TV show Ridley Road ‘is chilling yet timely’
BBC DRAMA ABOUT NEO-NAZI LEADER HAS LESSONS FOR MODERN BRITAIN
THE chilling BBC TV drama Ridley Road is as relevant for British Asian and black communities as it is for Jews.
The four-part series tells the story of the harassment and campaign directed against the Jews in 1960s’ Britain by Colin Jordan (June 19, 1923-April 9, 2009), a leading figure in post-war neo-Nazism in this country.
Some of those currently campaigning against anything they consider “woke” – I stress some – are the sort of people who would also have sympathised with the likes of Jordan.
Using his inherited house in London’s Notting Hill as his base of operations, Jordan became leader of the National Socialist Movement (NSM) and also of the British National Party (BNP). He primarily targeted Jews but also opposed black and Asian immigration.
In 1967, Jordan was sentenced to 18 months at Devon Assizes prison in Exeter for breaking the Race Relations Act 1965 by circulating material “likely to cause racial hatred”.
He was also convicted under the Public Order Act 1936 for distributing a leaflet titled
The Coloured Invasion, “a vituperative attack on black and Asian people”.
In September 1972, Jordan was fined for disorderly behaviour at Heathrow Airport when, after protesting against the arrival of Ugandan Asians into Britain, he addressed airport staff through a loudspeaker, urging them to strike in protest against the refugee arrivals from Uganda.
Jews in east London organised their resistance movement from Ridley Road, where they had a market. The story has been adapted for television by Sarah Solemani from the book,
Ridley Road, by Jo Bloom.
Critics have rounded on the TV drama, saying Ridley Road has given too much importance to Jordan, who they dismiss as a fringe figure in British politics. But he was allowed to hold public rallies, wave the swastika and encourage violence against Jews.
According to Piers Wenger, controller of BBC Drama, “this story couldn’t feel more timely”.
Solemani, who did “a ton of research”, says, “Britain’s relationship with fascism is closer and more alive than we like to think. Luckily, so is our rich heritage of fighting it.
“Ridley Road is inspired by the true story of a revival of fascism and neo-Nazism in 1962, and a group of Jewish men and women who club together to form the ‘62 Group’, which was an anti-fascist resistance movement.
“Our show centres on a fictional character, Vivien Epstein, who gets roped into this underworld and goes on this crazy, mad, and brave adventure.”
She adds: “This story is an important one to tell because the dilemma of 1962 is still one we’re grappling with now – which is, why people are drawn to the far right? What is it about that ideology and rhetoric that is still appealing, so many years on? Not just in England, but in America, Eastern Europe, India, Brazil, it’s something that has had a surge of popularity.”
Jordan is played brilliantly by Rory Kinnear, who says: “It always comes as a bit of a shock in 2021, that only 17 years after the Second World War, to see people calling for the removal of Jewish people from Britain. I don’t think this show is being made just as a history piece about the 1960s. It’s obviously being made because there is something to be said about contemporary British society. And also, it is saying that while it may not be a majority opinion, these repugnant arguments still exist, even in being repeated or given publicity to infect the discourse and politics in general, and we must continue to resist that.”
Agnes O’Casey, who plays Vivien Epstein, admits “it was a huge shock to see the archive footage of swastikas and people ‘heil’-ing in such recent history.
“I think it’s an important story to tell because we have seen so much polarisation among our communities. The echo chambers we inhabit mean people are becoming more and more radically right and drastically less empathetic. It’s far too easy to go down rabbit holes of misinformation.”
Agnes’s taxi driver uncle, Soly Malinovsky, the leader of the 62 Group, is played by Eddie Marsan, who recalls: “My father was raised on Cable Street and I come from the East End of London. So, I am very aware of the history of normal people taking on fascists in the east end. It’s the proudest part of our history, I think, so I was very aware of that.”