Keeping Faith

I had intended over the summer to write an entry on the subject of the BBC TV drama ‘Keeping Faith‘ – which we appreciated considerably throughout its eight week run. What with one thing and another I did not get around it and the moment has now somewhat passed, though I have no doubt that the series could be found online should the gentle reader feel moved to seek it out.

There were – however – several features of the show that I feel are sufficiently worthy of mention that I beg the indulgence of casual browsers and dedicated followers alike. You can – after all – simply skip ahead should you get bored!

‘Keeping Faith‘ was made initially for S4C (the Channel 4 Welsh language service) and was shown thereon in November of last year in Welsh with English subtitles. The subsequent run on BBC Wales this February was in English, as was the eventual showing on BBC One during the summer.

Unusually the series was shot simultaneously in both languages – each scene being shot twice. The protagonist – lawyer Faith Howells – was played by Welsh actress Eve Myles, who – in spite of her Welsh upbringing – had to learn the language specially for the role. This in itself is a pretty remarkable achievement, particularly given the intensity of the character concerned.

The series was beautifully filmed in Welsh settings and looks gorgeous. The significance of the attached photograph – which some may recognise as Dylan Thomas’ final residence, the Boathouse at Laugharne – is that the town and the estuary of the River Tâf were used extensively as locations for the filming.

The most striking feature of the series for me, however, was the evocative music that accompanied it. Six songs were written for the show by the wonderfully named singer/songwriter – Amy Wadge. Amy lives in Wales though she is by birth a Bristolian. If the name sounds familiar it will doubtless be because of her co-writing associations with artists such as Ed Sheeran, with whom she won the 2016 Grammy Award for Song of the Year.

The songs written for ‘Keeping Faith‘ have been released on the CD equivalent of an EP (not sure if younger folk will know what one of those is!) and I wholeheartedly recommend them. Ms Wadge is a considerable talent. Rather than me endeavouring to wax lyrical about something as subjective and evanescent as music, however, I would suggest that the gentle reader checks out the samples here.

Enjoy!