Quarter 4 was disproportionately devoted to horror and
speculative fiction. Given that there
was a genuinely large amount of programming around Halloween in 2018, it shouldn’t
be too surprising.
001 Historical Drama – New
November signalled the end of Tommies, the “meticulously researched” First World War drama
painstakingly show-run by Jonathan Ruffle.
I was very pleased that the final episode, 12 November 1918, did the series justice. I was most gratified, because not only did
Mickey Bliss get through the war (spoilers!), it was both a gripping story and
one that, for one of the few times I can remember, did not put facts before a
satisfying narrative. This story not
only brought together Jack Bliss (Ashley Kumar) and his father, Mickey (Lee
Ross) but also Mickey’s main squeeze Florrie Fanshawe (Karen Bartke), as well
as Mickey’s ex-lover Céléstine (Pippa Nixon) and her son, Harry de Tullio (Matthew
Tennyson). All of this was happening
against a backdrop of a literally ticking time-bomb, a time-delay detonated
bomb left by German forces before the Armistice in a little town in
Belgium. Who will live and who will
die? Fortunate, then, that Tommies ends with a reaffirmation of
one of the main messages of the series, namely that of a shared experience of a
war among combatants that neither reifies it nor condemns those who have fought
in it. Now that’s the way to end a four-year series. This episode, naturally, was by Jonathan
Ruffle, also starred William Brand, Alexander Devrient, Don Gilet, Tony Turner,
Lewis Bray, Liam Lau Fernandez, and Cameron Percival. It was directed by Jonquil Panting.
Amah in the Bathtub was
a fascinating play, set in Singapore in 1969. Donna (Amy Warren), an American
journalist, has come to interview British ex-pats to write a novel about an
illicit romance between a British woman and her Chinese chauffeur. However, Donna gets a lot more than she
bargained for (though I suppose the only flaw in this play was its lack of
resolution). She meets Flora (Alexandra Williamson),
a northerner who doesn’t fit the typical (southern, upper middle class) profile
of ex-pats. Through repeated tape
interviews with Flora and her family, Donna comes to understand that Flora’
sons, Rupert and Brian (Tom Phelps and Bryn Spender), are terrible human beings
who are tormenting their “black and white” nanny. Through interviews with other ex-pats, such
as Priscilla (Suzanne Bertish), and Singaporean, British-educated Sylvia
(Margaret Leng-Tan), Donna discovers that the family even leads their amah to
her death. Cleverly written and recorded
using the device of the tape recorder, it makes a unique setting and story. It was written and directed by the
extraordinary Judith Kampfner.
The Moors of England was
an excellent and timely drama. It takes
skill to write convincing Elizabethan dialogue, which Rex Obano has done here. The character of Fortunatus (Ray Fearon), a
black Muslim, is based on his real-life counterpart, about which little is
known. In the drama, he is servant to
Sir Robert Cecil (John Heffernan), an interesting historical person who really
came alive in this drama—son of the more famous Sir Thomas Cecil, deformed and
reviled and yet working for unity within his country. Queen Elizabeth (Elizabeth Counsell) as
portrayed here is in her dotage.
Fortunatus’ son, Beaupere (Sope Dirisu), is a radical Muslim when he
runs afoul of scheming Casper Van Senden (Tristan Sturrock), who erroneously
convinces him he has murdered vulgar prostitute Mae Mice (Ella Glendinning). A more interesting subplot consists of Frances
Cecil (Emma Handy), Cecil’s daughter who, like him, is deformed and serves to
draw his attention to his faults. This
Drama on 3 play also starred Youseff Kerkour, Philip Bretherton, Sean Murray,
Lucy Doyle, and Cameron Percival. It was
directed by David Hunter.
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