This week, Australian comedian/ interviewer Andrew Denton brought to a close six years of his highly acclaimed series ‘Enough Rope.’ The title of the show came from the phrase ‘Give someone enough rope and they will hang themselves’. This short, bespeckled man, joins the long list of interviewers praised for their incredible skill in getting the most out of their subjects.
Denton had a remarkable skill; the skill of finding the Achilles Heel. Everyone has one. For many of us, it takes others a long time to find it. But when they do, the impact is incredible, and unpredictable. I have not seen all of Denton’s interviews, but I have heard and seen many. Whether it is his quirky charm that gets results, or the naughty schoolboy about him, his subject will invariably walk into the most taboo of topics, like a blind person walks into a wall; totally unaware. To us, we can tell he’s doing it, but to them, they seem oblivious, or maybe they just let him. We will never know.
Six of the more memorable interviews I saw were with actress Cate Blanchett , the ‘Interviewer’s Interviewer’ Sir Michael Parkinson (twice), Australian Ex- Convict Mark ‘Chopper’ Read, Former Australian fashion editor Maggie Tabberer, British actor Richard E Grant and Australian artist Wendy Whitely, who was his final interview.
What made these six interviews memorable was not only Denton’s ’spider in the trap’ technique, but that this technique was successful on very street smart, savvy, intelligent people who have their wits about them constantly and are not easy to catch out. This was the magic of Denton. They allowed him to take them by the hand and lead them to a place that no one else could get them to.
For Maggie Tabberer, it was the topic of her son she lost to Sudden Infant Death Syndome (Cot death) forty years ago. Maggie is a tough cookie and showed that throughout the interview. But at that moment, she was a tearful pussycat, right back at that moment in time staring at her lifeless child in shock.
For Mark ‘Chopper’ Read, it was almost scary watching Denton take on one of the toughest boys in the criminal game. Mark Read is not a man to be messed with, and Denton attempted to find out what makes ‘Chopper’ tick. Chopper went with it, and for but a brief moment, the tough as nails criminal showed us that he had a heart after all. But, as he was being lead by Denton, he let Denton know he didn’t like what he was making him do. Denton still got at least a little something. Probably way more than anyone else ever has.
Finally, Wendy Whitely was the perfect guest to complete six amazing years. Her late ex-husband, artist Brett Whitely, was a heroin addict, an alcoholic, but also one of the most gifted artists that Australia has seen. She freely allowed Denton to take her through the hazy drug filled days of the 1960’s and 70’s, her tumultuous marriage to Brett, and the death of her daughter Arkie from cancer at the age of 37. As with the other five, it was a mesmorising interview from beginning to end.
To me, there is more than just Andrew Denton’s quirkiness that gets them in. They trust him. They trust him, like the world trusted Michael Parkinson who also has hung up the microphone this year. People will reveal so much to you if they trust you. Trust is where another person feels you will honour them with a promise of secrecy, a promise of respect, a promise of fidelity, a promise of honesty. Denton gained that trust.
All those who gave Denton a great interview knew that they were giving their story to someone who would hold it, nurture it, investigate it a bit, but above all give it back in pretty much the same condition that it was given to him. He would not batter it, beat it, abuse it, mock it. Those interviews that didn’t work or fell flat, were obviously with people who had no perception and intuition, were boring, or just plain rude. According to Denton, the latter applied to actress Goldie Hawn who was rumoured to be so objectionable, they didn’t even run the interview. Obviously a person who could not trust.
For the majority of those who have been at the end of Denton’s ‘noose’, I am sure they are richer for the experience, albeit with a slightly sore neck.
Enjoy your day
