Stephen S. Thompson, writer of BAFTA-winning drama “Sitting In Limbo,” died from cancer on May 26. He was 56.
An acclaimed novelist of Jamaican descent, Thompson’s first novel “Toy Soldiers” was published in 2000. Further novels include “Missing Joe” (2012) and “No More Heroes” (2016).
Thompson wrote feature-length drama “Sitting In Limbo” in response to his brother Anthony Bryan’s fight against deportation amid the Windrush scandal, a British political scandal where many people who had come to the U.K. before 1973 from Caribbean countries were detained and deported. The film, directed by Stella Corradi, produced by Left Bank Pictures and starring Patrick Robinson, was broadcast on BBC One in June 2020, and won the BAFTA for Best Single Drama.
Thompson had written for The Observer, The Voice, Wasafiri, Five Dials and Arena Magazine amongst others, and was the editor and publisher of the online literary journal The Colverstone Review. He lectured on creative writing at Winchester University,...
An acclaimed novelist of Jamaican descent, Thompson’s first novel “Toy Soldiers” was published in 2000. Further novels include “Missing Joe” (2012) and “No More Heroes” (2016).
Thompson wrote feature-length drama “Sitting In Limbo” in response to his brother Anthony Bryan’s fight against deportation amid the Windrush scandal, a British political scandal where many people who had come to the U.K. before 1973 from Caribbean countries were detained and deported. The film, directed by Stella Corradi, produced by Left Bank Pictures and starring Patrick Robinson, was broadcast on BBC One in June 2020, and won the BAFTA for Best Single Drama.
Thompson had written for The Observer, The Voice, Wasafiri, Five Dials and Arena Magazine amongst others, and was the editor and publisher of the online literary journal The Colverstone Review. He lectured on creative writing at Winchester University,...
- 6/1/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Stephen S. Thompson, whose debut single drama BBC1 Sitting in Limbo won a Bafta in 2020, has died aged 56.
His family released a statement through his agent, Cassarotto Ramsay & Associates, announcing he had passed on May 26 after a short battle against cancer.
“He fought hard to beat the odds after being diagnosed just a month earlier and spent the last few weeks at home receiving end of life care.
“Stephen showed a characteristic determination to live but in the end the rapid progression of the cancer meant his body was unable to match the power of his indomitable mind. He passed away peacefully surrounded by love.”
Thompson, a novelist and screenwriter of Jamaican descent, came to attention in TV circles through Sitting in Limbo, which came from The Crown producer Left Bank Pictures. His powerful script was based on his brother Anthony Bryan’s fight against deportation from the UK as...
His family released a statement through his agent, Cassarotto Ramsay & Associates, announcing he had passed on May 26 after a short battle against cancer.
“He fought hard to beat the odds after being diagnosed just a month earlier and spent the last few weeks at home receiving end of life care.
“Stephen showed a characteristic determination to live but in the end the rapid progression of the cancer meant his body was unable to match the power of his indomitable mind. He passed away peacefully surrounded by love.”
Thompson, a novelist and screenwriter of Jamaican descent, came to attention in TV circles through Sitting in Limbo, which came from The Crown producer Left Bank Pictures. His powerful script was based on his brother Anthony Bryan’s fight against deportation from the UK as...
- 6/1/2022
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Steve McQueen and Michaela Coel shows dominate with eight awards.
Steve McQueen’s Small Axe and Michaela Coel’s I May Destroy You were the big winners at the Bafta Craft Awards, taking home eight of the 21 awards between them.
Small Axe, the BBC1 drama anthology about the lives of West Indian immigrants in 1960s, 70s and 80s London, claimed five gongs including: JoJo Williams for make-up & hair design; Jacqueline Durran for costume design; Helen Scott for production design; Shabier Kirchner for photography & lighting: fiction and Gary Davy for scripted casting.
Coel’s BBC1/HBO true-life inspired dramedy about a...
Steve McQueen’s Small Axe and Michaela Coel’s I May Destroy You were the big winners at the Bafta Craft Awards, taking home eight of the 21 awards between them.
Small Axe, the BBC1 drama anthology about the lives of West Indian immigrants in 1960s, 70s and 80s London, claimed five gongs including: JoJo Williams for make-up & hair design; Jacqueline Durran for costume design; Helen Scott for production design; Shabier Kirchner for photography & lighting: fiction and Gary Davy for scripted casting.
Coel’s BBC1/HBO true-life inspired dramedy about a...
