The Liverpool Literary Festival will this year (Sunday 6 October) host an exclusive discussion about the acclaimed BBC Drama, Mother’s Day, with critically acclaimed actors Anna Maxwell Martin and Daniel Mays.
Mother’s Day is based on the true events and aftermath of the 1993 IRA bombing in Warrington town centre, on the eve of Mother’s Day 1993. The atrocity took the lives of twelve-year-old Tim Parry and three-year-old Johnathan Ball and injured a further fifty-four people.
Tim’s father, the peace campaigner Colin Parry OBE, BAFTA winning actress Anna Maxwell Martin, actor Daniel Mays and writer Nick Leather will appear at the festival to discuss the challenges of making a tragedy into a powerful drama. Colin will also discuss the book he wrote with Wendy, Tim: An Ordinary Boy, about Tim’s life and their family’s journey.
Tim Parry
To mark the 25th Anniversary of the tragedy, Warrington-born screenwriter Nick Leather consulted with the Parrys to produce Mother’s Day, a drama to tell the story of the aftermath of the Warrington bomb. Through a star-studded cast, Mother’s Day details how Sue McHugh (Vicky McClure), an unassuming and normally shy Dublin housewife is spurred into action by the tragedy and forms an alliance with the Parrys (Daniel Mays and Anna Maxwell Martin) to campaign for an end to the Troubles.
Anna Maxwell Martin
At the Liverpool Literary Festival, we’re hosting an exclusive screening of the drama followed by a unique discussion between Colin Parry OBE, actress Anna Maxwell Martin, actor Daniel Mays and writer Nick Leather. Daniel and Anna will provide insight into how they approached playing Colin and Wendy’s characters, while Colin himself will share his thoughts on the drama and his continued work in promoting peace.
Anna Maxwell Martin graduated from the University of Liverpool in 1998 with a BA (Hons) in History and has starred in Motherland, Line of Duty and Bleak House.
BAFTA-nominated Daniel Mays has won widespread critical acclaim for roles in a diverse range of films, television and theatre productions including Made Dagenham, Atonement, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and ITV drama The Long Shadow.
Daniel Mays
Hosted by Dr Alex Coupe and Dr Pauline Hadaway from the University of Liverpool’s Department of English, this one-off event will provide a fascinating insight into conflict, reconciliation, peacebuilding and how we tell stories to raise awareness and come to terms with tragedy.
Colin said: “Wendy and I wanted to make Tim’s life have meaning and I think we’ve done so – the Tim Parry Jonathan Ball Foundation is our life’s work and we get great comfort knowing so many people who never knew Tim or Jonathan, remember them like they knew them.”
“I’m looking forward to the Liverpool Literary Festival and discussing Nick’s thought processes when making the BBC drama, Mothers Day, and to Daniel about how he approached playing me as a character!”
Festival Director, Professor Greg Lynall said: “It’s an honour that Colin, Anna, Daniel and Nick are joining us at the Festival this October and I’m really looking forward to what I’m sure will be a moving and informative screening and discussion.
“We’re really pleased to have such an eclectic programme for this year’s festival – do go online and get your tickets booked for the weekend.”
The screening of Mother’s Day will take place at the Liverpool Literary Festival in the Eleanor Rathbone Lecture Theatre on Sunday 6 October at 2pm. It is free to attend, but booking is required here. The screening will be followed by a discussion about the drama with Colin Parry, Anna Maxwell Martin, Daniel Mays and Nick Leather at 4pm, you can book your tickets to the discussion here.