LIFE AFTER DEATH
LYDIA WILSON AND JOEL FRY STAR IN THE STORY OF A YOUNG MUSICIAN LEARNING SOME UNSETTLING HOME TRUTHS…
We strongly advise getting some extra padding on the edge of your seat, because you’ll be spending a lot of time there thanks to this new six-part thriller. In Requiem, talented cellist Matilda is devastated after witnessing her mother Janice’s suicide, and can’t begin to fathom what might have driven her mum to such an act.
Matilda’s confusion over Janice’s fate is compounded when she returns to her mum’s house and finds a box on her bed full of photos and newspaper clippings, all relating to the disappearance of a young girl called Carys Howell from a Welsh village over 20 years ago. Unable to process what this means, Matilda and her accompanist Hal decide to visit Penllynith in search of answers – but their trip only serves to raise more questions about the past…
“Matilda is on a mission that seems quite selfish a lot of the time because it’s disturbing everybody around her and pushing away her best mate,” reveals Lydia Wilson, who plays Matilda. “I didn’t ever think of her as a very healthy thing for the town, but I believed in her motives – everyone should wake up and find out the truth rather than living in delusion!”
“Hal’s her pianist and her friend, and he might love her a little bit,” teases Joel Fry, who plays him. “He’s the constant link to her present professional world, from a different life that might not have been all that she thought it was.”
Upon arriving in Penllynith, Matilda learns that local landowner Ewan Dean also killed himself in suspicious circumstances the day before her mother died, and she feels that it can’t be a coincidence. The situation drives her to strike up a friendship with Ewan’s heir and nephew, Nick – a fellow outsider trying to find his place in the village.
“Matilda isn’t welcome,” explains Lydia. “I think she’s a bit of a cipher for things that are already brewing in the town as she is quite a provocative influence. She’s constantly knocking on doors and having them slammed in her face every five minutes, but she doesn’t stop.”
Playing the role of a celebrated cellist meant Lydia had to look convincing playing the instrument on camera – but luckily she was able to call on a friend for assistance.
“My mate Joe is a classical cellist and he taught me how to blag it,” she grins. “And then someone said,
‘Can you really play?’, so I tried to play Baa
Baa Black Sheep – but I couldn’t play a note! I promised
I’d carry on learning, but I was renting the cello and had to give it back.”
SHE KEEPS HAVING DOORS SLAMMED IN HER FACE”
LYDIA