The Road to love and hate
There’s fact behind fiction in gripping tale of flower power and fascism in 60s London
Afascinating story based on real events is brought to life by a stellar cast in BBC One’s epic new period drama Ridley Road, which starts this week.
But don’t think bonnets and carriages – it’s beehives and scooters as we go back to the Britain of 1962, when fascism and neo-Nazism were on the rise.
A group of Jewish men and women formed the 62 Group, an anti-fascist resistance movement that wasn’t afraid to use violence to defeat its enemy.
At the centre of the drama is Vivien Epstein (Agnes O’Casey), a young Jewish hairdresser who gets caught up with the group and undertakes a brave and risky challenge on behalf of her community. It was made by Red, the production company behind hits Happy Valley, Last Tango In Halifax and It’s A Sin.
And although the team has faithfully recreated the East End of the early 60s as their backdrop, it’s actually Manchester that’s standing in for London here.
For Sarah Solemani – the star of Bad
Education who wrote and produced Ridley Road – the aim was to create a very watchable series that chimes with situations around the world today.
While O’Casey is a newcomer, Solemani wrote the story with many of her cast in mind. They include Eddie Marsan and Tracy-Ann Oberman as leaders of the 62 Group. Meanwhile,
Tamzin Outhwaite plays Barbara, a hairdresser whose mixed-race son faces his own prejudice.
Samantha Spiro plays Vivien’s mother Liza, while British screen legend Rita Tushingham is a London landlady.
And it’s Rory Kinnear who portrays the sinister Colin Jordan, head of the National Socialist Movement, which had broken away from the BNP.
Although repulsed by the character he was asked to play, Rory was drawn to the project and its message and feels strongly about what it has to offer a modern audience.
He said: “It’s a fast-paced, moving exploration of the British past, with a keen eye on contemporary Britain and its politics, with a great love story in the centre and a corner of British politics which may not be the prettiest but, quite often until now, has remained unexplored.”