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James McAvoy & Sharon Horgan To Star In Stephen Daldry-Directed BBC Lockdown Film ‘Together’

James McAvoy and Sharon Horgan are to star in a lockdown relationship drama for the BBC, which will be helmed by Emmy and BAFTA-winning director Stephen Daldry (The Crown, Billy Elliot).

Written by Dennis Kelly (Utopia), Together is billed as a hilarious and heart-breaking story of a husband and wife who are forced to re-evaluate themselves and their relationship through the reality of the Covid-19 lockdown. It is Shoebox Films and Sonia Friedman Productions film for BBC Two and BBC Film.

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Horgan features as a refugee charity worker, while McAvoy plays a self-employed, self-made man who runs a boutique computing consultancy. Athur is their 10-year-old son and is the one thing that has kept his parents’ relationship together.

McAvoy said: “Dennis writes so wittily for these characters and his script had me within the first few pages. When I heard Sharon was involved with Stephen Daldry directing it was a no brainer. It’s a hilarious, heartfelt, entertaining and unconsciously funny exploration of a relationship and a couple facing real tragedy across a year we have all lived through.”

Horgan added: “I think everyone who got involved in this film had no intention of doing a covid drama but then we read Dennis’ script and changed our minds. We shot this in ten days so it was a beautifully stressful experience.”

Kelly continued: “Together is about a couple who totally hate each other, but have somehow found a way of existing together by not talking to, thinking about, noticing, communicating with or being in the same room as each other – then lockdown happens. It’s about how humans negotiate their shared experiences when they think they have nothing in common other than staying alive, and it’s about how you can hate what you love and love what you hate.”

Producers are Sonia Friedman and Guy Heeley. The executive producers are Kelly, Rose Garnett, director BBC Film, and Gaynor Holmes for BBC. Deals negotiated by Clare Hardwick of Grey Seal Media on behalf of production and Geraldine Atlee for the BBC. Endeavor Content will handle worldwide sales outside of the UK.

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