The Light in the Hall

2023 - 1 - 4

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Image courtesy of "The Guardian"

The Light in the Hall review – Joanna Scanlan shines in a wintry ... (The Guardian)

Scanlan plays a grieving mother hoping for answers as the man accused of her daughter's murder is released from prison – before her body has been found.

She spends most of the hour being persuaded by her colleagues and (unnaturally gentle) editor to write about the case now that Joe is out of prison. If it doesn’t – well, finish the chocolate and leftover Baileys and we’ll try again in a bit. The friendship between Sharon and Dai (Morgan Hopkins) is beautifully and tenderly drawn and Sharon’s tyrannical oversight of the bereavement group she runs and the members’ forbearance is lovely, as well as preventing Sharon becoming an anodyne saintly-grieving-mother figure. The Light in the Hall is at its strongest in the interpersonal scenes. Ela’s mother, Sharon, played by the always brilliant Joanna Scanlan, has kept the light on in the hall for her ever since – not in hope, because she accepts that Ela must be dead and wishes only for Joe to reveal what he did with her body, but in memoriam. For those of us who have not yet cast off our seasonal somnolence and still wish to be eased into things, a thriller without too much in the way of thrills hits the spot.

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Image courtesy of "WalesOnline"

Channel 4 Light in the Hall: Where was series made? Locations of ... (WalesOnline)

Welsh-made drama, Light in the Hall is a brand new mystery thriller filmed during 2022 and the dual-language series stars Game of Thrones' Iwan Rheon, ...

It was really nice to be able to speak Welsh on set. And Iwan Rheon spoke about filming in the county he lived in until he was five. I’d recently had a baby so this was my first job back and it was serendipitous almost that my first job was filming 10 minutes away from my mam and dad which has never happened before. He said: "It was great to be back in Wales. [Light in the Hall](https://www.walesonline.co.uk/lifestyle/tv/channel-4-light-hall-how-25891806) is now airing on Channel 4 and viewers will get to see some fantastic Welsh locations on screen. There was also extra filming done in Cardiff, too.

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Image courtesy of "Telegraph.co.uk"

The Light in the Hall, review: a solid crime drama soaked in Welsh ... (Telegraph.co.uk)

Joanna Scanlan is impressive as a grieving mother in West Wales, but this crime thriller is watchable rather than riveting.

The screenwriter, Regina Moriarty, previously worked as a tutor in the probation service and she has clearly given thought both to the bigger picture – the anger and helplessness felt by victims’ families – and the detail of how prisoners are released into society. The drama’s title comes from the fact that Sharon has kept the hallway light on since the day Ela disappeared – a hopeless gesture, since she knows that her daughter is dead, but a sign that she can’t move on. And on Channel 4 we have The Light in the Hall.

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Image courtesy of "iNews"

The Light in the Hall, Channel 4, review: Brooding Welsh drama is a ... (iNews)

Joanna Scanlan is fantastic in this straight-down-the-line crime drama about a grieving mother and the man who killed her daughter. The Light in the Hall ...

The Light in the Hall is a straight-down-the-line crime drama, about a grieving mother and the man who, in her eyes, killed her daughter. It wanted us to consider the very nature of guilt and forgiveness. Roach plays Cat, a journalist looking for the big story that will revolutionise her career. In urging us to feel sorry for him, the drama began to ask more of its audience than just our attention. To cope, she runs a support group for people who have lost someone to violent crimes – the “murder wang gang” as Greta calls it – but closure is almost hopeless. In the slow-moving first episode, we met Joe (Rheon) as an adult man, about to face another parole board meeting, after being denied on multiple occasions because he wouldn’t share the details of Ela’s death.

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Image courtesy of "The Independent"

The Light in the Hall review: A slow, sober trek through too-familiar ... (The Independent)

A Welsh village is left in the throes of tragedy in Channel 4's new six-part crime drama.

In a vacuum, The Light in the Hall would be a perfectly fine, if a little overwrought, small-town crime drama. In the first episode of The Light in the Hall, Joe is let out on parole. It’s a winning framework that has formed the basis of many of the UK’s best recent TV series – as well as a lot of generic dross.

