To Olivia

It’s 1962 and eccentric children's author Roald Dahl—about to begin work on a little something called ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’—and his wife, the glamorous Hollywood actress Patricia Neal, have retreated to the English countryside to raise their young children. Then the unimaginable happens: their seven-year-old daughter Olivia dies of complications arising from a bout of measles. This stunning turn of events inevitably affects their relationship. But their shared grief also becomes a source of redemption and strength that will change their lives forever… Based loosely on Stephen Michael Shearer’s biography ‘Patricia Neal: An Unquiet Life’, John Hay’s drama is quietly affecting.

‘”Downton Abbey” star Hugh Bonneville plays Dahl and does so very well, convincingly portraying him as a short-tempered and often drunken curmudgeon who was desperate for praise but angrily rejected it when it was offered… And yet he could be funny, charming and hugely imaginative when it came to playing with his children. A beautifully cast Keeley Hawes is every bit as good – glamorous enough to totally convince as a film star who has temporarily put her career on hold and yet real enough to look completely at home amid the rows and domestic chaos.’—Matthew Bond, Event Magazine