Sanditon on Masterpiece
Experience Jane Austen's last, fragmented work
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Fred Vigeant
Noted screenwriter Andrew Davies (Pride and Prejudice, Les Misérables, Primetime Emmy® winner for Little Dorrit) picks up Jane Austen’s plot and takes it in a glorious and satisfying direction, on Sanditon on Masterpiece Sundays at 9:00 PM beginning January 12 on WITF.
The bold and lavish adaptation of Jane Austen’s final work stars Rose Williams (Curfew) as Austen’s lively but levelheaded heroine, Charlotte Heywood; Theo James (Divergent) as the humorous, charming (and slightly wild!) Sidney Parker; Anne Reid (Years and Years) as the forthright grande dame of Sanditon, Lady Denham; Kris Marshall (Love Actually, Death in Paradise) as Sanditon’s compulsively enterprising promoter, Tom Parker; and Crystal Clarke (Ordeal by Innocence) as the mysterious West Indian heiress, Miss Lambe.
Also appearing are Kate Ashfield (Secrets and Lies) as Tom’s stalwart spouse, Mary; Jack Fox (Riviera) as the fortune hunter Sir Edward Denham; Charlotte Spencer (Watership Down) as Sir Edward’s scheming sister, Esther; and Lily Sacofsky (Bancroft) as the enigmatic and elegant Clara Brereton.
Tom Parker (Marshall) is obsessed with turning the sleepy seaside village of Sanditon into a fashionable health resort, and he enlists the backing of local bigwig Lady Denham (Reid). Through a mishap, Tom makes the acquaintance of the Heywoods and invites their eldest daughter, Charlotte (Williams), for an extended stay at Sanditon. There, the sensible Charlotte observes hypochondria, avarice and attempted seduction run amok. Lady Denham, a widow, is playing matchmaker for her destitute nephew, Sir Edward (Fox), who is determined to seduce Lady Denham’s ward, Clara (Sacofsky). The arrival of wealthy, mixed-race heiress Miss Lambe (Clarke), under the protection of Tom’s upright brother Sidney (James), adds an interesting complication. Eligible men naturally find Miss Lambe fascinating, while Charlotte is intrigued by Sidney…
Watch Sanditon on Masterpiece Sunday January 12 at 9:00 PM and continuing through February on WITF. The program is available on-demand through our website and via the PBS app.
A collection of interviews, photos, and music videos, featuring local musicians who have stopped by the WITF performance studio to share a little discussion and sound. Produced by WITF’s Joe Ulrich.
