Rhys Ifans and Laura Linney explore Parkinson’s, humour and mortality in BBC drama

Rhys Ifans and Laura Linney star as a couple with Parkinson’s in *Onwards and Sideways*, a BBC film written by Vicar of Dibley co-creator Paul Mayhew-Archer, who also has the condition. The Norfolk-set drama combines difficult experiences, including night terrors and gambling addiction, with humour, and explores how the characters face illness and mortality.

To prepare, the actors attended dance sessions for people with Parkinson’s in London, Brooklyn and Bangor, Wales. Linney describes seeing how music and movement can affect people’s bodies and imaginations as deeply moving; Ifans recalls the Welsh group’s harpist and support dog. The classes brought together people from different walks of life and helped the actors understand a form of recreational therapy.