Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning Laura Linney (Ozark, Love Actually, John Adams) and BAFTA award winner Rhys Ifans (Inheritance, Venom: The Last Dance, House of the Dragon) will star in the BBC film But When We Dance, “a touching story about two people with lots in common – a great sense of humor, a love of dance, and Parkinson’s.”
Monica Dolan (Mr Bates v’s The Post Office, Sherwood, Black Mirror), Rory Kinnear (The Diplomat, The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power, Bank of Dave), and Paul Mayhew-Archer (The Vicar of Dibley, Roald Dahl’s Esio Trot) are also part of the ensemble cast unveiled on Wednesday, with further casting to be announced at a later stage.
The 90-minute film is written by Mayhew-Archer, directed by Oscar winner John Madden (Shakespeare in Love, Operation Mincemeat, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel), and produced by Hilltop Screen, a John Gore Studios company, for the BBC One network and the BBC iPlayer streaming service.
Set and filmed in North Norfolk, Ifans plays Tony Evans, the deputy head of a local primary school. Linney stars as Emma Dretzin, a pianist, composer and single mother of two daughters. “Neither knows the other until a startling encounter changes the course of their lives: on the same morning, they are both confronted with a diagnosis of Parkinson’s,” reads a synopsis.
Shared Mayhew-Archer: “In 2011, when I was 58 years old, I was told I had Parkinson’s. It’s incurable, and it makes many of the things I do – walking, talking, smiling – increasingly difficult. But though I have reasons to hate Parkinson’s, it has also brought me opportunities I wouldn’t have missed for the world.”
He added: “So, thank you, Parkinson’s. My fingers may fumble, my mouth may mumble, and each step I take may result in a stumble. But I cannot grumble.”
Rhys Ifans, courtesy of Rankin
“I am really looking forward to telling the story of Tony and Emma – a friendship which unfolds unexpectedly,” said Madden. “A story of humor and emotion, of challenge and bravado, of music and dance – transcending the assumptions of a little understood condition, and triumphing over the odds to find joy, release and love.”
Hilary Bevan Jones, producer for Hilltop Screen, said: “Paul’s wonderful script has made me laugh, cry, and think about all that life has to offer. I hope this film will strike a chord with everyone, and I am thrilled that the peerless John Madden has brought together such an exceptional cast.”
And Lindsay Salt, BBC director of drama, said: “Paul Mayhew-Archer has written a glorious, important film with a huge heart, a wonderful sense of humor, and a deep sense of purpose. It shines a light on living with Parkinson’s, and we are so proud to be making this film.”
Kaleidoscope Film Distribution will handle worldwide sales on But When We Dance.
Parkinson’s U.K. estimates that someone is diagnosed with Parkinson’s every 20 minutes in the U.K. and that around 166,000 people have Parkinson’s in the U.K.
