On location in Hanwell
CREW FILMS ACTOR MARK STRONG IN UXBRIDGE ROAD FOR TV SHOW ‘TEMPLE’
ACTOR Mark Strong, known for roles in films such as Kick-Ass and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, has been spotted in Hanwell, reportedly filming a new TV series for Sky.
The 55-year-old English actor will star in the “dark comic thriller” Temple, as a surgeon working in an illegal underground clinic, and he is believed to have been filming a scene for this series.
Residents first noticed something was going on because of the 605 bus to Paddington outside Hanwell’s Halal Meat & Groceries on Uxbridge Road on Monday January 7.
In real-life London, the 605 travels from Edgware to Totteridge & Whetstone.
Temple will be an eight-part series, adapted from a Norwegian drama called Valkyrien, and will air some time this year. THE man who ‘predicted’ the Grenfell fire tragedy is to have his words immortalised in a new play which shows the tragic sequence of events that led to the disaster.
One day in November 2016, social worker Edward Daffarn sat down to write a blog post about his concerns about the estate where he lived.
Nobody knew it at the time, but the post, titled Playing With Fire, foretold the tragic events of the future which killed 72 people.
In it, Mr Daffarn warned that he feared that “only an incident that results in serious loss of life” would shine a spotlight on the tenant management organisation which oversaw housing at his home at Grenfell Tower.
He wrote: “It is a truly terrifying thought, but the Grenfell Action Group firmly believes that only a catastrophic event will expose the ineptitude and incompetence of our landlord, the KCTMO, and bring an end to the dangerous living conditions and neglect of health and safety legislation that they inflict upon their tenants and leaseholders.”
Now his words will take centre stage in a new documentary play called Dictating to the Estate, by Notting Hill playwright Nathaniel McBride.
The words of Mr Daffarn and his fellow blogger, Francis O’Connor, will feature in the show, to be staged at the Playground Theatre, a few minutes walk from Grenfell.
The cast of six at the staged read-
The official synopsis from Sky reads: “Deep below the streets of London, descending past Temple Tube in the beating heart of the city, lies a dark secret.
“An illegal clinic has been set up in an abandoned subterranean network of tunnels.
“Daniel, played by Mark Strong, is a surgeon driven by personal tragedy to treat anyone who is willing to pay for medical help outside the system. Temple is a story of fate, chaos and consequence and asks how far you would go to save the person you love.”
Mark Strong will star alongside Game of Thrones’ Carice van Houten, best known for portraying Melisandre in the HBO series.
One Hanwell resident, however, seemed disappointed to learn that the 605 to Paddington was not a real bus, adding that it would reduce the cost of their commute from £10 to £1.50. ing will speak the words of some of the key players associated with Grenfell, including council leaders and staff at the time.
Mr McBride, who ran in last May’s local elections as a Labour candidate for Holland ward, said: “The play has a political view. It tries to be accurate.
“It is not about the fire, it is about the events that led up to the fire.”
“I had the idea about a play about housing activism in Kensington and Chelsea before the fire. I had an idea in March 2017 and started thinking about how to do it.
“It is particularly a play about housing activism
“It will look at the decisions which led to cheaper cladding being used on the tower, along with social housing regeneration policies and changes to core housing strategy which meant the council effectively revoked their decant policy.”
In researching the play, he re-read the work of playwright Peter Weiss, who is best known for his play Marat/Sade and The Investigation, a documentary drama about the trials of those behind the atrocities at Auschwitz.
Mr McBride has contacted everyone who features in the play, although he is uncertain if many of them will attend, and he says he cannot predict how it will make people feel.
“They will have a narrative of what happened locally and the issues immediately before the fire. How they will react, I do not know,” he said.
Dictating to the Estate is performed at 2.30pm on Saturday January 26 and 7.30pm on Sunday January 27. Tickets are £8 (concessions £6) from Theplaygroundtheatre.london or on 020 8960 0110.
Mr Daffarn’s blog post features in the Living with Buildings exhibition at the Wellcome Collection in Euston (until March 3). He is now serving as a social housing commissioner for housing charity Shelter.