the No 1 dressing room watching the swans glide past on the Avon when he looked in the mirror and decided that he had accomplished all he had dreamed of achieving in the classics. It was time for a change.
He did nothing precipitate. ”
“For a while he was on the dole — one morning he was even scrabbling round Covent Garden collecting fruit and vegetables. He also suffered a nervous breakdown, as a result of which he was sent to a nursing home run by nuns in Regent’s Park; after three weeks’ treatment he had recovered sufficiently to return home.
Then, in the late 1970s, Richardson scored his first signal success on television when the nation found itself transfixed by the adaptation of John Le Carré’s novel Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, in which he gave a mesmerising performance as the soigné MI6 traitor Bill Haydon.”
“In 1989 he was appointed CBE, and the following year created perhaps his most famous role on television, that of Francis Urquhart, the scheming government chief whip in House of Cards, for which he won a Bafta for best actor. His celebrated line, “You may very well think that; I couldn’t possibly comment” was quoted by John Major in the House of Commons.
Ian William Richardson was born into a non-theatrical family at Edinburgh on April 7 1934, and educated at Tyneside School. As a boy he struggled to persuade his parents that acting was a sensible choice of profession, even though he had shown promise as an amateur in rep at the Edinburgh People’s Theatre.”
“Ian Richardson married, in 1961, the former actress Maroussia Frank. They were a devoted couple. She travelled everywhere with him, and he once remarked: “Without Maroussia I cannot function. I don’t even know which bank my account is with, the name of my accountant or how to work the Aga.” His wife and their two sons survive him.”
_________________________________________________
http://www.aintitcool.com/node/31527
“To Brits, Richardson is probably best known for his role as Francis Urquhart, the scheming, utterly amoral and ruthless Prime Minister in the dramas House of Cards, To Play the King and The Final Cut. His performance in those programmes was compelling and masterful, and the shows remain among the best example of British television drama in the last 30 years.
But Richardson was a great deal more than just one magnificent role. He was a founding member of the Royal Shakespeare Company and played many of the great Shakespeare roles in his time, often to considerable acclaim.”
________________________________________________________
http://news.independent.co.uk/people/obituaries/article2271629.ece
“Ian Richardson
Published: 15 February 2007
In a just world, writes Paul Bailey, Ian Richardson [obituary by Anthony Hayward and Alan Strachan, 10 February] would have been acclaimed 20 years ago as a Shakespearean actor on a par with Gielgud, Olivier and his namesake Ralph.
It never quite happened, just as it hasn’t quite happened for John Wood, his equal in brilliance. I was a discontented menial in the company at Stratford in 1961, and I count among my happiest memories of that year the many conversations I had with Richardson, not least for the pleasure of his acerbic wit, which was always aimed at deserving targets. He was a perfectionist, and perfectionists by their very nature often have a difficult time of it.
During that season, the immensely likeable Ian Bannen played Hamlet inadequately in what was, arguably, the worst production ever. Bannen, stunned by his bad notices, fled to London and was replaced by his understudy for six excruciating performances. Richardson and the late David Buck were playing Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and I noticed that Ian never looked the Prince of Denmark in the eye when he was speaking to him. I asked him why. “He offends me,” he replied. “He is slaughtering the verse.”
I learned, later, the reason for his justified contempt. He had already given his Hamlet in Birmingham, at the age of 24, for which he was praised by the veteran critic and theatrical historian J.C. Trewin.
In 1973, I reviewed John Barton’s production of Richard II for the BBC radio arts programme Kaleidoscope. The roles of Richard and Bolingbroke were alternately performed by Richardson and Richard Pasco. Both actors were wonderful, as I pronounced by telephone to the studio in London. Pasco has always been a dab hand at melancholy and it was fascinating to compare his poetic Richard with Richardson’s slightly steely and camper interpretation. I cherish their performances, but Richardson’s Bolingbroke remains unforgettable. Even as the usurper to the throne rides high, Richardson luminously suggested, his impending moral downfall is ensured. The anguished Henry IV was already in evidence.
I sense, maybe wrongly, that Ian Richardson felt a certain bitterness about his career at the highest level. He was extraordinarily versatile, immersing himself in every role he undertook, and he was unfailingly intelligent when true intelligence was required of him. He knew how to “do” evil and how to “do” goodness, and in each extremity of the human condition he was invariably convincing.”
