Coronation Street to The Commitments: Nigel Pivaro on the Duckworths and 'Da'
Nigel Pavaro plays Da in The Commitments; right, as Terry Duckworth in Coronation Street.
Always the villain and rarely the hero but Nigel Pivaro wouldn’t have it any other way.
The English actor and journalist is famous for playing bad boy Terry Duckworth in Coronation Street, appearing in up to 400 episodes over a 29-year period. After losing “the hunger” he once had for acting and perusing journalism, Pivaro is back on stage and playing the type of character he loves.
“Villains are always more interesting to play than goody goodies. Whether it’s in pantomime or on TV, there’s always an edge, there’s always something lurking underneath that your character is keeping from your fellow characters,” explains the 63-year-old.
Since his TV debut as the son of Jack and Vera Duckworth in 1983, the Manchester-born actor has continued to love playing the villain. On one occasion he did play the hero of Robin in Robin Hood, but tells me “it just didn’t feel right”.
Now, Pivaro plays Jimmy Rabbitte’s ‘Da’ in the smash hit west end musical, Roddy Doyle’s The Commitments which is coming to Dublin’s 3Olympia Theatre in February.
The Commitments tells the story of young working-class music fan Jimmy Rabbitte, who transforms an unlikely bunch into the finest soul band Dublin has ever produced. It showcases more than 20 soul classics, including Night Train, River Deep, Mountain High and more.
According to Pivaro, ‘Da’ is bit of a “curmudgeon” and creates plenty of tension, which he enjoys in a character. “He moves within the piece, within the narrative. He travels, he makes a journey. That’s always interesting when you play a character,” he says.
Taking me back to his Coronation Street days, Pivaro explains there is “a loyalty and a love” for the character of Terry Duckworth– and his fellow cast. He first appeared in the hugely popular soap in 1983 but continued to return to the famous street, most recently in 2012.
“I loved working with Jean Alexander who played Hilda Odgen. I watched her and by osmosis she taught me a lot in terms of three-camera acting in a studio. If there was anything that she didn’t know about that, it wasn’t really worth knowing about so that was good and also working with Bill [Tarmey] and Liz [Dawn] was great fun. I’ve great, affectionate memories of those times.”
He recalls one scene from the early 2000’s with the late Bill Tarmey who played his on-screen father, Jack. While Terry was on the run and hiding in a shed, his father was secretly bringing him food supplies.
“He brought him some Mars bars or something and Terry very hungrily devoured these Mars bars and Jack says to Terry: ‘You know what son? No matter how old you are, how big you are and how daft you are, I’ll always see the little boy in you’. I thought it was a really wonderful observation and tender moment and I always remember that scene with affection.”
But it was after 20 years of acting, at the age of 39 that Pivaro decided to peruse another passion. He went to university to study history and politics before going on to complete a Master’s in international relations and having a successful career in journalism.
“I’d lost a hunger for acting at that stage having done 20 years of it non-stop and done nothing else since leaving drama school – I’d lost the hunger and had another passion which was the study of politics and international relations and the history behind it and utilising it through the journalism.”
His role as ‘Da’ in The Commitments marks his return to the stage and while the desire to act has returned, he has not discarded journalism. “It’s just that I’m happy to and want to - going forward - ride the two horses and pursue both professions,” he explains.
The Commitments is a “three-in-one”, being a play, a musical and a concert and brings some challenges – like nailing the Dublin accent. Pivaro admits he is feeling “a little bit of trepidation” ahead of the Dublin dates – but after he treated me to a sample, I can confirm he has put in the work to nail the Northside twang.
Aside from that, he is looking forward to his time in the city with The Commitments.
“Of course, Dublin rightly thinks of this piece as its own and is greatly supportive of it but we want to make sure that we give them a really good version and I expect them to be rocking and rolling in the seats.”
- The Commitments is in Dublin’s 3Olympia from 7 - 18 February. Tickets are on sale now from ticketmaster.ie.
