Interview: Stephen Poliakoff
With period dramas appearing to be a clear favourite with viewers across the country, and an abundance of them on our screen, the release of Stephen Poliakoff's latest period offering could have been at risk of fading into the background.
But with a score composed by jazz specialists and Emmy award winners, Dancing on the Edge certainly had no trouble being heard.
The idea for Dancing on the Edge was born was born during the research and writing of The Lost Prince.
"It really started many years ago. During researching for The Lost Prince I discovered that the Prince of Wales, the future Edward VIII, had knocked around with jazz bands in the 1920s and '30s, and was an incredible fan. He had friendships and relationships with black musicians."
"I was thinking about how Britain must have looked through the eyes of a black musician, and what an incredible thing it must have been to cross that class and race divide. It was like an oasis of time where members of the elite were interested in black jazz musicians."
"With our financial crash and audiences constantly being referred back to the '30s to try to understand the slump that we're in, that time has become very resonant for us. That's really the inspiration for the show."
Poliakoff's own parents were young adults during the 30s and some of their experience feature in the series.
"That world of the West End, big hotels and how bands could become hugely popular overnight, that was all from stories my parents had told me."
From research to writing and filming, the series took the best part of two years to create. And for Poliakoff, this was one of his longest projects to date.
"I'd only done series that were four hours before, so doing six hours was quite a mammoth task to take. And I directed the whole thing myself which is unusual nowadays."
The musical aspect, which makes this period piece stand out from others, was hugely important to Poliakoff, and portraying the excitement audiences would have felt hearing live music at the time.
"The music is obviously delightful and we wanted to reflect the excitement that they would have felt being in the same room as hearing that music which was so different from the foxtrots that they had been brought up with."
"We only know very early swing music from early recordings or modern re-interpretations, and the technology then didn't do justice to the richness of the sound and the vibrancy of it. So we really wanted that sound and excitement to come across for audiences today."
To enhance the excitement of the music the entire score was composed from scratch by Adrian Johnston and arranged by Paul Englishby, with some scenes being shot live. But how easy was it to cast actors that could sing and musicians that could act?
"It was quite tricky, but we managed it. We pre-recorded the music but the majority of the musicians you see in the series also play on the sound track. So they're a sort of semi-real band."
"We initially thought we'd have to find two singers that could act, and we had open auditions for singers all over the country, but we ended up with two very fine actors (Angel Coulby and Wunmi Mosaku) who could sing. It was surprising to hear that neither of them had ever sung in public!"
Downton Abbey is one of the most popular and talked about period dramas to date. So what does the creator of our latest period offering think of the series?
"It's [Dancing on the Edge] obviously very different as it's got great songs which Downton doesn't have. People know my work, it moves into a darker world. I'm interested in the perplexity of human behaviour in quite a complex and different way to Downton. Downton is aimed at a broader audience."
"I certainly don't belittle it, I think it's great. Its success shows how much people love drama and love to immerse themselves in people's lives at another time."
For a man whose name is as well known in the theatre world as on television, I wondered, if he had to make the choice to continue with just one medium, which one would he pick?
"I spent a great deal of my career in the theatre, 25 years in fact. I had this great freedom and also an interaction with the audience, which was exciting. But even with 12 weeks on the west end, you don't reach many people."
"Now with DVD and iPlayer, television is even more accessible, you don't have to be in that night to see something. It can ripple on and on, people can mention it to you years afterwards, and that's very exciting."
"Despite that though, it's difficult, but I'd have to say theatre because I've been away from it for so long. But it would be a very difficult choice."
Although Poliakoff may potentially go back to his theatre roots, fans of Dancing on the Edge will be excited to hear that he's not finished with tv yet.
"I never really wanted to do a straight sequel to Dancing on the Edge, but I am just beginning to think about a cousin to it, using the history of the music. It's really embryonic at the moment so I can't really say any more now!"