__________________________________________________
....“.... there was also a sardonic, cold-eyed strength in his performance that he later turned to great advantage in House of Cards”
http://www.thestage.co.uk/features/obituaries/feature.php/15925/ian-richardson
“Ian Richardson
Despite his fruity actor’s baritone, used to brilliant effect in his portrayal of Francis Urquhart in the BBC’s House of Cards trilogy, Ian Richardson started out with a Scottish accent, having been brought up in Edinburgh.
Born on April 7, 1934″
“Richardson seemed happily resigned to the vicissitudes of an actor’s life, and the diminishing ambition that accompanies old age. “I’ve had a superb career,” he told me, “and I was very lucky to do all those big Shakesperean roles in my twenties. What really matters to me now is not my CBE nor my acting awards but my family and my beautiful estate in Devon.”
He died in his sleep on Friday, February 9, aged 72, leaves a widow, Maroussia, and two sons.”
_______________________________________________
http://www.indielondon.co.uk/Film-Review/ian-richardson-obituary
“IAN Richardson, the popular British actor best known for playing scheming chief whip Francis Urquhart in the BBC’s House of Cards, has died suddenly at the age of 72.”
“Richardson won a Bafta for his portrayal of Urquhart in 1990’s House of Cards and was also nominated for both its sequels, To Play The King and The Final Cut, as well as the 1992 drama An Ungentlemanly Act.”
_____________________________________________________
http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/newsstory.php/15888/house-of-cards-star-richardson-dies-at-72
“House of Cards star Richardson dies at 72
Acclaimed actor Ian Richardson has died suddenly at the age of 72.
The star, best known for his performance as manipulative chief whip Francis Urquhart in the BBC’s House of Cards, died in his sleep in the early hours of Friday morning. He had not been ill and his agent revealed that he had actually been due to start filming on an episode of ITV’s Midsomer Murders next week.”
“His performance as Urquhart won him a Bafta and he was nominated for both sequels To Play the King and The Final Cut.”
__________________________________________________
A great loss for us all, theatre and non theatre inclined alike.
Regards.
More Obits:
http://www.thestage.co.uk/tvtoday/2007/02/ian_richardson_obituary.php
http://www.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/story/0,,2009860,00.html
Once seen, this play is never to be forgotten.
In House Of Cards, Richardson played the part of Francis Urquhart who was a fictitious Machiavellian character in the fascinating BBC Trilogy,
House of Cards, which was an ingenious in depth examination of the actions of a certain pathological politician who had what has been described as “a deniable way of agreeing with others”.
Francis Urquhart (initials F.U.) had a psychopathological gift for effectively neutralising even the most legitimate of the public’s concerns about virtually every one of what very few understood were his own often covert actions. He could reassuringly sweeping aside any and all suspicions about himself, successfully dismissing blatant contradictions in his own position, lies, by omission or otherwise, or any conflicts of interest or nagavie press which, not coincidentally, seemed to always surround the character in the play.
HOUSE OF CARDS
YMSTICPC is an initialism that grew from a phrase used in the BBC television series House of Cards about fictional political events in the Westminster House of Commons.
It stands for “You Might Say That, I Couldn’t Possibly Comment” and was regularly used by the protagonist, Francis Urquhart (played by Ian Richardson ), when he wanted to agree with a statement made to him but was ‘politically unable’ to agree or disagree publicly, with the emphasis on either the ‘I’ or the ‘possibly’ depending on the situation.
As a phrase and acronym it has remained in use in Parliament in England, within the Westminster Bubble and in the media on occasions people do not want to commit to a clear ‘yes’ (or ‘no’).
A variant of the line, also used by Urquhart in House of Cards, is “You might very well think that. I couldn’t possibly comment.” Another variant that occurs in House of Cards is “You might very well think that; I couldn’t possibly say that.”
The Westminster Bubble is a term used to describe UK MPs, Peers, lobbyists, Reasearchers, Secretaries, Civil Servants, Lobby Correspodents and Leader writers for newspapers who appear to live their life isolated from the real life that goes on outside Parliament and is so named because Parliament is located in Westminster, London. As of 2004 the alternative term Westminster village had gained much popularity.
Equivalent terms apply in the USA of “Washington Bubble”, or more often “Inside the Beltway”.
Although the term has been used for many years, recent examples of its use include Peter Hain speaking in the House on 29 January 2004:
“All broadcasters, the whole coverage of politics, the Westminster bubble that we as politicians of the Government and Opposition occupy together with the Westminster lobby; together we are all conducting politics in a way that is turning off voters, listeners, readers and watchers by the million.”
