‘This is still a tale for our time’
Tamara Lawrance and Hayley Atwell on their powerful story of slavery in 19th-century Jamaica…
The Long Song Tue-thu / bbc1 / 9Pm
Hayley Atwell has played some superb leading ladies during her career, from heroine Margaret Schlegel in BBC1’S 2017 adaptation of Howards End to resourceful Peggy Carter in Marvel shows such as Agent Carter and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
But now she’s taking on a very different role as a villainous mistress who’s set to leave viewers repulsed in BBC1’S The Long Song, a three-part adaptation of Andrea Levy’s novel of the same name.
Set during the final days of slavery in 19th-century Jamaica, the story follows strong-willed young slave July – played by No Offence star Tamara Lawrance – who works on a sugar plantation and her odious boss Caroline Mortimer (Hayley).
‘Caroline is a monster and that’s why I wanted to play her,’ says Hayley. ‘I’ve never had the opportunity to play a character like this. She’s absolutely heinous, so it was a challenge to find some psychological truth and pathos in her. It’s a challenge I thought I’d fail, but I wanted to try anyway!’
Thankfully, the tale, which runs over three nights this week, is not told through Caroline’s eyes, but from the perspective of July, who tolerates her mistress’ tantrums in return for status on her estate. Yet when a slave rebellion breaks, a heart-wrenching incident turns July’s world upside down and leaves her questioning her loyalties.
TV Times met Hayley, 36, and Tamara, 24, to find out more…
How would you describe both of your characters?
Hayley: My character, Caroline, is the sister of a plantation owner who has come to live in Jamaica from London – she expected it to be this idyllic paradise, but she has had a bit of an awakening. She’s cruel and selfish, but she’s also ridiculous and in many ways she’s almost a panto villain. It was an incredibly liberating role to play, though, because there was no pressure to be pretty or sexy. I got to play a proper character. Tamara: July is fascinating – she’s really subversive. In many ways I had to debunk the myth of what we think of as a slave, because while she’s trying to survive in a hard world, she’s not encumbered or hard done by; there’s a lightness to her. She’s not afraid of Caroline, but sometimes she has to pretend to be. July is humbled by trauma in the opening episode, but when a new overseer called Robert Goodwin [played by War & Peace’s Jack Lowden] arrives on the plantation, her and Caroline’s lives are changed for ever…
Sir Lenny Henry plays Godfrey, July’s fellow slave. What was it like working with him?
Hayley: It was brilliant! He’s a great man and a fine actor. It was quite weird actually because in one scene I had to slap him and just before we did it, I told him that he’s one of my heroes and I watched his shows as a kid. He laughed and said, ‘Don’t tell me that now!’
Does the drama’s subject matter still feel relevant now?
Hayley: It’s about a culture and a place that’s on the cusp of change and what that feels like for people on both sides of the divide. Things are finally catching up with people who’ve enslaved a race for so long. But as we’ve seen with the Windrush scandal, the debate is still just as important today. It’s still a tale for our time.
How much did you know about the Christmas Rebellion of 1831 [an 11-day uprising by 60,000 of the 300,000 slaves in Jamaica]? Tamara: My mum told me all about [Baptist preacher] Samuel Sharpe, who led the uprising, when I was a kid, but I didn’t realise what it meant to be a national hero until I started doing this job. It’s helped me to feel proud of that history. When I got the part, my mum saw the trailer and left me a voicemail and I could tell that she was a bit shaky and emotional. She’s been asking me when it’s coming out ever since and I know she’ll either love it or tell me my Jamaican accent is terrible!
What was it like filming in the Dominican Republic, which stood in for Jamaica?
Tamara: It was incredibly hot, but also very beautiful, with amazing scenery and gorgeous sunsets. It’s mad to think the cane fields that were there hundreds of years ago are still there today. I found that quite haunting in a weird way. Hayley: There were lots of locals who helped us out with the shoot and they were all amazing, but one day we found this enormous blue crab with one large claw in the cane and they told us it was a
‘cane crab’. We were all a bit scared until we found out they had been winding us up!
Set in the 1830s, during the chaotic final days of slavery in the British empire, this three-part drama follows the inhabitants of a Jamaican sugar plantation as they adapt to a world that’s crumbling around them. Seen through the eyes of July (Tamara Lawrance), a spirited lady’s maid who finds herself crossing the divide in dramatic fashion, it’s a story of love, loss and injustice that’s subtly gripping. The support cast is also marvellous and Hayley Atwell shines as July’s despicable mistress, while Sir Lenny Henry brings real pathos to the role of slave Godfrey. Riven with heart-wrenching trauma, but no little humour, the series continues tomorrow evening at 9pm.