Dancing on the Edge is out on DVD now, from ITV Studios Global Entertainment
We have 10 copies of the fabulous Dancing on the Edge soundtrack to give away. To enter, simply click here
But with a score composed by jazz specialists and Emmy award winners, Dancing on the Edge certainly had no trouble being heard.
The idea for Dancing on the Edge was born was born during the research and writing of The Lost Prince.
"It really started many years ago. During researching for The Lost Prince I discovered that the Prince of Wales, the future Edward VIII, had knocked around with jazz bands in the 1920s and '30s, and was an incredible fan. He had friendships and relationships with black musicians."
"I was thinking about how Britain must have looked through the eyes of a black musician, and what an incredible thing it must have been to cross that class and race divide. It was like an oasis of time where members of the elite were interested in black jazz musicians."
"With our financial crash and audiences constantly being referred back to the '30s to try to understand the slump that we're in, that time has become very resonant for us. That's really the inspiration for the show."
Poliakoff's own parents were young adults during the 30s and some of their experience feature in the series.
"That world of the West End, big hotels and how bands could become hugely popular overnight, that was all from stories my parents had told me."
From research to writing and filming, the series took the best part of two years to create. And for Poliakoff, this was one of his longest projects to date.
"I'd only done series that were four hours before, so doing six hours was quite a mammoth task to take. And I directed the whole thing myself which is unusual nowadays."
The musical aspect, which makes this period piece stand out from others, was hugely important to Poliakoff, and portraying the excitement audiences would have felt hearing live music at the time.
"The music is obviously delightful and we wanted to reflect the excitement that they would have felt being in the same room as hearing that music which was so different from the foxtrots that they had been brought up with."
"We only know very early swing music from early recordings or modern re-interpretations, and the technology then didn't do justice to the richness of the sound and the vibrancy of it. So we really wanted that sound and excitement to come across for audiences today."
To enhance the excitement of the music the entire score was composed from scratch by Adrian Johnston and arranged by Paul Englishby, with some scenes being shot live. But how easy was it to cast actors that could sing and musicians that could act?
"It was quite tricky, but we managed it. We pre-recorded the music but the majority of the musicians you see in the series also play on the sound track. So they're a sort of semi-real band."
"We initially thought we'd have to find two singers that could act, and we had open auditions for singers all over the country, but we ended up with two very fine actors (Angel Coulby and Wunmi Mosaku) who could sing. It was surprising to hear that neither of them had ever sung in public!"
Downton Abbey is one of the most popular and talked about period dramas to date. So what does the creator of our latest period offering think of the series?
"It's [Dancing on the Edge] obviously very different as it's got great songs which Downton doesn't have. People know my work, it moves into a darker world. I'm interested in the perplexity of human behaviour in quite a complex and different way to Downton. Downton is aimed at a broader audience."
"I certainly don't belittle it, I think it's great. Its success shows how much people love drama and love to immerse themselves in people's lives at another time."
For a man whose name is as well known in the theatre world as on television, I wondered, if he had to make the choice to continue with just one medium, which one would he pick?
"I spent a great deal of my career in the theatre, 25 years in fact. I had this great freedom and also an interaction with the audience, which was exciting. But even with 12 weeks on the west end, you don't reach many people."
"Now with DVD and iPlayer, television is even more accessible, you don't have to be in that night to see something. It can ripple on and on, people can mention it to you years afterwards, and that's very exciting."
"Despite that though, it's difficult, but I'd have to say theatre because I've been away from it for so long. But it would be a very difficult choice."
Although Poliakoff may potentially go back to his theatre roots, fans of Dancing on the Edge will be excited to hear that he's not finished with tv yet.
"I never really wanted to do a straight sequel to Dancing on the Edge, but I am just beginning to think about a cousin to it, using the history of the music. It's really embryonic at the moment so I can't really say any more now!"
Dancing on the Edge is out on DVD now, from ITV Studios Global Entertainment
We have 10 copies of the fabulous Dancing on the Edge soundtrack to give away. To enter, simply click here