The Big Issue - UK (2020-04-30)

30 APRIL-06 MAY 2020 BIGISSUE.COM| 23

Gervaisgetsslushy,there’smatchmaking,a BusbyBerkeley-style‘heygang,let’s

putona show!’subplotanda loveablescene-stealingdogisneverfaraway.Beforeit

becomesunbearablycornythough,someoldladywilluseterriblyoffensivelanguage,

therewillbea catalogueofinappropriatenessandjokessoclosetothebonethatthe

fleshisnevergoingtohealover.

NavigatingthedarknessandlightthatconstantlysurroundsusfeelslikeGervais’

questinAfterLife.

“Itasksa bigquestion,”heagrees.“Ifyouloseeverythingislifestillworthliving?

WhenTonynearlykilledhimselfhethoughteverything'sa bonus.I cansayanddo

whatI want.NowhethinksI’llkeepdoingthatbutonlywithpeoplewhodeserveit.

He'ssortoflikethisverbalvigilante.Hegetsbeingangryattheworldoutofhissystem,

buthe'schoosinghistargetsbetter.Gradually,he'srealisingthatwhatcanhelphimis

beingkindtoothersandgivingsomethingback.”

Tony’slifestillrevolvesaroundhisdeadwife,Lisa,playedinpoignanthomevideo

flashbacksbyKerryGodliman.Byasecondseries,mostTVshowswillhavetheirlead

movingontoexploremorerelationships.Tony– andtheentireshow– isstillanchored

bytrulytangiblegriefthateclipseseverythingelseinhisworld.

“We'veallgonethroughgrief.Andtheolderyouget,themoregriefyougo

through,”Gervaissays.“Ilostbothparentsabout 20 yearsago,I lostmyolderbrother

lastyear.It'susuallythenaturalorderofthings,youloseyourgrandparentsthenyour

parentsthenyouroldersiblings,andallthat.ButTonyfeelscheatedbecausehelosthis

lifepartnertooearly,andthataddstothegriefandthatgiveshimanger.

“Thewholeidea[fortheseries]startedwith– whatif youlosteverything?Well,

whatislosingeverything?Forme,itwouldbemypartner[Gervaishasbeenina 35+

yearrelationshipwithauthorJaneFallon].I don'tthinkitgetsworsethanthenlosing

yoursoulmate.Sothat’swhereitcamefrom.”

Theresponsefromaudienceswhocanrelatehasbeenoverwhelming.“I'venever

hada reactionlikeit,”Gervaissays.“It’sincredible.PeoplecomingupandsayingI

lostmybrotherormyhusband.Ittaughtmethateveryone'sgrievinginsomewayor

another,relativelyrecentlyorveryrecently,everyoneisgrievingsomething.”

Thesecondseriesarrivinginthemidstofmassuncertainty,andsadnessistimely.

Gervaishimselfseemstobecopingfinewithlockdown.

“I'vesaidmanytimesyouwon'thearmecomplain,”heconfirms.“Idon'tgoout

socially.Usuallywesitandwatchtelly,we'redoingthat.I’ddothehour’sexercise

anyway. And there's always enough booze in the house for a nuclear winter.

“WhenIseenursesdoing14-hourshiftsandriskingthe

healthofthemselvesandtheirfamily,therearepeoplein

a lotworsesituationsthanme.Soyeah,youwon'thear

mecomplaining.”

ThetwoseriesofAfterLifeexplorealternativeways

ofhowtoprocessandmoveonfromtragedy:1)screw

theworld,2)liveforothers.Withsocietyexperiencinga

collectivetrauma,doesGervaisbelievewecanemergefrom

ourcocoon-likeisolationlocationslikebutterflies,orwillwe

returntoournormalold,unfeelingselves?

“Peoplewantthingstobebacktonormal,”hesays.“Even

if theydidn'tlikewhatnormalwas,wearecreaturesofhabit

and,youknow,betterthedevilyouknow.Wewantourlife

back– forbetterorworse.

“ButI thinkpeoplearestartingtorealisewhat's

important.I neverwanttohearpeoplecomplainabout

theNHSagain.I wantthemtorememberthattheywere

clappingtheNHSeveryweek.

“Iwouldn'tbehereif itwasn'tfortheNationalHealth

Serviceandfreeeducation.I wasthefourthchildofan

immigrantlabourer.Wehadnomoney.Mymumwas

a homemakerandshecoulddoanything,exceptgive

memoney.I quicklylearnedthebestthingsinlifewere

free– nature,friends,education,andhealth.Theytrump

everything.Andit'stimeslikethiswhereyoudoreflectand

youdoremember.

“Wheneverything'sbacktonormal– andwewill

survivethisandlookbackatitlikewehaveotherdisasters

andpandemics– I hopethatwecanhavea slightlymore

caringsociety.

“Butthetruthis,wedon'tknow.Therecouldbe

massiverepercussionsoritcouldallbecomea strange

distantmemory.”

Evertheunlikelyirrepressibleoptimisthowever,Gervais

continues:“It'sstillbetterthanlifewas 50 yearsagoinmany

ways.We'restillintotalcommunication.I hadn'theardof

Zooma monthago,andnowI'mspeakingtofriendsand

family.Youcanhaveyourfooddeliveredonline,these

massiveleapsintechnologymakeitbetter.

“Ona graphovertime,withallthelittlepeaksand

troughs,societygoesupandupandup.It'sbettertoday

than 50 yearsagoand 50 yearsagowasbetterthan 100

yearsagoand 100 yearsagowasbetterthan1,000yearsago.

Foreverything– attitudes,lifeexpectancy,allthesethings.

“We'vegottorealisethatitisa prettygoodtimetoexist.

Goodpeopleworkinginsciencewillsaveusandshowus the

wayandwe'llgetthroughthislikewealwayshave.”

ThesecondseriesofAfterLife is available on Netflix

@stevenmackenzie

Lifeaffirming

Gervaismourns

hiswifeinAfter

Life,butfindsa

way to move on

'Good people

working in science

will save us and

show us the way

and we'll get

through this like

we always have'