Letitia Wright and Tamara Lawrance star as real-life twin sisters June and Jennifer Gibbons in the new film The Silent Twins – and the pair have revealed how the movie posed a unique challenge for them.
The film tells the strange and tragic story of the sisters, who grew up in the only Black family in a small Welsh town in the 1970s and were eventually sentenced to time in Broadmoor psychiatric hospital following charges of vandalism.
And speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com, both Wright and Lawrance discussed the difficulties that came with playing twins.
“[It was] definitely challenging because when you’re playing a part, you usually are in your own head, you’re trying to focus on what you want to do, and how you can bring something together,” Wright explained.
“But the difference of this project is that we’re playing twin sisters, so you have to kind of put your pride aside, and just focus on the work and focus on the ways in which you can collaborate and be kind of synced.”
Wright explained that a lot of help came from working with dialect coach Hazel Holder and movement coach Kaya Kolodziejczyk, which allowed her and Lawrance to find “a common ground of connection that wouldn’t allow the audience to feel like we’re separated”.
She added: “But then also, we still have to represent the personalities of each twin, because they both are very different and are very connected at the same time. So it was a fun challenge and one that I learned a lot from.”
“It’s not often that you effectively share a part in a way,” added Lawrance. “So that came with lots of interesting challenges, but obviously lots of opportunities for growth as well. And I think, we had a lot of resources at hand to help kind of build that synergy.”
As well as playing the lead roles, Wright and Lawrance are both listed as producers on The Silent Twins, and the Black Panther star explained why she was so keen to get involved behind the camera.
“It was about the opportunity to learn the ways in which a project will come together,” she said. “Thankfully at the time of being introduced to the script, we still hadn’t cast everybody and we needed to get financing – all of these beautiful ways in which a film comes together.
“So I just wanted to extend my creative tentacles, if you can call it that, and just explore a different way that I can be creative. And then when we got the team together, it was imperative that not only was I producer but also Tamara because, you know, we’re representing the two Black girls in this film, two Black women in this film, and our voices are important.
“So the team heard that and supported that and we got to learn a lot on this job, and tools that we can take forward for more productions and more producing. So I’m excited about that!’
The Silent Twins is out now in UK cinemas. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to see what’s on tonight.
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