“If you dare enter this world, you had better tread carefully.” – Sugar
Love, lust, desire and revenge seethe at the heart of The Crimson Petal and the White, the BBC’s risqué miniseries about the seamy underbelly of Victorian society. Adapted by acclaimed playwright Lucinda Coxon, from the classic novel by Michael Faber, The Crimson Petal and the White is one of the first projects to result from BBC 2’s push to reinvest in quality drama – and it shows.
Hailing from Origin Pictures, directed by Marc Munden (The Devil’s Whore), this miniseries boasts a veritable parade of stars, including Romola Garai, Chris O’Dowd, Gillian Anderson, Richard E Grant, Shirley Henderson, Amanda Hale and Mark Gatiss.
The BBC describes the project as:
An intimate psychological thriller, it lifts the lid on the darker side of Victorian London revealing a world seething with vitality, sexuality, ambition and emotion.
This provocative and riveting four-part drama tells the story of Sugar, an alluring, intelligent young prostitute who yearns for a better life away from the brothel she is attached to, run by the contemptible Mrs Castaway.
Highly sought after and sexually adept, Sugar finds her only comfort in the secret novel she is writing in which a murderous prostitute takes revenge on her clients.
However, things change for her when she meets wealthy businessman William Rackham. Sugar is a thrilling antidote to William’s life, saddled with a pious brother, Henry Rackham and fragile wife Agnes Rackham. Agnes regularly endures visits from the invasive physician Doctor Curlew, leaving her unable to perform her wifely duties.
William ensconces Sugar as his mistress and she soon grows accustomed to her new life. Yet unbeknown to William, Sugar begins to hatch a plan which sets a series of events in motion that will change their lives forever…
In the U.K., The Crimson Petal and the White will air March 23 at 9pm – as for us U.S. types, the airdate and outlet (BBC America? Showtime? HBO?) have yet to be determined.
Still, I think it’s safe to say this is one BBC costume drama we will not be seeing on PBS!
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