Categories Damian Lewis Events Poetry Readings Tributes

DAMIAN LEWIS READS FROM ‘A POET FOR EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR’ IN HONOR OF HELEN MCCRORY

Posted On Written By helenistic 1 Comment on DAMIAN LEWIS READS FROM ‘A POET FOR EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR’ IN HONOR OF HELEN MCCRORY

A Poetry Reading  Dedicated to Helen

by Gingersnap | damian-lewis.com | January 25, 2022
‘There will be dying, but there is no need to go into that…The sun rises in spite of everything…Everything is going to be all right.’ – Derek Mahon

On Tuesday, January 25, 2022 guests gathered for a live poetry reading dedicated to the late, great Helen McCrory.  Allie Esiri, author of her latest installment A Poet for Every Day of the Year, curated the night’s event at the Lyttelton venue of National Theatre in London. From 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. a variety of readers took to the stage to read verse from the new anthology, including Damian Lewis, Lesley Sharp, Fay Ripley, Simon Russell Beale and Danny Sapani with 900+ audience members in attendance, together with Damian and Helen’s children Manon and Gulliver and family friend Helena Bonham Carter.

Continue reading DAMIAN LEWIS READS FROM ‘A POET FOR EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR’ IN HONOR OF HELEN MCCRORY

Categories Audio Music Radio

‘It’s a show about love’: Desert Island Discs celebrates 80 years on air

Posted On Written By helenistic No Comments on ‘It’s a show about love’: Desert Island Discs celebrates 80 years on air

Helen McCrory’s DID is among the 5 Key Shows

By Donna Ferguson | The Guardian | January 23, 2022

As the radio classic marks a major anniversary, it’s the shared human experience revealed by the castaways that keeps us hooked

Louis Armstrong, Helen McCrory and George Michael were all guests on the show.
Louis Armstrong, Helen McCrory and George Michael were all guests on the show. Composite: Redferns; REX/Shutterstock; Getty

A familiar theme tune is playing in my ears as I step out of my front door and start running. It is a cold, frosty day in Cambridge but as I make my way towards Midsummer Common and the River Cam, I am transported to a much warmer climate. A desert island, where I know I will find exactly eight tracks of music, the Bible, the complete works of Shakespeare and an incongruous luxury.

I am, of course, listening to Desert Island Discs, which will celebrate its 80th anniversary next weekend. First broadcast on 29 January 1942, it is the jewel in BBC Radio 4’s crown, to the extent that being on it is “kind of like getting a people’s knighthood”, observes the Observer’s radio critic, Miranda Sawyer. “There is no better radio show,” she says. “And I think, because it’s been for so long, there’s a status attached to getting picked – like, if you get asked to be on Desert Island Discs, that means somehow that you’ve made it.”

There are now more than 2,300 episodes of the show available online from the BBC archive. The oldest available dates back to 1951, when Roy Plomley interviewed the actress Margaret Lockwood and the famous theme tune was heralded by squawking seagulls and the crash of waves.

Continue reading ‘It’s a show about love’: Desert Island Discs celebrates 80 years on air

Categories Peaky Blinders Print Media Tributes

Peaky Blinders’ Cillian Murphy Explains How Helen McCrory’s Death Will Impact Season 6

Posted On Written By helenistic No Comments on Peaky Blinders’ Cillian Murphy Explains How Helen McCrory’s Death Will Impact Season 6

“We couldn’t quite fathom it all as we were making it.”

by Dan Seddon | Digital Spy | January 20, 2022

Helen McCrory and Cillian Murphy attend the Premiere of BBC Two’s drama “Peaky Blinders” episode one, series three at BFI Southbank on May 3, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Anthony Harvey/Getty Images)

Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight managed to keep the late great Helen McCrory “very present” in the upcoming sixth and final season.

The Polly Gray performer tragically died last April following her battle with cancer, but according to Tommy Shelby star Cillian Murphy, she would’ve reprised her role if it hadn’t been for pandemic-related complications.

Continue reading Peaky Blinders’ Cillian Murphy Explains How Helen McCrory’s Death Will Impact Season 6

Categories Peaky Blinders Print Media Tributes

Peaky Blinders Creator: Continuing without Helen McCrory was a challenge

Posted On Written By helenistic No Comments on Peaky Blinders Creator: Continuing without Helen McCrory was a challenge

               Steven Knight reflects on the death of the “incredible actor”

Naomi Clark | PA Entertainment | January 17, 2022

Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight said continuing the story after the death of actress Helen McCrory was a “challenge” – but believes she would have wanted them to keep going with the crime drama.

McCrory, who played Shelby family matriarch Polly Gray in the hit BBC One show, died from cancer aged 52 last April.

Knight reflected on the show’s future following the death of the “incredible actor”, as well as his upcoming projects – including the upcoming stage adaptation, Peaky Blinders: The Redemption of Thomas Shelby.

He told the PA news agency: “It was a terrible, tragic loss that happened while we were shooting.

“And the loss of such an incredible human being is the main thing. The loss of such an incredible actor is awful.

“She was right at the heart (of the series). There are three central characters – she was one of them.

“And it’s a challenge, and was a challenge, to keep going with the story without her. But we knew that she would have wanted that to continue. So that’s what we did.”

The actress, the wife of Homeland star Damian Lewis, had starred in every series of the show since it began in 2013.

 

Categories Broadcast Media Peaky Blinders Tributes

Peaky Blinders Creator Steven Knight Talks About Helen McCrory on BBC Breakfast

Posted On Written By helenistic No Comments on Peaky Blinders Creator Steven Knight Talks About Helen McCrory on BBC Breakfast

“We hope the series itself will be a testament to Helen”

BBC Breakfast | January 18, 2022