The Long Song (TV Series)
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''The Long Song'' is a three-part
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
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television serial, which is an adaptation of
Andrea Levy Andrea Levy (7 March 1956 – 14 February 2019) was an English author best known for the novels '' Small Island'' (2004) and ''The Long Song'' (2010). She was born in London to Jamaican parents, and her work explores topics related to British ...
's ''
The Long Song ''The Long Song'' is a historical novel by Andrea Levy published in 2010 that was the recipient of the Walter Scott Prize. It was Levy's fifth and final novel, following the 2004 publication of '' Small Island''. In December 2018, a three-part ...
'', a 2010 historical novel. Produced by Heyday Television, its three episodes were adapted by Sarah Williams and directed by
Mahalia Belo Mahalia Belo is an English film and television director. Biography Belo graduated from the National Film and Television School in 2012. Her graduation film, ''Volume'' won a BIFA award in the Best British Short Film category and was shown at t ...
. It premiered on
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
on 18 December 2018 and aired in the US on
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
on January 31, 2021 as part of the network's long-running series ''
Masterpiece A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...
''.


Synopsis

The story is set in early-nineteenth-century
colonial Jamaica The Crown Colony of Jamaica and Dependencies was a British colony from 1655, when it was captured by the English Protectorate from the Spanish Empire. Jamaica became a British colony from 1707 and a Crown colony in 1866. The Colony was pr ...
, focusing on the final years of
slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
on the island, including the Christmas Rebellion of 1831, and the transition to freedom that took place after its abolition in 1833. It follows the life of July (
Tamara Lawrance Tamara Naomi Lawrance (born 1994)Bowie-Sell, Daisy '' WhatsOnStage''. 14 February 2017. is a British actress. She is known for her performances as Prince Harry's republican girlfriend in the 2017 BBC television film ''King Charles III'', and as ...
), an enslaved woman on a
sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with ...
plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...
. The adaptation explores many of the novel's themes, including
colonialism Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their relig ...
,
slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
,
racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...
, violence and love.


Cast

Tamara Lawrance Tamara Naomi Lawrance (born 1994)Bowie-Sell, Daisy '' WhatsOnStage''. 14 February 2017. is a British actress. She is known for her performances as Prince Harry's republican girlfriend in the 2017 BBC television film ''King Charles III'', and as ...
plays July, the series' main character.
Hayley Atwell Hayley Elizabeth Atwell (born 5 April 1982) is a British and American actress. Born and raised in London, Atwell studied acting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and made her stage debut in a 2005 production of James Kerr's translation ...
plays Caroline Mortimer, the owner of the plantation, who eventually marries an idealistic overseer, Robert Goodwin (
Jack Lowden Jack Andrew Lowden (born 2 June 1990) is a Scottish actor. Following a four-year stage career, his first major international onscreen success was in the 2016 BBC miniseries '' War & Peace'', which led to starring roles in feature films. Lowden s ...
). The cast also included
Jordan Bolger Jordan Bolger (born 9 November 1994) is an English actor. He has performed in television notably in Peaky Blinders, The 100 and The Book of Boba Fett. In film, he is known for side roles in Tom & Jerry and The Woman King. Early life and educati ...
,
Sharon Duncan-Brewster Sharon Duncan-Brewster (born 8 February 1976) is a British actress. She is known for her role as List of characters in Bad Girls#Prisoners, Crystal Gordon in ''Bad Girls (TV series), Bad Girls'' during the first four series; her role as Trina Jo ...
, Gordon Brown,
Ayesha Antoine Ayesha Antoine is an England, English actress. She is known for portraying List of characters in Holby City#Rachel Baptiste, Rachel Baptiste in ''Holby City'', and Poppy Silver in ''Grange Hill''. Background Antoine was born in Essex, England. S ...
,
Leo Bill Leo Martin Bill (born 31 August 1980) is an English actor, best known for his role as James Brocklebank in the 2006 film '' The Living and the Dead'', as well as '' The Fall'', '' Alice in Wonderland'', and the FX/BBC One drama series ''Taboo'' ...
,
Lenny Henry Sir Lenworth George Henry (born 29 August 1958) is a British actor, comedian, singer, television presenter and writer. Henry gained success as a stand-up comedian and impressionist in the late 1970s and early 1980s, culminating in ''The Lenn ...
, and Madeleine Mantock in supporting roles.


Reviews

It received generally favourable reviews from critics. ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''s
Lucy Mangan Lucy Katherine Mangan''England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916–2007'' (born 1974) is a British journalist and author. She is a columnist, features writer and TV critic for ''The Guardian''. A major part of her writing is related t ...
awarded it four stars out of five, calling it "a beautiful, moving, horrifying adaption of uly'sunsimple tale, that honours the source and its subject." ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' offered similar praise in a four-out-of-five-star review, which called it a "moving reminder of the cruelty of slavery." Stuart McGurk in '' GQ'' praised the acting, characterisation and story, but found the narration distracting and unnecessary. For a review in ''
The Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...
'', Eleanor Bley Griffiths concluded that "With wonderful acting from Lawrance and Atwell, a brilliant story from Andrea Levy, and sensitive screenwriting from Sarah Williams, this drama may be airing right at the end of the year—but it truly deserves a spot on the list of best dramas of 2018."


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Long Song (Tv Series), The 2010s British television miniseries 2018 British television series debuts 2018 British television series endings 2010s British drama television series BBC television dramas Television shows based on British novels Television series set in the 1830s Television shows set in Jamaica Television shows filmed in the Dominican Republic English-language television shows