DOPPELGANGERS, donuts, different dimensions and dread – welcome to the deliciously twisted world of Twin Peaks.
Those who savoured the cult series in the ’90s and revisited it last year know all too well that newcomers must tread cautiously here.
This is a frightening, odd and hilarious TV realm from the master of macabre, David Lynch (Blue Velvet, Dune) – and it won’t be everyone’s ‘cup of joe’ .
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READ NOWWe asked Kimmy Robertson – AKA sweetheart receptionist Lucy Brennan (nee Moran), of the Sheriff’s Department – how she explains the premise.
“Well, I don’t – all I say is what David Lynch said to me: ‘What do you think?’,” the 63-year-old Californian said.
“When we go into a museum and look at a painting or sculpture, we tend to say ‘What is it? What is it for?’. And that’s not the way to look at art. It’s supposed to evoke things inside of you: memories, feeling, emotions.
“This is art on TV; we don’t get to have that very much – it’s mostly about reformulating the same story with different clothes and different time periods.”
Robertson – who describes Lucy as a “breather” from the grittier characters in the series – said it was “otherworldly” when Lynch invited her to reprise the role.
“About a year or two beforehand, somebody said ‘Did you hear that Twin Peaks is coming back?’,” she said.
“I just immediately started to sob because it was the one thing in my career that I was very proud to do.
“I assumed that weird people had bought the rights somehow and they would have some 20-year-old play Lucy – I can’t tell you how frightened I was because it was such a special thing and for someone to take that and ruin it was very scary to me.”
“So I called David’s daughter Jennifer – finally I was able to stop crying long enough to ask her if that was true – and she said ‘Dad owns the rights, nobody can make it but him and he’s not going to let anyone do that, so you don’t have to worry.”
Robertson – hopefully dressed in one of Lucy’s signature whacky sweaters – visits Perth with fellow cast members next weekend.
THE ESSENTIALS
What: Twin Peaks: Conversation with the Stars
Where: Astor Theatre
When: September 2
Tickets: www.drwe.com.au