- 5/25/2021
- by John Elmes Broadcast
- ScreenDaily
Steve McQueen’s anthology series Small Axe and Michaela Coel’s I May Destroy You dominated the BAFTA TV Craft Awards on Monday.
Small Axe clinched five wins, the most on a night that celebrated behind-the-scenes craftspeople, but it was I May Destroy You that secured two of the biggest gongs for Coel: Director: Diction, and Writer: Drama. The BBC/HBO series was also victorious in the Editing: Fiction category.
Coel, who beat McQueen in the directing category alongside co-director Sam Miller, accepted her writing win. “I would like to thank every draft. There are hundreds of them, each living only briefly and sacrificing themselves so the version we watched that won this BAFTA could exist,” she said.
BBC/Amazon series Small Axe’s prizes included JoJo Williams for Make Up & Hair Design; Jacqueline Durran for Costume Design; Helen Scott for Production Design; Shabier Kirchner for Photography & Lighting: Fiction; and Gary Davy for Scripted Casting.
Small Axe clinched five wins, the most on a night that celebrated behind-the-scenes craftspeople, but it was I May Destroy You that secured two of the biggest gongs for Coel: Director: Diction, and Writer: Drama. The BBC/HBO series was also victorious in the Editing: Fiction category.
Coel, who beat McQueen in the directing category alongside co-director Sam Miller, accepted her writing win. “I would like to thank every draft. There are hundreds of them, each living only briefly and sacrificing themselves so the version we watched that won this BAFTA could exist,” she said.
BBC/Amazon series Small Axe’s prizes included JoJo Williams for Make Up & Hair Design; Jacqueline Durran for Costume Design; Helen Scott for Production Design; Shabier Kirchner for Photography & Lighting: Fiction; and Gary Davy for Scripted Casting.
- 5/24/2021
- by Jake Kanter
- Deadline Film + TV
British television industry event the Edinburgh TV Festival, which runs in a digital format this year from Aug. 24-27, has revealed the first sessions of its lineup, as well as revealing a pre-festival session that will look at how issues concerning race are tackled by filmmakers.
The BBC drama “Sitting in Limbo” will be the subject of a session exploring how Stephen S. Thompson, a writer new to TV, took his brother’s experience of the “Windrush controversy” – in which British people from the Caribbean were unlawfully threatened with deportation – to the TV screen. Thompson will be joined by the show’s director, Stella Corradi, and lead actor, Patrick Robinson, to discuss the impact the drama has had, and what it says about bringing Black British stories to TV.
Festival Masterclasses will include “Normal People” – the BBC’s hit drama, with stars Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal in conversation with...
The BBC drama “Sitting in Limbo” will be the subject of a session exploring how Stephen S. Thompson, a writer new to TV, took his brother’s experience of the “Windrush controversy” – in which British people from the Caribbean were unlawfully threatened with deportation – to the TV screen. Thompson will be joined by the show’s director, Stella Corradi, and lead actor, Patrick Robinson, to discuss the impact the drama has had, and what it says about bringing Black British stories to TV.
Festival Masterclasses will include “Normal People” – the BBC’s hit drama, with stars Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal in conversation with...
- 6/11/2020
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
When drama confronts you with your country’s racism, there’s usually a cushioning historical buffer. Wasn’t it terrible back then, you think. Thank God we’ve moved past that.
Sitting in Limbo covers a period from 2016 to 2018. The drama’s final caption takes us up to May 2020. There’s no consolation to be taken from historical distance; this is a snapshot of Britain now.
Written by novelist Stephen S. Thompson, the feature-length TV film tells the true story of Thompson’s brother Anthony Bryan, a Black British man who arrived in England from Jamaica in 1965, aged eight. Anthony and his mother were part of the Windrush Generation invited to settle in the UK after the Second World War.
Now a father and grandfather, Anthony grew up in London going to school and Scouts and supporting Spurs. He worked first in a factory and then as a builder and painter-decorator.
Sitting in Limbo covers a period from 2016 to 2018. The drama’s final caption takes us up to May 2020. There’s no consolation to be taken from historical distance; this is a snapshot of Britain now.
Written by novelist Stephen S. Thompson, the feature-length TV film tells the true story of Thompson’s brother Anthony Bryan, a Black British man who arrived in England from Jamaica in 1965, aged eight. Anthony and his mother were part of the Windrush Generation invited to settle in the UK after the Second World War.
Now a father and grandfather, Anthony grew up in London going to school and Scouts and supporting Spurs. He worked first in a factory and then as a builder and painter-decorator.
- 6/8/2020
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
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