Ridley Road (TV series)
A 1960s drama about Jewish anti-fascist resistance.
Ridley Road is a British four-part television drama series that premiered on BBC One on 3 October 2021. Adapted by Sarah Solemani from Jo Bloom's 2014 novel, it focuses on Jewish opposition to British Fascism in the 1960s. The series was directed by Lisa Mulcahy and executive produced by Nicola Shindler.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Period drama
- Based on
- Ridley Road by Jo Bloom
- Writer
- Sarah Solemani
- Director
- Lisa Mulcahy
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Language
- English
- Seasons
- 1
- Episodes
- 4
Facts from the source article.
Plot summary
Vivien Epstein, daughter of a traditional Manchester Jewish family, is pressured into an arranged marriage by her father David. She already loves Jack, who leaves for London heartbroken. Her relative Soly Malinovsky, a black cab driver and head of a Jewish anti-fascist group, asks her to infiltrate Colin Jordan's neo-Nazi organisation, where Jack is already undercover. Vivien feigns a relationship with Jordan and allows him to seduce her. Both she and Jack have their cover blown and narrowly escape, Vivien taking a suitcase of documents proving Jordan runs an illegal neo-Nazi training camp. The police agree to investigate. Her parents, initially devastated, become proud of her work. After a tearful reunion, Vivien flies to Tel Aviv with Jack.
Reception
Gillean Craig, writing for the Church Times, found the plot paper-thin and the improbabilities too great, calling it a lost opportunity. Lucy Mangan, in a three-starred Guardian review, described the direction as strangely stilted and the dialogue flimsy, with cartoonish hairdresser scenes and grating East End characterisations, though she acknowledged the drama's resonance. Carol Midgley of The Times awarded four stars, praising the stellar cast and storytelling, noting the beautiful craft of weaving archive footage to place Vivien in Sixties London. Ed Cumming, reviewing for The Independent, observed that Solemani's fictional story within accurate historical context allowed freedom, blending action thriller, period piece, and romance, with contemporary parallels kept near the surface.
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