In July the previous year he had described it in a newspaper article as:
“That politically incestuous world occupied by politicians, government and opposition, together with the media. Politicians, news broadcasters and journalists now form a ‘political class’ which is in a frenzied world of its own, divorced from the people, and which is turning off viewers, listeners and readers from politics by the million.”.
In November 2003 Tory Leader Michael Howard indicated on the day of his appointment that he wished to be a ‘Leader outside the Westminster Bubble’.
Regards.
Ian Richardson
Sun: Aries
Moon: Capricorn or Aquarius (after 4 p.m.)
Ascendant: 19 Virgo
Mercury: Pisces
Venus: Pisces
Mars: Aries
Jupiter: Libra
Saturn: Aquarius
Uranus: Aries
Neptune: Virgo
Pluto: Cancer
MH: Gemini
Ian Richardson as Francis Urquhart in House of Cards
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6346637.stm
Obituary: Ian Richardson
Born April 7, 1934
Died February 11, 2007
Ian Richardson in his most famous role as Francis Urquart:
‘With his threatening, sardonic look and his cut-glass accent, Ian Richardson became a household name in the BBC’s House of Cards trilogy.
As the Machiavellian Prime Minister, Francis Urquart, his line “You might well say that but I couldn’t possibly comment”, became something of a catchphrase when the series was broadcast in the 1990s.”
“By now, Richardson had become well-known for playing upper-crust types, most notably as Bill Haydon in the BBC adaptation of John Le Carre’s Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Yet, he was born in Scotland to a working-class family with no acting tradition. His father, John Richardson, worked for the biscuit company, McVitie and Price, and when Ian was growing up in Edinburgh in the 1930s, John was loading biscuits on to a horse and cart. His father was a strict Scottish Presbyterian with very fixed views on life. His mother, however, was the instigator of his career on the boards by encouraging him to join a local amateur dramatic group while his father was serving abroad at the start of World War II.”
“When he returned to Edinburgh with his plummy accent, he found it difficult to fit in. He once said: “You were alright in Edinburgh so long as you stayed within the bounds of your own social status.”
“For his defining role as Francis Urquart, he received a best actor Bafta in 1991 and he reprised the role in the follow-ups, To Play the King and The Final Cut.
Richardson based the character on Richard III, the last role he played for the RSC.
In 2005 he said: “Francis Urquart has been the best opportunity for my reputation. The only trouble is getting rid of it. So many people seem to think that I am like him.” ‘
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/news/2007/02/10/db1001.xml
“His magnificent voice, arresting stage presence and incisive delivery of verse brought authority to every role.
On his 39th birthday, however, Richardson was sitting in the No 1 dressing room watching the swans glide past on the Avon when he looked in the mirror and decided that he had accomplished all he had dreamed of achieving in the classics. It was time for a change.
He did nothing precipitate. ”
“For a while he was on the dole — one morning he was even scrabbling round Covent Garden collecting fruit and vegetables. He also suffered a nervous breakdown, as a result of which he was sent to a nursing home run by nuns in Regent’s Park; after three weeks’ treatment he had recovered sufficiently to return home.
Then, in the late 1970s, Richardson scored his first signal success on television when the nation found itself transfixed by the adaptation of John Le Carré’s novel Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, in which he gave a mesmerising performance as the soigné MI6 traitor Bill Haydon.”
“In 1989 he was appointed CBE, and the following year created perhaps his most famous role on television, that of Francis Urquhart, the scheming government chief whip in House of Cards, for which he won a Bafta for best actor. His celebrated line, “You may very well think that; I couldn’t possibly comment” was quoted by John Major in the House of Commons.
Ian William Richardson was born into a non-theatrical family at Edinburgh on April 7 1934, and educated at Tyneside School. As a boy he struggled to persuade his parents that acting was a sensible choice of profession, even though he had shown promise as an amateur in rep at the Edinburgh People’s Theatre.”
“Ian Richardson married, in 1961, the former actress Maroussia Frank. They were a devoted couple. She travelled everywhere with him, and he once remarked: “Without Maroussia I cannot function. I don’t even know which bank my account is with, the name of my accountant or how to work the Aga.” His wife and their two sons survive him.”
_________________________________________________
http://www.aintitcool.com/node/31527
“To Brits, Richardson is probably best known for his role as Francis Urquhart, the scheming, utterly amoral and ruthless Prime Minister in the dramas House of Cards, To Play the King and The Final Cut. His performance in those programmes was compelling and masterful, and the shows remain among the best example of British television drama in the last 30 years.
But Richardson was a great deal more than just one magnificent role. He was a founding member of the Royal Shakespeare Company and played many of the great Shakespeare roles in his time, often to considerable acclaim.”
