LIFT

"Restricted to the single, cramped, claustrophobic setting, The Lift [sic] itself could have easily suffocated. But the writing was so constantly inventive, the character dynamics so fresh and the performances so exuberant, that the pace never faltered. Douglas Hodge played the executive. In the early nineties every drama made seemed to star Hodge, as if by Act of Parliament. The same is currently happening to his Lift co-star Rasmus Hardiker. Is your drama in need of a bewildered teenager with an attitude problem? Call Hardiker. No seriously, you should. He's actually rather brilliant."
(The Stage, 22nd March 2007)

"The four actors playing the quacking eccentrics were a joy - none more so than Rasmus Hardiker. The very definition of adolescence (mumbling, self-centred, gormless, devoid of self-knowledge), Rasmus again made these unattractive teenage qualities highly amusing in Lift, while adding a touch of Ali Gs. His hoodie character, Rocco, was a deluded white suburban London youth well in love wit' da gangsta style, innit. Rocco also claimed to suffer from seven crippling phobias, including papyrophobia - a fear of paper which, according to Rocco, meant he had to take his GCSEs on an Etch-a-Sketch. Douglas Hodge, Nina Wadia and wur ain Siobhan Redmond all got stuck into their roles with commendable gusto."
(The Herald, 16th March 2007)

"The most claustrophobic of situations produces the funniest of the Tight Spot comedies so far. Four ill-matched commuters are forced to spend time together when they get stuck in a lift. Agitated TV license inspector Paul (Douglas Hodge) is late for an important presentation; chirpy Christabel (Siobhan Redmond) desperately needs the loo, Sunita (Nina Wadia) won't stop banging on about all the other times she's been shut in a lift; and teenager Rocco (Rasmus Hardiker) has seven different phobias which include metal, cheese and being in an enclosed space. As each begins their own personal meltdown, so Mark Watson's comedy grows increasingly hysterical."
(Daily Telegraph, 14th March 2007)

"If you haven't seen this run of brilliant little comedies, focusing on situations we'd really rather not be in, make sure you don't miss the penultimate story."
(Evening Standard, 14th March 2007)

" If you're claustrophobic you may want to avoid this comedy. But that would be a shame because writer Mark Watson has managed to craft an intelligent script around a very simple premise."
(Metro 14th March 2007)

"The performances are a hoot: Douglas Hodge is the frustrated, uptight business man; Nina Wadia the infuriating bore; Siobhan Redmond the high-spirited matriarch; and Rasmus Hardiker the phobia-ridden drop-out."
(TimeOut, 14th March 2007)

"Hilarious one-off comedy about four very different characters who wind up stuck in a lift together."
(The Sun 14th March 2007)

"Four ill-fitting people want to be as far away as possible from one another. Unfortunately this isn't possible - they're stuck in a lift. With a stellar cast including Douglas Hodge (Vanity Fair, Mansfield Park, Spooks), Rasmus Hardiker (Lead Balloon, Saxondale), Nina Wadia (New Tricks, All About Me) and Siobhan Redmond (The Catherine Tate Show, The Smoking Room)."
(Daily Record, 14th March 2007)

"Well-acted and scripted by the Edinburgh if.comeddies Panel Prize-winner Mark Watson."
(The Times, 14th March 2007)

"There's some fun to be had in The Lift."
(The Guardian 14th March 2007)

"The latest of these sitcom 'pilots'. is Mark Watson's amusing playlet, which has four misfits stuck in a lift."
(The Guardian, 14th March 2007)

"[Lift], a comic, claustrophobic four-hander, has its moments, many of them coming courtesy of the almost pan-phobic youth Rocco. He is played by Rasmus Hardiker, who, having recently appeared in the excellent Lead Balloon and Saxondale, seems to be cornering the market in etiolated teens in TV comedies."
(Financial Times, 14th March 2007)

"There is an annoying office worker who grumbles about missing his presentation, Nina Wadia, who is great as a British Muslim know-it-all, Siobhan Redmond who invents a sucking sweets games and a hilarious hoodie with a metal phobia."
(The Sun, 14th March 2007)

"The season of shorts exploring the comic potential of people trapped together does the classic situation: four strangers stuck in a lift. Nina Wadia and Douglas Hodge play the spikier characters, while Siobhan Redmond and Rasmus Hardiker reveal the quieter eccentricities."
Mail on Sunday, 11th March 2007

"Mark Watson clearly enjoys a challenge. Now the 27-year-old has scripted a contribution to BBC FOUR's Tight Spot season. And, as one might expect, Watson has decided to make it as tricky for himself as possible. In his very literal interpretation of the brief, he has confined his action to the interior of a jammed tube lift. It's reminiscent of Hitchcock's Lifeboat, which also limited its action to a single location."
(The Observer, 11th March 2007)

"The funniest of the Tight Spot comedies so far, as four ill-matched commuters get stuck in a lift together. TV license inspector Paul (Douglas Hodge) is late for a presentation; chirpy Christabel (Siobhan Redmond) desperately needs the loo; Sunita (Nina Wadia) won't stop banging on a bout all the other times she's been stuck in a lift; and teenager Rocco (Rasmus Hardiker) has seven phobias which include metal, cheese and being in an enclosed space. Cue meltdown."
(Sunday Telegraph, 11th March 200)

"If hell is other people, getting trapped in a lift with a random selection of irritating types ranks pretty low on a list of desirable experiences. In the third of four Tight Spot comedies, Mark Watson's script manages to deliver some real laughs without straining too hard at that frankly unpromising scenario. He has an imaginative mix of characters and a superb cast to bring them to life. Best of the bunch is Nina Wadia's know-it-all Sunita, but none of Douglas Hodge, Siobhan Redmond or Rasmus Hardiker (Lead Balloon, Saxondale, The Abbey) is far behind."
(Radio Times, 10th March 2007)

"Mark Watson's tidily written comedy [is] well worth a look. Trapped with Sykes are chatty Sunita (Nina Wadia) who once got stuck in an Athens elevator for three days; Christabel, who's dying for a slash; and phobic, panicky Rocco. Inevitably tensions rise. Sykes: 'If one of the [green] bottles could just once, do something different."
(Guardian Guide 10th March 2007)

"This quirky season of one-off comedies about people caught in a 'tight spot' continues with this episode about Paul Sykes (Douglas Hodge) a stressed-out businessman who gets trapped in a lift."
(The Independent, 10th March 2007)

"The Beeb's season of comedy plays about characters stuck in difficult situations continues with this delightful effort, simply titled Lift. The strong cast shine in a script penned by award-winning comedy writer Mark Watson."
(Inside Soap, 10th March 2007)

"To be stuck in a lift is many people's worst nightmare. So it's the perfect scenario for the third in a season of short films about people in crisis. When the lift breaks, the passengers quickly become uneasy."
(We Love Telly! 10th March 2007)

"Sure to spark a big revival in stair usage is this comedy, in which four strangers are trapped in a lift and rub each other up the wrong way."
(TV Easy, 10th March 2007)

"Hilarious one-off comedy about four very different characters who wind up stuck in a lift together."
(The Sun, 10th March 2007)