“The
full impact of war on human lives
is tackled in the World War I hospital
period drama The Crimson Field, as
doctors, nurses and volunteers work
together dealing with injured and sick
soldiers often with appalling injuries
and in the most difficult conditions...”
CARING FOR BRITISH SOLDIERS and troops from all over the world, along with
civilians who have been caught up in the conflict or need medical treatment,
a team of doctors, nurses and volunteers from all walks of life are thrown together
in The Crimson Field, the story of a World War I hospital at a British
base close to the front at Boulogne, France, in 1915.
Beginning with the arrival of volunteers Catherine "Kitty" Trevelyan (Oona Chaplin:
The Hour), a deeply troubled young woman who intriguingly throws a wedding
ring into the water; the passionately 'modern' yet naïve Flora Marshall (Alice
St Clair) and the Honourable Rosalie Berwick (Marianne Oldham: WPC 56),
The Crimson Field explores the personal and working lives of the inexperienced
young women for whom the horrific consequences of war is to become all too real.
“The
Crimson Field
is a heartfelt, intriguing
and absorbing journey
into an important
milestone in history with
believable characters
portrayed sensitively...”
Latecomer
Sister Joan Livesey (superb character development by Suranne Jones: Scott and
Bailey) arrives by motorbike and is greeted with open arms as a qualified nurse.
She obviously worries for her fiancé fighting in the war, but why is she so
reluctant to talk about him?
Although blessed with a heart of gold, newly-appointed Matron Grace Carter (Hermione
Norris: Spooks) rules the field hospital with a rod of iron. Like other
professionals at the hospital, she is particularly hard on the volunteers who
have yet to prove themselves.
Grace has her own secrets, shared with her long-time friend and colleague, Sister
Margaret Quayle (Kerry Fox: Shallow Grave), who bitterly resents being
overlooked as it seemed certain that she should have become matron. The hospital
is overseen by the fair-minded and respected Lt Colonel Roland Brett (Kevin
Doyle: Downton Abbey), who himself has a son fighting the enemy.
Each day more wounded, distressed and shell-shocked soldiers arrive at the hospital,
including Lance Corporal Lawrence Prentiss (Karl Davies), who suffers from seizures
that prove to be helped by music and who falls foul of the unsympathetic Colonel
Charles Purbright (Adam James), who believes only visible injuries can keep
soldiers from the war; Major Edward Crecy (Rupert Graves), who has lost both
his legs and refuses to be moved to the tent that houses the officer's ward;
and a Belgian man, Jaco Tillens (Daniel Betts), whose daughter Mathilde (Abigail
Eames) has been hurt and who is suspiciously hiding a book of German poems.
Suffering personal tragedies, the newcomers struggle to earn the respect of
the medics and deal with their own issues while faced with various problems
that include a soldier who may have self-inflicted injuries, a possible spy,
an Irish soldier who refuses to wear the British army uniform, a sick man being
shot as a deserter, and a unit that believes they are the Lucky Thirteen and
refuse to leave without all their men.
One will face her demons; one will find love; one will learn humility and another
will risk being shot as a spy. Exploiting the rich mixture of human life in
all its dimensions, each of the six episodes are at times emotive, tender, heart-breaking,
amusing and surreal.
On the coast of France, the hospital is a frontier between two worlds = the
trenches and the home front; between the old rules, regulations, hierarchies,
class distinction and a new way of thinking.
This is BBC One's flagship World War I drama, the story of World War One's front-line
medics that embodies the endurance, supreme courage and hope of all its protagonists;
and their personal tragedies, hopes and fears as they fight for a better future.
The Crimson Field is a heartfelt, intriguing and absorbing journey into
an important milestone in history with believable characters portrayed sensitively.
The Crimson Field also features: Richard Rankin as Surgeon Captain Thomas
Gillan; Alex Wyndham as Surgeon Captain Miles Hesketh-Thorne; Jack Gordon as
Corporal Peter Foley; Jeremy Swift as QMS Reggie Soper; Michael Nardone as Private
Elias Molloy; Simon Wilson as Padre; Jodhi May as Adelinde Crecy; William Troughton
as Soldier Lucky; Guy Rhys as Patient Hemmings/Wounded Man; Fraser James as
Noah Shoemaker; Tommy McDonnell as Private Jackie Byesford; Bradley John as
Private George Shoemaker; and Peter Sullivan as Major Jocelyn Ballard.
Written by Sarah Phelps (one of British television's most exciting writers and
responsible for the television adaptations of Great Expectations and
Oliver Twist); Series Music by Rob Lane and Benjamin Wallfisch; Cinematography
by Tim Fleming and Matt Gray; Producer is Ann Tricklebank; Development Producer
is Sarah Barton; Executive Producers include Sarah Phelps; Directed by David
Evans and Thaddeus O'Sullivan.
*
To
mark one hundred years since the start of World War One, this brand new BBC
drama commission The Crimson Field aired on BBC1 in April 2014 and is
released courtesy of RLJ Entertainment on DVD and Blu-ray in the UK on 19 May
2014. Running Time: 360 Minutes | Two Discs | Catalogue Number: DVD AV31651,
RRP £19.99; Blu-ray AB2012, RRP £24.99. Special Features Include: Behind The
Scenes | Cast Interviews.
"The Crimson Field is a heartfelt, intriguing and absorbing journey into
an important milestone in history with believable characters portrayed sensitively"
—Maggie Woods
“The
full impact of war on human lives