________________________________________________________
http://news.independent.co.uk/people/obituaries/article2271629.ece
“Ian Richardson
Published: 15 February 2007
In a just world, writes Paul Bailey, Ian Richardson [obituary by Anthony Hayward and Alan Strachan, 10 February] would have been acclaimed 20 years ago as a Shakespearean actor on a par with Gielgud, Olivier and his namesake Ralph.
It never quite happened, just as it hasn’t quite happened for John Wood, his equal in brilliance. I was a discontented menial in the company at Stratford in 1961, and I count among my happiest memories of that year the many conversations I had with Richardson, not least for the pleasure of his acerbic wit, which was always aimed at deserving targets. He was a perfectionist, and perfectionists by their very nature often have a difficult time of it.
During that season, the immensely likeable Ian Bannen played Hamlet inadequately in what was, arguably, the worst production ever. Bannen, stunned by his bad notices, fled to London and was replaced by his understudy for six excruciating performances. Richardson and the late David Buck were playing Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and I noticed that Ian never looked the Prince of Denmark in the eye when he was speaking to him. I asked him why. “He offends me,” he replied. “He is slaughtering the verse.”
I learned, later, the reason for his justified contempt. He had already given his Hamlet in Birmingham, at the age of 24, for which he was praised by the veteran critic and theatrical historian J.C. Trewin.
In 1973, I reviewed John Barton’s production of Richard II for the BBC radio arts programme Kaleidoscope. The roles of Richard and Bolingbroke were alternately performed by Richardson and Richard Pasco. Both actors were wonderful, as I pronounced by telephone to the studio in London. Pasco has always been a dab hand at melancholy and it was fascinating to compare his poetic Richard with Richardson’s slightly steely and camper interpretation. I cherish their performances, but Richardson’s Bolingbroke remains unforgettable. Even as the usurper to the throne rides high, Richardson luminously suggested, his impending moral downfall is ensured. The anguished Henry IV was already in evidence.
I sense, maybe wrongly, that Ian Richardson felt a certain bitterness about his career at the highest level. He was extraordinarily versatile, immersing himself in every role he undertook, and he was unfailingly intelligent when true intelligence was required of him. He knew how to “do” evil and how to “do” goodness, and in each extremity of the human condition he was invariably convincing.”
__________________________________________________
....“.... there was also a sardonic, cold-eyed strength in his performance that he later turned to great advantage in House of Cards”
http://www.thestage.co.uk/features/obituaries/feature.php/15925/ian-richardson
“Ian Richardson
Despite his fruity actor’s baritone, used to brilliant effect in his portrayal of Francis Urquhart in the BBC’s House of Cards trilogy, Ian Richardson started out with a Scottish accent, having been brought up in Edinburgh.
Born on April 7, 1934″
“Richardson seemed happily resigned to the vicissitudes of an actor’s life, and the diminishing ambition that accompanies old age. “I’ve had a superb career,” he told me, “and I was very lucky to do all those big Shakesperean roles in my twenties. What really matters to me now is not my CBE nor my acting awards but my family and my beautiful estate in Devon.”
He died in his sleep on Friday, February 9, aged 72, leaves a widow, Maroussia, and two sons.”
_______________________________________________
http://www.indielondon.co.uk/Film-Review/ian-richardson-obituary
“IAN Richardson, the popular British actor best known for playing scheming chief whip Francis Urquhart in the BBC’s House of Cards, has died suddenly at the age of 72.”
“Richardson won a Bafta for his portrayal of Urquhart in 1990’s House of Cards and was also nominated for both its sequels, To Play The King and The Final Cut, as well as the 1992 drama An Ungentlemanly Act.”
_____________________________________________________
http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/newsstory.php/15888/house-of-cards-star-richardson-dies-at-72
“House of Cards star Richardson dies at 72
Acclaimed actor Ian Richardson has died suddenly at the age of 72.
The star, best known for his performance as manipulative chief whip Francis Urquhart in the BBC’s House of Cards, died in his sleep in the early hours of Friday morning. He had not been ill and his agent revealed that he had actually been due to start filming on an episode of ITV’s Midsomer Murders next week.”
“His performance as Urquhart won him a Bafta and he was nominated for both sequels To Play the King and The Final Cut.”
__________________________________________________
A great loss for us all, theatre and non theatre inclined alike.
Regards.
More Obits:
http://www.thestage.co.uk/tvtoday/2007/02/ian_richardson_obituary.php
http://www.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/story/0,,2009860,00.html
Labels: Real Life Imitating Art
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