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Image courtesy of "Radio Times"

The Light in the Hall stars: 'It's not your typical detective story' (Radio Times)

The new drama debuts on Channel 4 this week, and we spoke to Iwan Rheon and Joanna Scanlan about the "genre-busting" series.

[All4](https://www.channel4.com/). [subscribe now](http://radiotimes.com/magazine-subscription?utm_term=evergreen-article). “The moral position of a journalist is under scrutiny and I feel like the framework for this, I wouldn't call it philosophical exactly but it's asking a question about, is there a truth that you can find? By the end of episode 1, you're still thinking, well, maybe she's still alive, maybe she's somewhere else. “And even down to the fact that we don't know where Ella really is, whether it's her mortal remains. It's quite mysterious as to what's happened and how that unravels.

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Image courtesy of "The Irish Sun"

Is The Light In The Hall based on a true story?... (The Irish Sun)

The fictional show was written by Regina Moriarty, who is known for Murdered By My Boyfriend. It is directed by Keeping Faith's Andy Newbery, and Chris Foster.

What is The Light In The Hall about? Is The Light In The Hall based on a true story? The Light In The Hall will kick off on Channel 4 TONIGHT (January 4, 2023) at 9pm. Despite the gritty plot, the Channel 4 drama is not based on a true story. CHANNEL 4 is known for its gripping dramas, and The Light In The Hall is no different. The Light In The Hall is a six-part thriller that tells the story of a journalist who is determined to uncover the truth behind who killed her former friend when they were teenagers.

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Image courtesy of "Metro"

The Light in the Hall: Joanna Scalan's Sharon's fire scene explained (Metro)

Channel 4's new crime drama The Light in the Hall also stars Alexandra Roach and Game of Thrones' Iwan Rheon.

[Why The Light in the Hall is a must-see for Happy Valley and The White Lotus fans](https://metro.co.uk/2023/01/04/why-happy-valley-fans-should-watch-the-light-in-the-hall-18035911/?ico=more_text_links) She explained: ‘It wasn’t inspired by a particular crime. [Is The Light in the Hall based on a true story? The Light in the Hall is available to stream on All4. Regina previously told Metro.co.uk that The Light in the Hall wasn’t based on The Light in the Hall is Channel 4’s gripping new crime drama which follows Sharon Roberts (Joanna Scanlan) haunted by the past.

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Image courtesy of "HELLO!"

The Light in the Hall viewers saying same thing about new thriller ... (HELLO!)

The mystery thriller stars Joanna Scanlan, Iwan Rheon and Alexandra Roach, telling the story of a grieving mother still looking for answers about what happened ...

#TheLightintheHall." #TheLightInTheHall." Another viewer was glad to see Alexandra and Joanna reunited almost eight years after first starring together in the police drama No Offence: "@alexandraroach1 and Joanna Scanlan together again! A second person added: "Can the team get two BAFTAs? Taking to Twitter, viewers praised the compelling plot, with one person writing: "Good opening episode to new drama #thelightinthehall. Others who tuned in on Wednesday night called for the show, which was filmed both in English and in Welsh, to be recognised by BAFTA.

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Image courtesy of "Evening Standard"

The Light in the Hall on Channel 4 review: a slow-burn study of grief ... (Evening Standard)

J. oanna Scanlan is an actress who excels at playing grieving, dogged women. In The Invisible Woman, she played Charles Dickens' long-suffering wife Catherine; ...

There’s even a Welsh-language version of the series – Y Golau (The Light) – for which Scanlan made the supreme effort of learning Welsh, which has already aired on S4C. Indeed, at times the most sympathetic person in the show is Pritchard – which says something for the rollercoaster ride that this show is, though that’s not to say it’s fast-paced. As you can imagine, she’s not treated with great warmth by the town’s inhabitants – and to be honest, Cat is the show’s weak link. The culprit is Joe Pritchard, a local boy, and the series opens just as Pritchard is released on parole after serving a life sentence for Ela’s murder. She acts rashly one moment and with cold calculation the next. Iwan Rheon plays Pritchard with deep-set, haunted eyes and a tormented air, while Sharon’s rapid descent into obsession after hearing of his release could veer into melodrama but is made believable by Scanlan.

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