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Then Barbara Met Alan

Then Barbara Met Alan

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Summary

Drama telling the disability civil-rights love story of two cabaret performers, who met at a gig, fell in love, and became the driving force behind an unprecedented campaign of direct action that ultimately led to the passing of the 1995 Disability Discrimination Act. Ruth Madeley stars as comedian and activist Barbara Lisicki, and Arthur Hughes as singer-songwriter and activist Alan Holdsworth

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Review

David Butcher

A spiky docudrama from Jack Thorne tells the inspiring story of the 1990s disability rights movement, showing how wheelchair ramps and anti-discrimination bills didn’t come from good intentions but from a bolshie campaign of direct action demanding “rights not charity”.

The struggle is filtered through the love story of activists Barbara Lisicki (Ruth Madeley) and Alan Holdsworth (Arthur Hughes). They met at a cabaret where she was a comedian and he fronted a band: “Together it felt like we could change the world,” she says. The first thing they challenged was “pity wrapped up in a nice pink bow”, epitomised by the ITV Telethons of the era. In a clip from one, we see Michael Aspel and Claire Rayner’s unease as the studio is invaded by protestors who see the show as voyeurism, “dangling us poor crips in front of the nation’s bleeding hearts.”

But the struggle took a toll on Barbara and Alan’s relationship: “We were great for the movement, but not for each other…”

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6.9/10

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Credits

Cast

rolenameAlanArthur HughesBarbaraRuth MadeleyReal AlanAlan HoldsworthReal BarbaraBarbara LisickiSuePhillipa ColeBillyReece PantryIanFergus RattiganVictoria ScottLaura AikmanDeepakNadeem IslamShivaliShreya M PatelLizLiz CarrMatMat Fraser

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Crew

rolenameWriterJack ThorneExecutive producerJack ThorneWriterGenevieve BarrProducerBryony ArnoldProducerDebbie ShuterExecutive producerRichard BondExecutive producerTom PullenDirectorBruce GoodisonDirectorAmit Sharma

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Details

Released on

2022-03-21

Languages

English

Formats

Colour

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