“When we first got into the TV industry, it was hard to get the opportunities and access. It was a strong mission for us when we set up the company… to give more opportunity and more access.”
This was Libby Durdy, co-founder of Leeds-based Duck Soup Films, the production company behind acclaimed BBC One show Lost Boys & Fairies, discussing the origins of its Channel 4 drama series Dreamers at an RTS event last month.
Described by creator and writer of the show Lisa Holdsworth, as “the kids from Fame, but in Leeds”, Dreamers is a show about the lives, loves, friendships and rivalries of a teenage dance troupe set in and around the city’s Chapeltown area.
“We wanted to make something that felt like it was from within a community, based around dance,” Durdy continued. This would be a show “where we could have people in front and behind the camera who had never done this before, and who we could support through this process”.
Charlotte Michael from Channel 4’s 4Skills, who was involved from the start, explained the recruitment process: “Duck Soup have that understanding of the communities around Chapeltown and how to reach them.
“They went out on the streets. We held workshops to get people buoyed up about the type of roles available.”
Duck Soup co-founder Jessica Brown Meek said it was vital “to make sure those trainee opportunities were fully paid. There is the expectation that, when you start out, you do it for free. So you’re automatically cutting out a lot of people for whom that is impossible.”
Sherneka Walwyn was one of 10 trainees selected to work on Dreamers, and has since gone on to work on other TV and film projects.
“I had always wanted to work in TV,” she said. “I went to a talk at the West Indian Centre and was inspired.”
Panel host and choreographer Dawn Holgate agreed that these were “life-changing opportunities”, and the company used similar methods to cast the actor-dancers.
She said Dreamers “puts dance at the heart of the show… using improv, movement tasks and play to find the right people for the right role, and then the right style of dance for the right character”.
Dance styles include contemporary, Afrobeat, hip-hop and Irish dancing.
“We were matching dancers with screen presence as well,” Durdy added. “And it’s an ensemble piece, so [we asked whether] they work well as a group. It can affect the story.”
The story is where Holdsworth, who has penned episodes of Waterloo Road and Call the Midwife, came in. “We had a Saturday morning club online where we had 20 young people talking about what stories mattered to them,” she explained. “So we built up this mass of rich, interesting stories and characters.”
However, she said, once the main actor-dancers were cast, these “young people had more to add… their own dialogue and experiences. It made the scripts more immediate and more real.”
US-based director of photography Jackson Hunt (HBO teen comedy Betty) contributed a raw, observational documentary feel, which Durdy said was “a key decision because it needed to feel that you were in those scenes with [the characters], and match the energy of the dance”.
Leeds rapper Graft was drafted in to add authenticity and a local feel to the show’s music. “We talk a lot about ‘representation’,” said actor-dancer Tyler Pickles. “Regional representation should form part of that conversation.”
The audience wanted to know if a second series was on the way. “We feel strongly that we’ve built something here that has a life,” said Durdy. “We want to keep on because it feels so important. Matching that to stories that are authentic is something we feel passionate about.”
