Rachel Shenton, who won an Oscar for best live action short in 2018 with her tearjerker “The Silent Child,” has created “Gladstone Girls,” a new scripted podcast series in which she also stars.
Chris Overton, who directed “The Silent Child,” is set to direct “Gladstone Girls.”
Shenton, who is also known for her turn as Helen in British drama “All Creatures Great and Small,” will appear in the series alongside Anna Madeley (“All Creatures Great And Small”), Dot Atkinson (“Mum”) and Adrian Rawlins (“Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone”).
The six-part series, produced by Slick Films, tells the story of a group of female workers who work in a pottery factory and are “determined to protect ‘Curl Friday’, a factory tradition that they hold dear,” according to the logline.
The tradition sees the group turn their workplace into a hair salon every Friday night as they prepare to hit the town. But when a new floor manager arrives he threatens to dock the women’s wages if they dare show up in rollers. In response, the group stage a peaceful protest that soon has wide-ranging repercussions.
It is set in 1970s Stoke-on-Trent in England, where Shenton’s family hails from. Shenton says she wrote the show as an homage to her family. “My nan, grandad, aunts and uncles all worked on the pots,” said Shenton. “I wanted to create a piece that celebrates the city, the heritage and the people”.
“This is an exciting true story with bundles of heart and comedy, but at the centre piece is an important story which is very current today,” said Overton. “The characters are so vibrant. It could be the most fun I’ve ever had making something”.
Bryony Pulizzi will produce the series. “Rachel’s writing perfectly captures the spirit and pride of the people we all know and adore in the area,” said Pulizzi. “It’s a real celebration of everything that’s great about Stoke, the industry that built us and the people in it”.
