The six-part series starts on Sunday 27 August on BBC One.
Gothic thriller The Woman in the Wall is a sensitively crafted, fictional drama series which examines the legacy of one of Ireland’s most shocking scandals – the inhumane institutions known as The Magdalene Laundries.
What is the mystery of The Woman in the Wall? Distinct, stirring and revelatory, The Woman in the Wall is a psychologically and emotionally compelling detective story shot through with dark humour, coming soon to BBC One and iPlayer in the UK. As for the inspiration behind the series, primarily it was coming across the real-life stories of the Magdalene Laundries. I just couldn't believe what I was reading. It was Peter Mullins’ film The Magdalene Sisters that first introduced me to it. I couldn't believe that it had happened, but I also couldn't believe that I didn't know that all this had happened.
So, Colman starts out very much as an antagonist to Lorna, with him being the detective who is after her without even really realising he's after her specifically. But it's not long either before we're going to realise that there is a really personal element to this for Colman too, where it’s revealed that he himself was born in a Mother and Baby home in Dublin. It’s this personal element that's going to be driving him and getting him into lots of trouble, going a bit rogue.
We spoke to charities quite a lot during the research process for this series, and when you see that the way that these people were treated and the way they're still being treated, it's infuriating. I think there's still a long way to go. When it comes to the tone of the series I was looking at Hitchcock and Coen Brothers, filmmakers like Martin McDonagh, who blend genre really well or do one particular type of genre really well.
It's such an incredibly dense and delicately layered piece, but with a lot of twists and turns. How was staggering that and structuring a thriller? Yes, we did. Initially we did our own research, and we had our own researcher on the project who was amazing. That was a case of trawling through all of the first-hand accounts that were available from these women. Watching all the films, all the documentaries, reading all the books and all the newspaper articles we could find. And after we felt like we had a solid foundation, we then reached out to a number of different charities and groups.
It's hard to say why people don't know about this. It's interesting that such an incredibly awful, harrowing piece of Irish history that ceased to exist relatively recently, isn't more well known. It’s hard for that not to feel like an active act of repression, or covering this up, or brushing this under the rug. It’s this sense of shame that stopped people talking about this for years, and I feel like it's still stopping people from talking about it.
Yes. Oh, my God, I loved the casting process. It just makes you realise the level of talent in Ireland, it's incredible for such a small country. Genuinely incredible. We were genuinely spoilt for choice in a way that kind of broke my heart. There were so many other actors that I just wished I could have written more parts for. I could not be happier with the entire cast, including Simon Delaney, Hilda Fay, Phillipa Dunne, Ardal O’Hanlon – these people are just incredible.
I was sent the pilot a number of years ago now and thought it had real potential. Joe Murtagh had written a script that was truly unique. I thought it was swimming in something vital, dramatising a subject matter that demands attention but through the lens of genre. And not just one genre. Crime caper, psychological/gothic horror, and dark comedy. I thought it could potentially not only educate but entertain, and thereby reach a larger audience.
It’s only been in the past 10 years that the truth has really started coming out. It was shocking to me that the last Mother and Baby home closed in the 90s, such recent history. Our show is fictional, the characters are fictional, but the context is real and much of the material is inspired by true events. It feels important to make work that can platform the stories of these women and my hope is that people enjoy the series, but more importantly, go away and dig a bit deeper, learn a bit more.
What was it like to reunite with director Harry Wootliff after your collaboration on 2021’s True Things? I think Colman is angry at what appears to him to be small mindedness on behalf of the local Gardai. I think there can be an Irish tendency to sometimes sweep things under the rug in fear of hurting people or in fear of disrupting the peace. And he’s partnered with a detective called Massey who is very happy to just move things along quite quickly. So, there is a dissonance there between the two of them. They operate in very different ways.
What I really enjoyed about playing Colman was that he is really trying to keep a lid on himself, because it's the most efficient way he can get through the case. And as he meets with truths about both the Mother and Baby Homes and the murdered priest, he is being provoked by his own past – a dark past that he hasn't really decided to look at.
I think there's a frequency that she operates from that is really riveting. It was a joy. And working with Simon Delaney who plays my fellow detective, Massey, was an absolute treat. He's a fantastic actor, and obviously known more for his comedy, but I was delighted that he has such a great role in this as well, one that really shows some depth. There's such a great cast of Irish legends in this in this show that turn a brilliant performance.
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