Why the Dickens shouldn't costume dramas be ethnically diverse?
The BBC's production of Little Dorrit will have a black actor playing Tattycoram - and about time too
Freema Agyeman, who will play Tattycoram in this autumn's production of Little Dorrit
Another autumn, another all-star BBC costume drama. This time it's Little Dorrit adapted by Andrew Davies and due in 14 half-hour episodes a la Davies' 2005 Bleak House and last year's Oliver Twist. But timing and format are not the only things that Dorrit shares with Twist. In casting Freema Agyeman as Tattycoram, Little Dorrit follows the so-called "colourblind casting" of Sophie Okonedo as Nancy in Sarah Phelps's adaptation for BBC1. There's no reason for Nancy not to be black, Dickensian London was ethnically diverse so why the hell not?
In the novel of Little Dorrit, Tattycoram is described as "a handsome girl with lustrous dark hair and eyes, and very neatly dressed". I'm sure you'll correct me if I'm wrong but beyond that, there's little reference to her physicality. So why not cast a black actress in the role? .
Why the Dickens shouldn't costume dramas be ethnically diverse?
The BBC's production of Little Dorrit will have a black actor playing Tattycoram - and about time too
Freema Agyeman, who will play Tattycoram in this autumn's production of Little Dorrit
Another autumn, another all-star BBC costume drama. This time it's Little Dorrit adapted by Andrew Davies and due in 14 half-hour episodes a la Davies' 2005 Bleak House and last year's Oliver Twist. But timing and format are not the only things that Dorrit shares with Twist. In casting Freema Agyeman as Tattycoram, Little Dorrit follows the so-called "colourblind casting" of Sophie Okonedo as Nancy in Sarah Phelps's adaptation for BBC1. There's no reason for Nancy not to be black, Dickensian London was ethnically diverse so why the hell not?
In the novel of Little Dorrit, Tattycoram is described as "a handsome girl with lustrous dark hair and eyes, and very neatly dressed". I'm sure you'll correct me if I'm wrong but beyond that, there's little reference to her physicality. So why not cast a black actress in the role? .