Wanstead to be on film again

Wanstead is going to be on film again – but this time it’s the big time, with a real Oscar-nominated actor and a real Oscar-nominated director.

Tom Hardy, nominated for his role in The Revenant, is one of the stars (and a co-author) of an eight-part BBC drama, Taboo, about the East India Company. Ridley Scott is one of the series’ executive producers.

Part of the action is going to be filmed later this week at St Mary’s in Overton Drive, nearby residents have been told. Both the inside and outside of the Grade 1 listed church will be featured.

The series has been criticised in some quarters (eg the Daily Telegraph) because its creator has said it will portray the East India Company as the “biggest, baddest multinational corporation on earth, all rolled into one self-righteous, religiously-motivated monolith”. What that means for how gentle St Mary’s will be depicted remains to be seen.

(Thanks to Wansteadium readers Lisa Stanley and Richard Menzies for the tips-off.  The Commonwealth of Wansteadium depends on fine citizens like them for information. You too, gentle reader, can do your duty by sending a news tip-off to info@wansteadium.com)