Antonia Bird

Oi For England's Green and Pleasant Land

Playwright Trevor Griffiths' Oi For England, originally set in Moss Side, was first screened by Central TV in April 1982. It was then staged at The Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, directed by the late, then resident director Antonia Bird and featured Paul McGann, Robin Hayter, Dorian Healy, Peter Lovstrom, Paul Moriarty, and Beverley Martin in the cast. The play toured youth clubs and community centres across London in a bid to engage young people in the social and political issues of the day and to unite them against racism and fascism. This film replete with exclusive interviews from Griffiths, musical director Andy Roberts and guests Alan Gilbey (east end writer) and Micky Geggus (Cockney Rejects) looks back at the tour by way of a reunion of the play's original cast and crew almost 30 years later.

Antonia Bird: From EastEnders to Hollywood

In this new documentary, Susan Kemp explores the life and work of the great British director Antonia Bird, who died in 2013. Bird blazed a trail from the radical hotbed of the Royal Court Theatre in the 70s, via the groundbreaking early days of EastEnders and Casualty in the 80s, all the way to Hollywood in the 90s and back again. She always had something urgent to say, but her career was a long struggle to get her voice heard. Featuring many of her close collaborators, including Robert Carlyle, Irvine Welsh, Kate Hardie and Mark Cousins, this documentary is the first to examine Bird’s legacy, and to place her where she belongs – among the most important British film, TV and theatre directors of her era.