Lydia West On 'It's A Sin', Michaela Coel Knowing Her Name And The 'Sex And The City' Reboot
It's A Sin is the latest drama from Russell T Davies which chronicles a group of friends in London exploring themselves and their sexuality, forging careers and having fun in the 1980s against the backdrop of the emerging Aids epidemic. Already it's being touted as one of the most riveting, heartbreaking and pioneering TV shows in recent years.
Where Pose, Rent and Philadelphia paved the way - documenting the lives of the LGBTQ+ communities of New York and other major US cities affected by this devastating, incurable disease - It's A Sin belongs to a limited number of stories depicting the effects of the virus on gay British communities and society's response.
The show begins in 1981 when the whispers of a new disease, primarily affecting gay and bisexual men, in the US start to emerge. It finishes a decade later when more information about the disease is understood but little action has been taken and the stigma - perpetuated by homophobia - is still omnipresent.
The narrative is based on Davies' experiences of being a young gay man in the 1980s while a terrifying, unknown and stigmatised new disease circulated around him. The show follows Ritchie (Years & Years frontman Olly Alexander), Roscoe (Omari Douglas), Ash (Nathaniel Curtis) and Colin (Callum Scott Howells) who are four gay friends living together above a Soho nightclub nicknamed 'the Pink Palace' (inspired by Davies' group of friends who lived in a similar party flat). The fictional characters have come to London to feel liberated and accepted away from many of their homophobic and ignorant backdrops only to be threatened by a virus no one quite understands.
The show blends in historical moments like Margaret Thatcher's enactment of Section 28, the grave, terrifying and stigmatising TV adverts broadcast on TV, the limited research and funding allocated to Aids as hundreds of men began dying. At the crux of the drama is how its main characters' lives are changed forever through this period and the lessons we can continue to learn from how Aids was perceived. Thankfully now, the majority of people living with HIV (the infection that can lead to Aids if not detected and treated) are able to live just like anyone else thanks to medical advances, testing efforts and a more tolerant society.
Another area of the show inspired by Davies' experience is through the fifth main character Jill Baxter, who lives with her four best friends in the 'palace'. Jill is based on one of the writer's closest friends and is brought to life on screen by newcomer Lydia West (who Davies previously cast in his 2020 political thriller Years and Years).
Ahead of the drama launching, West spoke to us about what she learned playing Jill, meeting the real Jill and all things on her cultural radar for ELLE UK's series My Life In Culture.
Russell told me the night before the It's A Sin read-through that my character is very loosely based on a good friend of his.
He said: 'Her name's Jill Nalder and she will be playing the part of your mum in the show.' I just felt so honoured firstly to be even just involved in the project. But also, playing someone who is in the room with me and playing my mum, it's just special. Jill is the most interesting woman. She has so many anecdotes about the time, their friendship group and all living together in the Pink Palace in real life. Real life Jill embodies everything about the character Jill - she's just beautiful and fascinating.
My mum's a nurse and worked with Aids patients in the 1980s
A lot of nurses wouldn't see [Aids] patients, there was a huge fear as no one knew anything. She saw the deterioration of these bright young men and said it was a truly traumatising experience. They would just fade away, from week to week. All she really remembers is that that side of it, just the vast number of men dying.
I learned that allies also faced a lot of prejudice at that time
And stigma. They also came face to face with some of the shame of the disease. It's eye opening that they were treated in such a way. Homophobia definitely contributed to the stigma of Aids. There was massive amounts of homophobia.
Yes, the show is timely but there are vast differences between the Aids epidemic and Coronavirus pandemic
The main thing being the response and efforts made [to stop the viruses]. It was a long time before anyone did anything [in the 1980s], because the majority of people it was killing were gay men and society that didn't see that as an issue. So, their response was not the same. If you just look at even some of the adverts like the 'don't die of ignorance' leaflet, it was just unbelievable, whereas Coronavirus is very much in the forefront of everyone's mind, in terms of getting the vaccine and making everyone better. Obviously, I'm here for that but I think the parallels between the two are that they are in just both global health pandemics. Everything else is very different.
The It's A Sin cast are now my best friends
I went to a costume fitting and I was digging around asking who was playing everyone. So I went on Instagram, stalked each person and sent a message to Ken Omari Daniel and they replied and we kind of followed each other. I didn’t message Olly because I thought he wouldn’t see it. We then had a week of kind of intense rehearsals, where we just spent every single day together. I thought we'd discuss our characters but we actually just talked about ourselves and got to know each other as individuals. It was just the best way to get to know them as people. And then when it came to filming on day one, we were already so close and then throughout filming we just actually became good friends. So much so that I class them are my best friends. They’re just all lovely.
If I could live in any era it would have been the 1980s
I want people to take away from the show that it obviously was a dreadful, traumatising time to live in. But it was also one of the most fun, free liberating, everything from fashion to music to culture. I was so happy to be immersed in in such an authentic way into that era through work. I never wear blusher in everyday life. But Jill is massively into blusher and the big eyes and the make-up artists would like coat layers of blusher on the cheeks, no blending, just a constant flushed look and I’m into it.
My biggest fangirl moment was bumping into Michaela Coel
I was walking through Hackney, I May Destroy You had just come out and she was walking towards me. I just stopped and shouted: 'MICHAELA' and she was just like 'hi'. I said, 'I'm so sorry Michaela, you don't know me but I just want to say thank you for everything that you did with I May Destroy You. You have changed the nation and I just love you.' She was so nice and said: 'Thank you so much. That's amazing. I'm so glad.' As I turned to leave she said, 'Wait, weren’t you in Years and Years?' I was like, 'No, no, Michaela don’t do this to me. This isn't about me right now.' She said she loved it. Pinch me. Michaela Coel knows who I am!
I've just watched all 94 episodes of Sex and the City...
...not knowing that they’re now doing a reboot. I’m so happy, I'm thrilled. Over Christmas, I finished all the seasons and the two films and I am livid at Carrie. I hate Carrie as a character but I also love her. When I found out [about the reboot], I was like, 'Oh my God. I can't spend any more time on Carrie but I also have to… My favourite character is Samantha... gutting.
I cannot stop screaming about Bridgerton
I love it, it is a cultural phenomenon and it should be continued to be talked about because it breaks so many boundaries which are so necessary.
I hate karaoke but this would be my go-to song
I get really nervous. I was to choose a song it would be a shower song like Celine Dion's 'Power Of Love'. I actually just did a film with Celine Dion [Text For You - also starring Priyanka Chopra-Jonas] so [my answer is] a bit cringe. I didn’t get to meet her but starring in a film she’s also in is enough.
It's A Sin airs weekly on Channel 4 from Friday January 22.
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