“Punk seemed to be the right musical style for 50-plus women suddenly feeling invisible in the world”
– We met the multi-award-winning British television writer to discuss her new series, a surprising feminist manifesto starring five women who form a rock band
(© Sebastiano Stringola/Italian Global Series Festival)
The multi-award-winning British television screenwriter and director Sally Wainwright (Last Tango in Halifax, Happy Valley, six BAFTAs) is taking part in the Comedy competition at the second edition of the Italian Global Series Festival (Rimini and Riccione, 3-11 July) with her new series, which she created, wrote and directed, Riot Women. We met her on this occasion to discuss her series – a feminist manifesto about a group of middle-aged women who form a punk-rock band that will revolutionise their lives – broadcast on BBC One and available on BBC iPlayer, and which has already been confirmed for a second season.
Cineuropa: In Riot Women, the band isn’t built around musical talent, but around a shared desire for change. At what point did you realise that forming a punk band would become the emotional engine for the story?
Sally Wainwright: It was quite early on. I decided I wanted to write about women going through a certain point in their lives, around 50 and beyond, where you’re juggling a lot of things. You’ve got responsibilities like elderly parents, your marriage not necessarily being as good as it used to be, kids who still need attention, and you’re probably at the height of your career, so there are also work responsibilities. Then the menopause comes to get you in the middle of all that. I was going through it myself about 10 years ago, and I felt like my personality was breaking down. I felt like I was disappearing, and I didn’t know why. So I wanted to write about it, but in a way that wasn’t a big downer, but rather something engaging for an audience. So the idea of marrying that with a female rock band came about, because I’d always wanted to write about a female rock band. It was just putting the two together. And punk felt very appropriate, because there’s nothing angrier than menopausal women. It seemed to be the right musical style for 50-plus women suddenly feeling invisible in the world, which I think is a very common experience.
The title evokes rebellion but the series seems to be more interested in everyday acts of resistance. What does “riot” really mean for you in the context of these women’s lives?
It has two meanings. First, it references the Riot Grrrl movement and what was happening in the US in the ’90s, a nod to Courtney Love, but also the fact that they’re definitely not girls anymore, they’re women. For me, Riot Women is about writing real women, because there are so many clichés and stereotypes of women in television, historically written by men. So it’s about saying: this is what women in their 50s and 60s are really like. They’re not little old ladies who’ve given up. They’ve still got a lot to say, a lot of energy, a lot of opinions, and they want to express them. The “riot” is women taking centre stage, because women of that age don’t.
The series places solidarity at its heart. Was it also a political choice, as well as a narrative one, to portray adult female friendship as a transformative force?
Yes, I guess so, because it’s something you don’t often see on telly — how supportive women are of each other. I’m separating from my husband at the moment, and my support group in my life is all women, all my female friends – friends from school, from university. We’re hopefully getting away from women just talking about men all the time. I did want to show that women are much more emotionally articulate. That’s why I like writing for women: they say things, they have conversations that get to the bottom of things, whereas men tend to just go and watch the football instead.
Riot Women moves between comedy and drama, often within the same scene. What does this tonal mix allow you to say about these women that a purely dramatic tone or approach wouldn’t?
I write like that because I think it’s more truthful. Life is pretty funny, and bad things happen, but we as human beings are predominantly funny. People often choose humour to communicate; if you can say something in a funny way, most people will. Even when things are difficult, people still have a lot of humanity in them. I don’t think it’s true to life when everything is grim and dark. Life is a balance, and I always try to reflect that in what I’m writing.
The chemistry between the cast is one of the series’ greatest strengths. What were you looking for during the casting process?
We were looking for an interesting combination of actors who we knew the audience would love. We were lucky – we got five leading ladies, which was great. We didn’t cast it around one person. The only one I was keen to get right was Kitty, because we needed somebody who could sing, so we went to Rosalie Craig, who is a fabulous singer. She wasn’t as big a star as the others, but I hope she is now. It was about getting the chemistry right, that sense that they can have their arguments but are excited about the band, and that this breaks down barriers between them. I asked all the actresses to learn to play an instrument, because I wanted it to feel authentic. I didn’t want it to look like anyone could just do it. I also learned to play the guitar and the drums as research for the show.
How far along is the development of the second season?
I’m writing the third episode of season two now, which picks up two years later, and they still feel really supportive and tight. Whatever is going on in their lives, they have this joyous thing to come back to: the band. It’s their therapy.
