UK ‘Crip Camp’ Is Here: Jack Thorne’s BBC/Netflix Drama ‘Then Barbara Met Alan’ Is Rewriting The Rules On Disability Representation
deadline.comThe creative team behind Jack Thorne’s BBC/Netflix drama Then Barbara Met Alan has rewritten the rules on disability representation for the Crip Camp-esque drama about two UK trailblazers whose campaigning led to the passing of the Disability Discrimination Act.Producer Dragonfly TV compiled a report that has been passed to the BBC and super-indie Banijay after setting best practice standards in disability representation, with the production comprised of 17 disabled actors, 55 disabled supporting actors and 50% senior editorial team representation including in the key roles of co-writer (Genevieve Barr), producer (Bryony Arnold) and co-director (Amit Sharma).
Arnold worked closely with disabled talent groups to fill other posts.Thorne refused to do the show unless he could co-write with talented deaf actor-turned-scribe Genevieve Barr, who starred in his Channel 4 drama The Accident.
Barr is now “so busy she is turning down commissions,” according to Thorne.Airing on the BBC on Monday and Netflix outside the UK, the one-off feature tells the story of Barbara Lisicki (Years and Years’ Ruth Madeley) and Alan Holdsworth (Help‘s Arthur Hughes), two disabled people who embodied a punk spirit and in the early 90s formed the Disabled Peoples Direct Action Network (DAN), whose campaigning led to the passing of the UK’s Disability Discrimination Act 25 years ago.
Having honed the use of pink handcuffs as part of their direct-action tactics and after suffering the loss of DAN members along the way, Barbara and Alan embark on a fearless and coordinated plan to bring London’s Westminster to a standstill, until the establishment can no longer stand in their way and disabled people are granted equal rights in law.“The more I read
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