‘Incompetent? No. Arrogant? Yes’
this is not your typical cosy Sundaynight drama.
‘It’s not that the British were completely incompetent but they did have a level of arrogance in how they viewed their invincibility and their right to be in Singapore,’ says David Morrissey, who as Walter Blackett, cocksure head of British Singapore’s oldest and most powerful rubber trading firm, leads a cast including Luke Treadaway, Jane Horrocks, Colm Meaney and Charles Dance. ‘There was an element that they could have known what was going to happen if they had prepared themselves better.’
Instead, the British carried on with their garden parties as the Japanese dropped bombs on their front lawns. For the fictional Blackett family it’s a rude awakening followed by a mad desperate dash to salvage the company’s ill-gotten gains.
The story of the fall of Singapore, described by prime minister Winston Churchill as ‘the worst disaster and largest capitulation in British history’, is rarely told, which makes JG Farrell’s epic 1978 novel ripe for this adaptation by Sir Christopher Hampton, whose credits include Dangerous Liaisons and Atonement.
There are opposing forces at work. Blackett and his equally venal daughter Joan (Georgia Blizzard) stand for the old world order, while idealistic young businessman
Matthew Webb, played by
Luke Treadaway, and mysterious Chinese taxi dancer Vera Chiang are progressives looking forward to a brave new world, if they survive the old one.
A serious-minded actor with strong feelings about the
Luke Treadaway as the idealistic Matthew Webb moral implications of the period, Treadaway says the message in Hampton’s scripts was what grabbed his attention. ‘It’s looking at what that particular class of people seemed to think was their god-given right to survive and to thrive against the backdrop of putting down
Old world: David Morrissey as Walter Blackett native interests and not in any way helping the country they were in,’ says Treadaway, mopping his brow in the 35-degree humidity.
How is he coping with the heat? ‘It’s harder work for the make-up and costume departments than it is for the actors,’ says the star, who came to Hampton’s attention thanks to a West End performance in The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time. ‘We just have to stand there with a fan for a minute while someone else is trying to dry your shirt. You’re dripping because on top of the heat you are often filming in a room with 30 people and all the lights.
‘Even if the reality is that your shirt would be dripping wet it would be impossible to keep the continuity right, so everyone needs to be kept dry and powdered down. It’s a constant battle.’
Kuala Lumpur was chosen because so much of the original architecture has been lost to new developments in Singapore. One happy discovery was a ghost town near KL’s airport that they used for spectacular firefighting scenes as Singapore and Walter Blackett’s empire burns.
As a drama, it’s at its best when Morrissey’s Blackett is driving the narrative forward. He almost dances through his scenes. Jaunty, nonchalant, supremely at ease.
‘I don’t think Farrell in the book is judging Walter,’ says Morrissey. ‘Farrell pokes fun at society and the absurdity of it. But he’s letting you decide what you feel about it and I think that’s true with Christopher’s adaptation. There is a sense of pomposity about Walter. There’s a real sense of entitlement about him. He’s of the old world and the world is changing.’
The Singapore Grip is on ITV on Sundays at 9pm. Episode one is on ITV Hub now