The Road Dance: 1 (Hebrides)

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I followed up by watching the movie and delighted at the scenery, accents and musical score that enhanced my immersion into the story and sense of place. As events unravel, Kirsty’s life is changed forever, and the consequences of that evening have a far-reaching impact upon the life she has dreamed of. Hall, Sandra (7 December 2022). "There's little joy to be found in the harsh and secretive Road Dance". The Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 24 October 2023. There have been a lot of ups and downs, but it was thrilling when it was finally greenlit. I’m really looking forward to seeing how it turns out.”

After finishing the book, there was no doubt in his mind that a feature film needed to be made about The Road Dance.” My previous acting experience involved the challenging role of playing a newsreader in a TV drama. And my voice was overdubbed with an English accent.

The Road Dance where to watch?

Kirsty Macleod, perfectly depicted by Hermione Corfield, is film’s strong female protagonist. She falls in love with Murdo MacAuley, a young boy from the community, played by Will Fletcher, and together they dream of leaving the island for the US, escaping the scrape of the land, the repression of the church and the inevitability of their lives if they stayed. If you are familiar with the book, you may find that the ‘twist’ is revealed too easily and too early. If you enjoy the costumes of The Outlander, this has similar vibes. If you like your films fast paced with lots of chaotic action, then The Road Dance is not your usual watch, but don’t dismiss it out of hand; a change of pace and genre may be just what you need right now. If you love seeing literature laced through your viewing, you will adore The Road Dance. If you want to provoke a discussion with young people about the issues involved, there is a whole workshop based around this film begging to be written. If you are someone who has been affected by sexual trauma, then I simply want to warn you that that is included, but to reassure you that the resolution of the film is overwhelmingly heartening. The drama and harshness of the landscape contributes to the atmosphere of the film, but it also helps to highlight the power of this small community that, living such an isolated life within a strict religious culture, must band together in times like these. The road dance itself. We had the whole cast together and we tried to keep spirits up and make it look like a party when a hurricane was coming in! There was also a swimming scene that was crazy to film, it was so cold. I had to just scream and run in. Richie Adams’ task in the film of The Road Dance was to bring that story, inspired by true events, to life in another media. The written word allows authors the freedom to get inside the heads of characters and to convey what they are thinking; it is not always an easy thing to translate the contents of a novel into a visual format where those unspoken thought processes and feelings must be communicated through the emotions and the script. I have a love-hate relationship with film adaptations; sometimes they work, sometimes they are appallingly bad, but always they must, by necessity, take occasional liberties with the original. The Road Dance is no different in that. Much of the complexity of the story is removed, but what has emerged is something that is beautiful to view, disturbing in its subject matter, respectful of the original and that carries weighty resonance in today’s Me-Too culture.

This was the only world Kirsty MacLeod knew, but she dreamed of more. There had always been restlessness within her; it was the very essence of her. She read in her Bible of peoples and of lands so different from anything she knew.’ Released to tie in with the acclaimed film tie-in, The Road Dance follows Kirsty MacLeod, a beautiful young woman, coveted by all the young men of her island village. She dreams of America, of following the setting sun west to a better life. She meets the man who promises to make her dreams come true, but then the Great War breaks out. You can read an extract of the book, and watch the film trailer, below. Hermione Corfield delivers a strong performance as Kirsty, and the cinematography captures the beauty and loneliness of the isolated island. However, the film fails to deliver the emotional impact that the subject matter demands. The story touches on issues of patriarchy and parochialism, but these themes are not explored in-depth. The film also suffers from comparison to Terence Davies' Sunset Song, which is a more nuanced and complex portrayal of women's experiences in a historical setting. In news, I’m used to a story appearing on screen by the end of the day. It’s a completely different timescale with a film. The Road Dance, directed by Richard Adams, is a historical melodrama set on a remote Scottish island during World War I. Kirsty, played by Hermione Corfield, is assaulted by a group of soldiers and becomes pregnant as a result. She tries to hide her pregnancy for almost seven months, knowing that revealing it would ruin her reputation and bring shame to her family. The village gossip, Old Peggy, becomes suspicious of Kirsty and begins to spread rumors. The film was premiered at the 2021 Edinburgh International Film Festival where it won the Audience Award for Best Film. [5] The film was released on 20 May 2022. [6] Critical response [ edit ]

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A year passes and Kirsty leaves to live with her uncle in America. She is reunited with Murdo, who was revealed to have been held as a prisoner of war in Germany. The authenticity of filming on the island where events happened, adds so much. Weather conditions, short daylight hours, the quality of the light in that place, historical buildings, local people enlisted as extras, musicians from the area, and that extraordinary raw scenery, could not have been emulated anywhere else, and the production’s full investment in the Isle of Lewis shines through. Originally, this film premiered at The Edinburgh International Film Festival in 2021, and there is a deep sense of ‘rightness’ about that, as it is a Scottish film through and through, made during Covid on a relatively low budget, using smatterings of Gaelic, authentic Schottische routines, the practicalities of a crofting lifestyle, and referencing things that have their roots in that unique heritage – the road ceilidh (or dance) being the main one, but it’s general release gives it the wider audience it deserves.

There was no doubt in his mind that a feature film needed to be made about The Road Dance.’ Maryilene Blondell, CEO of Sheridan Road Productions That’s difficult, there really are so many. The cast all went for a day out in Harris, and we saw beautiful waterfalls and scenery. That was the last weekend, when the film had all been wrapped, so we were sad it was coming to an end, and it was good to have a day out altogether.I loved the war scene too. They cleared an old quarry, and it was so atmospheric to act in. That was an amazing day, that all the boys really enjoyed.” The Road Dance scene. Credit: Parkland Entertainment What was your favourite memory from making The Road Dance? I first heard the story – or what formed the core of my story – from a cousin in the Hebrides, and I was disbelieving at first, but it turned out to be true. I created a fictional story around it, but I couldn’t have written The Road Dance if I didn’t know that it was based on a truth. I researched old newspapers and found references to the original story. It was a very tragic case that happened some decades before my story, which is set around the outbreak of the First World War.” How could I have my home in America while I have my own big girl right here on the island? You’re here, your Mam is here and Neil and Annie. This is my home.’

Will Fletcher plays Kirsty’s love interest Murdo in The Road Dance. We spoke to him to find out more about the challenges and highlights of filming on the Isle of Lewis and why this is such an important story to tell. Will Fletcher and Hermione Corfield play the film’s leads. Credit: Parkland Entertainment Can you tell us a bit about Murdo’s character and his journey in the film? It’s hugely exciting. It was a long road to get here with a lot of let downs along the way. At times I didn’t think it would happen and a lot of productions do fall by the wayside. But the American producers – Jim Kreutzer and Maryilene Blondell – were tenacious in wanting to make it happen because they believed so strongly in the story. The first time I saw the film on the silver screen was a special moment.”It was the power of the story that drew me first. Everything else followed from there. I found that when I began writing The Road Dance, I had a strong sense of place and community because of my family connections and the time had spent there. After the positive reaction to The Road Dance, especially people’s appreciation of the setting, it made sense to set my other stories there. My most recent novel, Home (Luath Press 2021), could only have been set in the Western Isles because it charts the lives of different generations who pass through one home. That doesn’t really happen in urban areas.” John being the gentleman that he has been all the way throughout this said ‘sure I believe you’ and came on board.”