New Poliakoff drama: How King Edward VIII took on racists

 
P31 L to R: Janet Montgomery as Sarah, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Louis Lester, Anthony Head as Donaldson, Mathew Goode as Stanley, Joanna Vanderham as Pamela and Tom Hughes as Julian in Stephen Poliakoff's DANCING ON THE EDGE for the BBC.
Louise Jury25 October 2012

A new drama based on the true story of a black British jazz band in Thirties London reveals a little-known side of English society, according to members of its star-studded cast.

Dancing On The Edge by award-winning writer Stephen Poliakoff was inspired by the discovery that black musicians were championed by royalty led by the Prince of Wales — later King Edward VIII — despite the rising tide of racism and fascism in the period.

Joanna Vanderham, 22, who is currently in BBC One costume drama The Paradise and plays an upper-class socialite in the new series, said it made her wonder what might have happened had more people followed the example of the best of the upper-classes and overcome their prejudices.

“What Stephen has really subtly suggested in his writing is that if more people had acted in the way that we’re showing, the Holocaust could have been avoided. It is quite wonderful to watch and imagine,” she said.

The five-part series, to be transmitted on BBC Two in the new year, follows the Louis Lester Band — a fictional title — as they find fame and fans among the aristocracy of pre-war London. Chiwetel Ejiofor plays the bandleader in the production filmed partly in the capital — including Wilton’s Music Hall and other venues in the East End.

The cast also includes John Goodman, Anthony Head, Caroline Quentin and Jane Asher. Poliakoff discovered the story of the royal family’s passion for the “sexy new sound” of jazz when researching another royal drama, The Lost Prince. “I thought it extraordinary to look at that moment in society through the eyes of a black jazz band,” he said.

“It shows not everybody was racist. There were people who made moral choices. If we time-travelled, we would find a much more rich and sexy place than we expected.”

Jacqueline Bisset, who came from Los Angeles to play aristocrat Lady Cremone, said it was a “cracking story” beautifully told. “There are an awful lot of issues in the piece about racism and class differences. But it’s masterfully woven together.”

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