Empire Road was the first serious attempt at a long-running drama on British television addressing Britain's growing multi-racial society. Where sitcoms such as The Fosters (ITV, 1976-77), Love Thy Neighbour (1972-76) and Mixed Blessings (1978-80) played it strictly for laughs, Empire Road sought, like soap operas such as Coronation Street (ITV, 1960-), accurately to depict reality with a combination of drama, comedy and tragedy.
Structured around the Bennett family, who live in the symbolically named Empire Road in the heart of multi-racial Birmingham, the series brought together some of the leading black actors of the day, extending settings and scenes which had hitherto only be seen in one-off plays.
This afternoon's screening offers a rare opportunity to see two episodes of Empire Road on the big screen. The first, 'The Street Party' (1978), is the opening of series one in which irascible landlord Everton (Norman Beaton) returns from six months away to find everything turned on its head. This is followed by 'Kalaloo Sunday' (1979) from series two, in which Everton's wife Hortense (Corinne Skinner-Carter) pines for Sundays back home.
We're delighted to welcome Corinne Skinner-Carter as our special guest for this event. She'll be in conversation with writer and broadcaster Gaylene Gould about her time in Empire Road and her subsequent career on the likes of Burning an Illusion and Eastenders.
Empire Road is part of Birmingham on Film, a Flatpack season of archive screenings and events across the city from 16 September to 15 October.
