Every month, TMINE lets you know what TV the BFI will be presenting at the South Bank in London
As mentioned last time, the BFI still had a few more events to reveal for its TV festival with Radio Times in April. Some of them are quite good, too
- A preview of ITV’s Beecham House
- Helen McCrory and Steven Knight talk Peaky Blinders
- Mark Gatiss discusses his love of ghost stories
- Helen Mirren gets inducted into the Radio Times Hall of Fame
Full details are all after the jump. But first, Nigel Kneale’s The Stone Tape. Because why not?
Programme
Saturday 13 April
11:00 NFT1
Preview: Beecham House + Q&A with director Gurinder Chadha and cast Tom Bateman, Bessie Carter, Dakota Blue Richards and Viveik Kalra
TRT 90min
If you love a period drama, ITV’s new six-part series set in India in 1795, and starring Tom Bateman, Lesley Nicol and Adil Ray, is for you. Beecham House is a grand mansion on the outskirts of Delhi where the mysterious and wealthy John Beecham, a former soldier who once worked for the East India Company, has taken up residence. He is determined to leave the past behind him and start a new life as an independent trader. But his presence arouses suspicions – who is the “olive-skinned” child called August he has brought with him, along with two nursemaids? With the country in turmoil and political tensions on a knife edge, John must tread carefully if he is to secure his future and keep his family safe. Enjoy a preview of episode one and hear from the director Gurinder Chadha (Bend It like Beckham, Blinded by the Light), Tom Bateman and other members of the cast.
Tickets £20, concs £16 (BFI Members pay £2 less).
Saturday 13 April
14:30 BFI Imax
Peaky Blinders with Helen McCrory and creator Steven Knight
TRT 60min
The magnificent matriarch of Peaky Blinders, Aunt Polly, played by Helen McCrory, joins writer and creator Steven Knight to reveal the secrets of making one of the most stylish and successful series on television. Hear how Aunt Polly came to rule the Peaky roost, how the show introduced the flatcap to the catwalk and how together they have delivered the latest, slickest season for BBC1, due to air later this year.
Tickets £25, concs £20 (BFI Members pay £2 less).
Sunday 14 April
13:30 BFI Imax
In Conversation: Mark Gatiss on Ghost Stories
TRT 60min
Mark Gatiss has had a love of ghost stories since childhood – and they’ve haunted his life ever since. Not just those spectral tales he watched growing up, from Scrooge starring Albert Finney, through Jonathan Miller’s Whistle and I’ll Come to You and Nigel Kneale’s The Stone Tape, but also those he has written for the BBC, from Crooked House to The Tractate Middoth and last year’s The Dead Room. Join Mark Gatiss as he reveals what this “very noble tradition” means to him.
Tickets £25, concs £20 (BFI Members pay £2 less).
20:30 NFT1
Radio Times Hall of Fame: Helen Mirren
TRT c75min
In a career that has spanned decades, Helen Mirren’s small-screen roles have helped make her a global star and won her many awards. The BFI & Radio Times Television Festival is proud to induct her into the Radio Times Hall of Fame.
Soon to be seen in Sky Atlantic’s epic new drama Catherine the Great, she has had an exceptional career. As a young star fresh from the RSC she played opposite Laurence Olivier in the BBC’s adaptation of Harold Pinter’s The Collection and later appeared in Dennis Potter’s Blue Remembered Hills. But it was as DCI Jane Tennison in Prime Suspect that she became a household name. Written by Lynda La Plante it spawned six series, before Helen reprised the role in 2006 – for which she won an Emmy to add to the Emmy and Golden Globe she won playing Elizabeth I.
Exclusive footage of Helen’s latest role as Catherine the Great will be shown at what promises to be a fascinating insight into her stellar career. Join us to celebrate her life on screen, in a fitting climax to the BFI & Radio Times Television Festival 2019.
Tickets £25, concs £20 (BFI Members pay £2 less).
Prices
Concessionary prices are available to senior citizens, students, unwaged and disability visitors. Proof of eligibility may be required.
As always, visit the BFI web site for more details.
