Olivia Colman Stars In A New Adaptation Of Great Expectations
Olivia Colman fans get excited: the Oscar winner and beloved actress’ new Dickens series is nearly upon us. She’ll portray the iconic character of Ms Havisham from the Charles Dickens story Great Expectations, one of the most popular of all of Dickens’ literary creations. The adaptation will be a TV series made by a collaboration of the BBC and American network FX, and is heading to our screens on 26th March.
The series was announced a while ago, but we’ve finally gotten our first trailer. It’s very brief but gives a short glimpse of Colman’s Havisham meeting the young Pip. “What a prize creature we have fished on the river”, she says, in Colman’s inimitable style. Starring alongside her is Fionn Whitehead as Pip, the central character in the original story, an orphan whose early life and education are the central focus of the novel. Whitehead is most famous for appearing in Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk, as well as Black Mirror: Bandersnatch. Ashley Thomas (Top Boy) plays lawyer Jaggers, Johnny Harris (The Salisbury Poisonings) plays escaped convict Magwitch, and Shalom Brune-Franklin (Line of Duty) plays Estella Havisham. Additionally, Matt Berry, known for The It Crowd and Toast will appear as Mr Pumblechuck.
The plot of Great Expectations will follow closely to the book, though it will be told in a darker, more modern way. Dicken’s novel follows the young adult years of Pip, a blacksmith’s apprentice living in a country village in Kent. He befriends and begins to fall for Estella, the daughter of Miss Havisham, a hugely wealthy and reclusive woman who was left at the altar some years ago. There may have only been a few seconds of footage in the trials, but Colman seems to have fully disappeared into the odd and gothic role. Eventually, Pip is told that he will inherit a large amount of money (his “great expectations”)- and finds himself navigating the world of high society. The story features themes of social class, loyalty and self-improvement, and is one of the most acclaimed works of literature in history.
Colman is far from the first person to play the eccentric and iconic role of Miss Havisham- Helena Bonham Carter portrayed the role in a 2012 film adaptation, as well as Gillian Anderson in another TV series adaption the previous year. The series itself is being written by Steven Knight, creator of Peaky Blinders, who also produced a version of A Christmas Carol a few years ago starring Guy Pierce.
The first two episodes of Great Expectations will drop on 26 March
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Again, there’s no concrete release date, but it’s currently slated to air later this year. The series will be six parts long, and Colman’s performance will undoubtedly be the main draw. The new series will also be co-produced by director Ridley Scott as well as actor Tom Hardy, so there’s plenty of talent behind the camera as well as in front of it. It’s a six-part miniseries, with the first two episodes released together on 26th March.