Dancing on the Edge
| Television series | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Dancing on the Edge |
| Country of production | United Kingdom |
| original language | English |
| year | 2013 |
| length | 60-90 minutes |
| Episodes | 5 in 1 season |
| genre | Drama , costume drama |
| idea | Stephen Poliakoff |
| First broadcast | February 4, 2013 (UK) on BBC Two |
Dancing on the Edge is a five-part British miniseries by Stephen Poliakoff . The drama, set in the 1930s, revolves around the rise and fall of a jazz band with musicians of dark skin in London.
action
The series is the work of Stephen Poliakoff, who was responsible for the idea, script, casting and direction. For the material he chose a band of black musicians who lived from performing in front of rich guests on ocean liners, were British citizens, but were rejected by large sections of the population.
An ambitious music journalist , Stanley Mitchell, who writes for the “Music Express” known only in expert circles, discovers the “Louis Lester Band”, makes friends with its director, Louis Lester, and helps him to appear in the expensive London “Imperial Hotel". The appearances lead to a change in the hotel clientele, because the money nobility perceives the appearances of "negroes" as dirty and unreasonable and makes room for a group of enlightened, rich young people who rally around the band until the end of the series. That in turn attracts the English millionaire Lady Lavinia Cremone and the American mogul Walter Masterson. The Prince of Wales , known for his eccentricity , also becomes a fan of the group.
At the height of popularity, which the Mitchell's music magazine made widely known, the singer of the Louis Lester Band was murdered in the hotel. Her killer is the young aristocratic, mentally ill cross-border commuter Julian Luscombe. However, the hotel staff soon directs suspicion to Louis Lester, who is able to flee abroad from the police with a coup designed by friends.
In addition to the level of action built on interpersonal relationships, Dancing on the Edge contains several political levels. In the middle of the series, the Hitler government, which has just come to power in Germany, is discussed several times. The National Socialist Diplomacy Corps in London despises the music and skin color of the Louis Lester Band. It comes to a scandal. Luscombe's mother changed hotel suites several times during her vacation on the English south coast because she didn't want to live next door to Jews . Poliakoff describes racism against blacks as deeply anchored in English society.
The series joins several historical dramas of the time, most notably Downton Abbey and Call the Midwife .
Production and broadcast
The series was produced in 2012 and ran from February 4th to 25th every Monday on the second TV program of the BBC.
Main cast
- Louis Lester ( Chiwetel Ejiofor ) as the leader of the Louis Lester Band
- Stanley Mitchell ( Matthew Goode ) as a music journalist for Music Express
- Lady Lavinia Cremone ( Jacqueline Bisset ) as a rich, withdrawn music lover
- Arthur Donaldson ( Anthony Head ) as a wealthy English businessman
- Walter Masterson ( John Goodman ) as the American mogul and patron Julian Luscombes
- Julian Luscombe ( Tom Hughes ) as a borderlineer from a noble family
- Carla ( Wunmi Mosaku ) as the black singer in the Louis Lester Band
- Jessie ( Angel Coulby ) as the front woman of the Louis Lester Band
- Pamela Luscombe ( Joanna Vanderham ) as Julian's sister
- Rosie ( Jenna-Louise Coleman ) as an assistant at Music Express
- Sarah ( Janet Montgomery ) as the daughter of Russian immigrants and a photographer
Awards
In 2014, Jacqueline Bisset received the Golden Globe Award for best supporting actress in a miniseries .