Wolf Hall - The Mirror and the Light

[virgocatlover]

Series 2 is confirmed to start Sunday 10th November.

Almost 10 years after the first series, I'm excited to see the third and final novel brought to life.

But i don't think they are inserting "black characters" - it just happens to be the case that the actor they felt was best for the role
is black. there's a difference.

it's a subject people feel strongly about and rarely change their minds. i'm all for diversity and representation on our screens.

I'm going to sneak a watch of it whisky everyone else is out at football! What a joy it is, I will be sad when it's over.

I'm absolutely for diversity but this feels like tokenism
Black people have their own history

Where is Black History on our screens?

Wake up. Casting decisions are based on one or any number of factors, always have been. The best person for the role, the actor is shagging the actor, the production company want to tick a box, the actress is the daughter of one of the producers (and so on).

I would think (though I'm no expert) that appearance is the main thing they look for when casting an actor into a part. It's not like a normal job when appearances don't matter.

OK, we’ve got it. Some people don’t like colour-blind casting, some people think it’s fine. Now we all know that (a lot), do we have to discuss it every episode?

I have a friend who worked on the costumes. Apparently the production company are absolutely meticulous in their level of accuracy. So why bother, when you use actors who are completely inaccurate?
Also, what is pretty unpleasant about this is the test of moral purity it implies. 'Oh, I never notice these things' really?
Or 'it's not important to me'. I.e. you're a bigot for objecting.

I'm enjoying this so much. The politics, the intrigue - the danger.
I also think that the costumes are amazing, and the clothes of Henry, Jane and Mary are gorgeous, the colours and the fabrics.
Best thing on tv since the first series!

Damian Lewis is excellent as Henry. You can see how the tyrant emerged - but all low key and underplayed.

Yes, Damien Lewis has come into his own in this series, very believable.

Yes, not blustering about, shouting, but quiet and sinister control: fearing disobedience leading to revolt, not without justification. Mary's situation was shown very clearly - the risk of execution. Very dangerous times.

Apparently when Ken Branagh was making Belfast, he wouldn't have got funding unless black actors had parts, despite the fact he admitted there were no people of colour around when he was growing up.

I don’t think I’m making any kind of moral purity argument or claiming people who are bothered by colour-blind casting are bigots. I suppose it doesn’t bother me because historical dramas are always such a compromise between attempts at ‘accuracy’ and dramatic effect, comprehensibility of language to modern viewers, telescoping characters, resemblance of those cast to surviving characters portraits of historical figures etc. Wolf Hall has never been the kind of series with visible zips in Tudor costumes, but of course it has all kinds of anachronisms and inaccuracies. If Harriet Walter playing Brutus doesn’t bother me, or everyone’s very nice teeth, then I can’t get excited about colourblind casting either way.

Did he actually say that though?

I know it isn’t new but I’m enjoying the Lucy Worsley series about the six wives on iPlayer. Keeps me going between M&L episodes.

Yes, according to Eamonn Holmes who grew up there at about the same time!

Glad you're enjoying it. I watched it when it came out but I didn't like it. Lucy Worsley just makes everything about Lucy Worsley. And personally I find that dressing up in historical costumes thing silly and dated.

For those interested in the issue, Amanda Kaufmann has written a fascinating book called "Black Tudors". I can recommend it.

I googled and this was all I could find. The article is behind a pay wall but it doesn't seem clear who told Eamonn Holmes this. I highly doubt it was Ken himself! I'm also not sure Eamonn is the most reliable of sources considering some of the rubbish he's come out with in the past.

https://m.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/entertainment/eamonn-holmes-belfast-film-had-to-use-ethnic-minorities-for-funding/41363371.html

I guess it's implied that Ken told him.

It's not clear that Branagh had to do that to obtain funding, though?

Well, KB is hardly going to go on record and admit it, is he? So it won't ever be clear.

Well, that wasn't obvious from the tone of previous posts, was it? It appeared to be a verified claim from KB. That's how I read it. Turns out it isn't.
Like pp I would not trust the word of Eamon Holmes.

I think we all know that that’s the case now.

Thanks for the heads up I hadn’t spotted that