The summer of 1962 might have arrived on the cusp of “Swingin’ London” in the UK — but not for the victims of rampant anti-Semitism and racism vis-a-vis the rise of National Socialism.
That’s dramatized in “Ridley Road,” a four-part series which premiered last fall on BBC One and is now airing on Masterpiece on PBS (Sundays at 9 p.m.) It’s absorbing, alarming and troubling — and strikes an all-too-familiar topical chord 60 years later.
It’s “inspired by” the true story of a young Jewish woman, Vivien Epstein (Agnes O’Casey), who goes undercover to help fight the alarming tide of hatred sweeping through England — its flames stoked by neo-Nazi leader Colin Jordan, a real-life historical figure played here by Rory Kinnear who features prominently in Jo Bloom’s 2014 novel “Ridley Road,” from which the series is adapted.
When “Ridley Road” opens Vivien, 23, is living north of London in industrial Manchester with her parents (her father, David, owns a tailor shop) and her cousin, Roza (Julia Krynke), who survived the Holocaust in Europe. Vivien is none-too-happily engaged to nebbishy Jeremy — their fathers arranged the marriage — and secretly pines for her true love, Jack Morris (Tom Varey), who shows up at her father’s store and rekindles their romance but tells Vivien he’s no good for her. That’s all she needs to hear; she tracks Jack’s whereabouts to her estranged Uncle Soly’s (Eddie Marsan) clothing store in London (on Ridley Road), hops on a train and, before the day is done, is working at a hair salon, renting a room from nice Mrs. Jones (but is she?) and using the name Vivien Evans to disguise her Jewish identity amidst the tenor of the times.
Vivien (Agnes O’Casey) comforts her cousin Roza (Julia Krynke), a Holocaust survivor.Ben Blackall
Colin Jordan (Rory Kinnear) gets uncomfortably close to Vivien/Jane (Agnes O’Casey). Ben BlackallTurns out that Soly is, by night, fighting neo-Nazi gangs and it’s through him that Vivien discovers a startling secret about Jack, who she sees at a National Socialist rally in Trafalgar Square alongside Colin Jordan chanting “Perish Judah!”: he’s working undercover to fight the good fight (“I do bad things to bad people,” he tells her) and, under the alias “Peter Fox,” is deeply entrenched with Jordan and his goons. Vivien joins the fight, dyes her hair blond, calls herself Jane Carpenter and infiltrates Jordan’s lair.
Series writer Sarah Solemani does a nice job establishing the atmosphere of those times in London, and several archival clips (in color) are interspersed throughout the narrative once Vivien arrives in the city, which helps establish the tone. Rita Tushingham, who starred in several “Swingin’ London”-era movies (“A Taste of Honey,” “The Knack … and How to Get It,” “Smashing Time”), is on hand as Mrs. Jones, which lends an air of authenticity; newcomer O’Casey (her great-grandfather was the acclaimed Irish playwright Sean O’Casey) is believable as Vivien, who balances her love for Jack, and for fighting hatred, with her disgust of creepy Colin Jordan. He’s attracted to “Jane Carpenter” and Vivien has to play along — proving that she’s just as good an actress as her real-life alter-ego.
