Michael Sheen-directed drama The Way set to air tonight

A bold new drama directed by Michael Sheen which was filmed in and around Port Talbot will air on the BBC tonight.

Described as ‘ambitious, powerful and surprising’, The Way taps into the social and political chaos of today’s world by imagining a civil uprising which begins in a small industrial town.

The story focuses on relations between employees at the Port Talbot Steelworks and its management, and its release comes at a time when, just last month, it was announced that two of the Steelworks’ blast furnaces will be shut down, costing up to 2,800 jobs directly and potentially many more in the local community.

Resonance with today

Fleeing unrest, The Driscolls are forced to escape the country they’ve always called home and the certainties of their old lives. Will they be overwhelmed by their memories of the past, or will they lay their ghosts to rest and take the risk of an unknown future?

One of the stars of the series, Steffan Rhodri, recently addressed the timely nature of the show’s release, and how it resonates even more deeply given the news.

He said: “Just in terms of the actual news of Port Talbot, as I’m sure you’re aware, in that sense it resonates very deeply.

“It’s not a kind of guilt, but a sort of sense of responsibility as well that there’s going to be increased interest in this story, because of the news, which we didn’t know when we made it.”

“Neglect”

He continued: “And in a sense, it’s easy to go, ‘Oh, it’s going to be more interesting.’ But I think we all feel a connection with the place where we made this.

“I don’t feel good about that, because these are real people’s lives, and these are people that we worked with, and amongst. They helped us with it, and they’re part of the crowd and so on.

“In terms of where we are as a country, I mean, without wanting to sound too controversial for a BBC show, but it’s a sort of symbol of the neglect, really, and where the country finds itself and where ordinary people find themselves discarded.

“So I think there will be a resonance because of that.”

“Impossible choices”

Its makers said: “The Way is an emotional and darkly humorous story about what it means to be faced with impossible choices.”

Made for the BBC by Wales-based company Red Seam in association with Little Door Productions, the three-part drama tells the story of an ordinary family caught up in an extraordinary chain of events that ripple out from their home town.

Steffan Rhodri (Steeltown Murders, Gavin and Stacey), Mali Harries (Keeping Faith, Hinterland), Sophie Melville (The Pact, Iphigenia In Splott), Callum Scott Howells (It’s A Sin, Cabaret) and Michael Sheen (Staged, Good Omens) lead the cast as the Driscoll family, with Maja Laskowska (Trigonometry, Baptiste) as a young woman caught up in the family’s escape.

Luke Evans (Nine Perfect Strangers, The Pembrokeshire Murders) stars as Hogwood, a mercenary in pursuit of the Driscolls, with Tom Cullen (The Gold, Weekend), Danny Sapani (Killing Eve, The Diplomat), Mark Lewis Jones (Outlander, The Crown), Paul Rhys (Discovery of Witches, Chaplin), Erin Richards (The Crown, Gotham), Aneurin Barnard (The Catch, 1899), Catherine Ayers (The Light in the Hall, Keeping Faith), Patrick Baladi (Breeders, Line of Duty), Georgia Tennant (Staged, Doctor Who), Jonathan Nefydd (Pobol y Cwm, Grav), and Matthew Aubrey (Keeping Faith, World on Fire) all playing key roles across the series. Child actor Teilo James Le Masurier will make his screen debut as Rhys, the Driscolls’ 4 year old grandson.

The Way is available to stream on BBC iPlayer now, and will air on BBC One at 9pm on Monday 19 February.