Martin Compston arrives on the set of Mayflies in Glasgow's West End
- 2 years ago
The BBC announces new Scottish drama Mayflies, starring Martin Compston, Tony Curran and Ashley Jensen
Martin Compston (Line Of Duty, Vigil), Tony Curran (Your Honour, Outlaw King, Doctor Who) and Ashley Jensen (After Life, Extras) will lead the cast of new BBC drama adaptation Mayflies, it was announced today by Charlotte Moore, BBC Director of Content, at the BBC’s Edinburgh TV Festival panel.
Mayflies is an intimate and devastating portrait of male friendship that manages to be both life-affirming and heartbreaking, and we’re delighted to have assembled an outstanding lead cast and creative team to bring it from page to screen.”
— Gaynor Holmes, BBC Drama Commissioning Editor
Set and filmed in Scotland, Mayflies is a co-commission with BBC Scotland and will be made by the Bafta Award-winning Synchronicity Films (The Cry) for the BBC, adapted by Andrea Gibb (Elizabeth Is Missing) from Andrew O’Hagan’s acclaimed novel of the same name, and directed by Peter Mackie Burns (Rialto).
Everyone has a Tully Dawson (Tony Curran) - the friend who defines your life. In the summer of 1986, in a small Scottish town, Jimmy (Martin Compston) and Tully ignite a brilliant friendship based on music, films and the rebel spirit. With school over and the locked world of their fathers before them, they rush towards the climax of their youth - a magical weekend in Manchester, the epicentre of everything that inspires them in working-class Britain. There, against the greatest soundtrack ever recorded, a vow is made: to go at life differently. Thirty years on, half a life away, the phone rings. Tully has the worst kind of news, and a request that will test their friendship, love, and loyalty to the limit…
Mayflies is a memorial to youth’s euphoria and to everyday tragedy. A tender goodbye to an old union, it discovers the joy and the costs of love.
Gaynor Holmes, BBC Drama Commissioning Editor, says: “We’re incredibly proud to continue the BBC’s longstanding commitment to showcasing the very best of Scotland and Scottish talent with this distinctive new drama.
"Mayflies is an intimate and devastating portrait of male friendship that manages to be both life-affirming and heartbreaking, and we’re delighted to have assembled an outstanding lead cast and creative team to bring it from page to screen.”
Claire Mundell, Executive Producer, Founder and Creative Director of Synchronicity Films, says: “Andrew’s novel is nostalgic, poignant and moving, following a lifelong friendship and exploring the optimism of youth and the realities of later life. It honestly depicts the bonds and boundaries of a shared life and values. We are excited to be working with Andrew, Peter, Andrea and the BBC to collaborate on an authentic scripted adaptation of this acclaimed Scottish novel.”
Andrea Gibb, Screenwriter and Executive Producer, says: “Adapting Andrew O’Hagan’s magnificent novel has been one of the highlights of my career. Andrew tells his story of enduring male friendship with
Martin Compston (Line Of Duty, Vigil), Tony Curran (Your Honour, Outlaw King, Doctor Who) and Ashley Jensen (After Life, Extras) will lead the cast of new BBC drama adaptation Mayflies, it was announced today by Charlotte Moore, BBC Director of Content, at the BBC’s Edinburgh TV Festival panel.
Mayflies is an intimate and devastating portrait of male friendship that manages to be both life-affirming and heartbreaking, and we’re delighted to have assembled an outstanding lead cast and creative team to bring it from page to screen.”
— Gaynor Holmes, BBC Drama Commissioning Editor
Set and filmed in Scotland, Mayflies is a co-commission with BBC Scotland and will be made by the Bafta Award-winning Synchronicity Films (The Cry) for the BBC, adapted by Andrea Gibb (Elizabeth Is Missing) from Andrew O’Hagan’s acclaimed novel of the same name, and directed by Peter Mackie Burns (Rialto).
Everyone has a Tully Dawson (Tony Curran) - the friend who defines your life. In the summer of 1986, in a small Scottish town, Jimmy (Martin Compston) and Tully ignite a brilliant friendship based on music, films and the rebel spirit. With school over and the locked world of their fathers before them, they rush towards the climax of their youth - a magical weekend in Manchester, the epicentre of everything that inspires them in working-class Britain. There, against the greatest soundtrack ever recorded, a vow is made: to go at life differently. Thirty years on, half a life away, the phone rings. Tully has the worst kind of news, and a request that will test their friendship, love, and loyalty to the limit…
Mayflies is a memorial to youth’s euphoria and to everyday tragedy. A tender goodbye to an old union, it discovers the joy and the costs of love.
Gaynor Holmes, BBC Drama Commissioning Editor, says: “We’re incredibly proud to continue the BBC’s longstanding commitment to showcasing the very best of Scotland and Scottish talent with this distinctive new drama.
"Mayflies is an intimate and devastating portrait of male friendship that manages to be both life-affirming and heartbreaking, and we’re delighted to have assembled an outstanding lead cast and creative team to bring it from page to screen.”
Claire Mundell, Executive Producer, Founder and Creative Director of Synchronicity Films, says: “Andrew’s novel is nostalgic, poignant and moving, following a lifelong friendship and exploring the optimism of youth and the realities of later life. It honestly depicts the bonds and boundaries of a shared life and values. We are excited to be working with Andrew, Peter, Andrea and the BBC to collaborate on an authentic scripted adaptation of this acclaimed Scottish novel.”
Andrea Gibb, Screenwriter and Executive Producer, says: “Adapting Andrew O’Hagan’s magnificent novel has been one of the highlights of my career. Andrew tells his story of enduring male friendship with