In Ridley Road’s opening scene, we are transported into a picturesque town house. A young boy sporting blue pyjamas enters the bedroom, singing a nursery rhyme at the top of his lungs. He begins playfully toying with a woman with a striking blonde bob and together they are smiling and laughing. The boy’s father joins them in the bedroom and then the boy leads them all in Nazi salutes. They all hold their positions with chilling smiles; my heart sank to the pit of my stomach. The contrast from a seemingly idyllic life to the symbols I was now watching on screen was disturbing. What surprised me even more was the location and date shown on screen – Kent, England 1962.
The woman with the striking blonde bob is newcomer Agnes O’Casey, playing lead character Vivien Epstein. ‘I didn't even realise that that antisemitic rhetoric got worse after the Second World War. I guess you just assume that people would be more compassionate, but that wasn’t the case at all,’ she says when I ask her about the impact of that first scene. O’Casey speaks softly over the phone, but her character erupts onto the screen, in an opening scene that will be remembered.
BBC One’s drama series Ridley Road is from the mind of award-winning writer Sarah Solemani and adapted from the critically acclaimed novel, Ridley Road, by Jo Bloom. The series is inspired by the struggle of the 62 Group, a coalition of Jewish men who stood up against rising neo-Nazism in post-war Britain. After the man Vivien loves flees to join the 62 Group, she rejects her comfortable middle-class life in Manchester and joins the fight against fascism herself, infiltrating a neo-Nazi movement and risking everything for her beliefs and for love. Vivien is a hairdresser from Manchester who becomes an unlikely hero.
Agnes O Casey’ is ecstatic about playing such a strong character in her first ever TV role, ‘She's living this double life and I’m really playing two characters, the way Sarah [Solemani] has written the layers to this character, as an actor it’s so great to sink your teeth into.’
While nestled out of view to many, fascism is on the rise in the UK. Against the backdrop of the developing Israel-Gaza crisis this summer, the UK saw rising numbers of antisemitic and anti-Islamophobic attacks in the UK. ‘This story felt so personal, especially after Brexit too. This story needs to be told now more than ever,' says Agnes.
‘We all need to practice tolerance and realise what strange biases are in your head.'
Agnes graduated from The Lir Academy in 2020, ‘You have so little control over what you do as an actor, especially when you first graduate but to have a role like this is unbelievable.’ You wouldn’t know from watching that this was Agnes’ first TV role, she brings an experienced level of vulnerability to the role of Vivien. ‘Whilst playing Vivien there were loads of things I had to confront about myself because she's so brave and selfless,’ she says when I ask what she’s learnt from playing her. ‘She’s also so commanding as well, that was great to have to step into . When I was working on it I was thinking - there's so many times that I have stepped back or stayed within my comfort zone when I should have done the opposite.'
‘Playing someone so brave put a lot into perspective about how much we can do if we choose to step up.'
However, the reason for Vivien leaving her cushy life in Manchester is more complicated than meets the eye. ‘She does leave because she loves him [Jack] but she's also unhappy in her situation and feels trapped. She does what I tend to do – when you project everything onto your romantic relationships - you think okay, this will save me.’ Agnes explains that while Vivien is in love, she also experiences a a ‘yearning’ for something else. ‘Throughout the story, she's kept out of the loop. So, she takes things into her own hands and it's a journey of self-discovery. Vivien learns about her own potential and finds her purpose.’
7-year-old Agnes O’Casey was certain she would be an actress. Her grandmother would take her on regular theatre trips to watch plays written by her great grandfather, playwright Sean O' Casey. ‘His plays were definitely the spark that got me going. I love them so much and would like to be in one of them, one day,’ she says. ‘The women in his plays are the ones that are holding the fort together, driving the action and keeping everyone safe throughout which is amazing.’ She says candidly, ‘I never met him – but I’d like to think that he’d like me.’
For Agnes, the story of Ridley Road is personal, ‘My dad's dad was Jewish, but he died when he was young. While reading the Ridley Road script, I was talking to my dad a lot'. She explains that previously he didn’t speak about that time in his life, but getting the role was a great way to start a dialogue. ‘You know how dads are.. he was like oh, here's all of this stuff, we have never spoken about,’ she recounted playfully. But what he gave her was a collection of resources and family letters.
‘He said now I have a reason to give this to you; it was really special, and I can’t wait for him to watch it.’
She also had a great relationship with the show’s writer Sarah Solemani, ‘She was so supportive; I would call her and be like, "I’m rubbish", and she’d reply, "I can see that you’re not", says Agnes. ‘I read the scripts and I loved them but going on set, so many insecurities can cloud your head. So, it was really good to be able to just go back and chat – I owe her so much.’ She continued, ‘Sarah would also hype me up, she would be like, just f*cking do it – just get in there,’ she erupts into laughter. ‘Sarah’s so connected to the show– it’s her whole heart.’
When I question what’s next for her - she takes a moment, ‘I never could have imagined Ridley Road because it was so perfect. I'd like to keep working with interesting people and on things that feel like they matter. Ridley Road was so satisfying as there was so much love being poured into it because it meant so much. It was also really fun – the show isn’t bashing you over the head with an agenda, it's just a really great story.’
‘There's so much I hope people take away from Ridley Road, she pauses, ‘I hope that it encourages more dialogue and research about fascism. We have to be educated and not class it as something that just happened in the 30s. I really hope it starts a good conversation.'
Ridley Road continues on BBC One on Sunday at 9pm - Lead image by Iona Wolff